Category Archives: Let’s Be Adults

2012: A Year in Review

3rd January 2013

OK, so I’m a little behind on the “how great 2012 was” posts, but in all of its cheesy goodness, 2012 was a pretty great year. From new friends, triumphs personally and professionally to a few fantastic adventures with loved ones, 2013 has some big shoes to fill. Month-by-month, here are just a few of its highlights:

  • January: I started the new year embarking on a new tradition with colleagues who also double as great friends (funny how that works). Our book club, morphed into craft club, which quickly became wine club and it’s still one of my favorite monthly traditions.
  • February: I made my first ever ski trip and it turned out not nearly as terrifying as I expected. Three days, a few blue-black runs later, I was hooked and found a new passion.
  • March: I ran my second half marathon with one of my dearest friends and despite the never ending hills, we beat our goal of 2:05, coming in at 2:03. I was psyched. Just a few months later, another friend dragged me across the finish line of my third half at a time of 1:49. It’s impossible to think I took 17 minutes off of my very first half marathon just over a year ago. Training pays off, and better yet, falling in love with a sport that revolves around free time with my favorite people.
  • April: P and I wound up with free entry into Atlanta’s Great Urban Race. Awesomeness and a lot of running ensued and landed us a trip to Vegas.
  • May: My baby brother graduated from UGA, marking the second of four Dennihy kids to do so. My ties from UGA are officially cut (for now, come on siblings three and four). This was a heartbreaker, for the first time in six years, Athens no longer offers a dedicated couch to sleep on.
  • June: I had the opportunity to travel to Chicago several times over the summer for work, talk about blessings for business trips at the most beautiful time of the year. Even the 5:30 am runs were worth it.
  • July: I took a full week vacation for the first time ever. It was amazing.
  • August: P and I went to our first UGA game in Alumni seats. Fancy. (This may have been in September, who knows, but the tickets were a birthday gift and that was in August, so it counts.)
  • September: I went rock climbing outdoors for the first time with my best friend. Another sport I am now hooked on. (Sensing a pattern here…wilderness, no technology…humm).
  • October: We took a family trip to New York for my Grandma’s 80th birthday. We also had a chance to visit a former mental hospital on Long Island that is now deserted. Yes, an odd tourist destination, but the history buffs in the family (myself included) were thrilled.
  • November: Vegas! We survived the national championships and are already scheming on how to make it to next year.
  • December: A week off of work meant lots of time with family and friends. We spent a large portion of it playing things like Words with Friends version 1.0. How primitive.

2012 could not have left me more blessed or with a bigger smile on my face and I cannot wait to see what challenges and adventures 2013 throws my way. What highlights did 2012 bring you?

Je ne sais pas

15th June 2012

Je ne sais pas.

In French, this means “I don’t know” and it’s the only French I actually know. I was a Spanish minor, but this bit of French is one of my favorite phrases. My boyfriend did manage to take quite a bit of French throughout school, but this seems to be the only phrase that really stuck. Over the years, it’s become one of my favorites (maybe it has something to do with admitting doubt in a romance language that makes it more fun).

Within our careers, we all reach moments where we just don’t know; where we don’t have the answers. It can be incredibly easy to try to lead the charge and attempt to manage our days under the guise that we know it all, but it is my belief that sometimes admitting doubt can be even more difficult.

Peter Bregman tells a compelling story about his “I don’t know” moment and describes leadership as not the arrogance of having all of the answers but the confidence and humility to move forward even without all of the answers.


Everyday I am faced with “I don’t know” moments. Some days it feels like it’s all I do, but that’s the beauty in being human. No one holds all the cards. There is always someone to teach you the answers, and it’s your duty to find those leaders and allow them to shape your understanding.

I have had the incredible opportunity to learn and grow from some very smart people in my career who have influenced me more in ways they may never know. While it may be one of the most difficult tasks in you career, seek leaders, coworkers and friends who aren’t afraid to answer your questions and to transform your “I don’t know” moments into your strengths.

I certainly can’t remember every presentation I have given or been tasked to put together, but I can absolutely recall the hours spent collaborating with those leaders who were willing to take their time to help me get there.

I can’t wait to uncover my next challenge and to continue to meet those leaders who will ultimately guide me to become the leader I aspire to be.

6 Ways to Rock Life as an Intern

7th June 2012

This week marked the start of one of my favorite seasons of the year: intern season. We had a great group of Enterns start at Engauge this week and I cannot wait to spend time with each one of them and learn more about their passions, experiences and goals over the next three months.

Interns always bring back so many memories of my intern experiences and it’s crazy to think it has been year(s) since I myself was an intern. First, congratulations. Getting an internship these days is an accomplishment in and of itself. You beat out countless other people for the position you now find yourself in and now it’s time to spend the next few months proving to everyone why you earned that spot.

In honor of the occasion, here are a few tips for anyone getting their foot in the door this summer.

1. Make it count. Work every day like it’s your first. If you think you are being judged, scored, evaluated everyday, it’s probably because you are. Prove to your company why they can’t survive without you.

2. Ask questions. Lots of them. You are not supposed to know everything, show that more often that not. The only way you are going to learn is to ask why, ask why not, ask what that crazy acronym stands for, chances are your coworkers will not look down on you for not knowing, but commend you for the courage it takes to speak up.

3. Dress for the job you want. Just because people at your office look like they just left a college classroom too, doesn’t mean you should. While you may not need to wear a suit everyday, no one ever looked down upon a girl in heels or a guy in a nice button down and kahkis. And even though Mark Zuckerburg can get away with a hoodie everyday, doesn’t mean you can.

4. Don’t do as your told. Do better. As an intern, you may be asked to help with not so fun tasks or projects, but most of the time if you weren’t there, we would be doing that work too. Go above and beyond and show your supervisor you are capable of thinking outside the box and event expanding the way they may think. When I first started my first internship I had no idea how to put together a good powerpoint presentation. During my down time I spent time on SlideShare trying to pick up tips from what others had done and applied that to my projects, that downtime went a long way.

5. Keep smiling and stay focused. In every single internship I ever had there were days I hated. There were days I came home and cried. Days when I felt like I wasn’t making a difference. But for every bad day, there were 10 good days that lead me to the place I am today. The relationships I formed became great friends, coworkers, mentors and bosses, who have all made me into the person I am today and I wouldn’t change a thing about the journey.

6. Enjoy it! You’re only an intern for so long. Have fun. Get out and meet people in the office. Go to a networking event. Make friends with the people you work with, don’t be afraid to show them who you are and why you are the best darn intern yet.