2U’s Guiding Principles:

Cherish Each Opportunity

Give a Damn

Strive for Excellence

Be Bold and Fearless

Be Candid, Honest and Open

Have Fun

Make Service Your Mission

Don’t Let the Skeptic Win

Yesterday was my sixth month anniversary working at 2U, so I thought I’d tell you a little about why I’m celebrating.

Maybe I’m only speaking for myself, but being a twenty-something has been tough. You graduate from college with so many dreams, plans, and goals, and yet they so quickly became coupled with bills, disappointment, and confusion. In thinking I’d find my “life purpose” in a career, I started my foray into the working world as if I were trying on new clothes. I went back and forth from government to non-profit work to teaching to higher education, yet when I looked in the mirror I wasn’t any happier than when I’d walked in through the “fitting room” door in the first place.

It’s funny how sometimes you aren’t really sure what you’re looking for until you find it. I would have to say 2U has been that for me. I suddenly realized it wasn’t just a job I was looking for – it was a culture.  Perhaps “career happiness” isn’t found in the “perfect personality-suited job”, but instead in the way you, your employer, and your coworkers “give a damn”. I could give you this long sappy list of why 2U is awesome (great benefits, free snacks, beautiful work space), but it wouldn’t really grasp what I want you all to know.

2U means more to me than just a job, and trust me, I have had my fair share of jobs (please ask me about the time I was a fashion designer in Beijing). 2U means more because it has fully renewed my hope and joy in being a working woman. My reality of the working world has been one often filled with loneliness and frustration. It always seemed like this unobtainable dream of “success”, a game of constantly figuring out “what’s next?” Honestly, I had given up on ever not dreading Monday mornings.

Now want to hear the crazy part? I haven’t dreaded a Monday morning since starting at 2U. No, it’s not because my job is so phenomenally interesting. No, it’s not because everyone thinks I’m amazing or anything close. I’ve realized it’s because I am surrounded by joyful people who are embracing 2U’s guiding principles. We cheer for each other’s successes (literally clap and cheer), we celebrate new chapters of life (the amount of baby showers, I tell you), and we hold each other up in hard times. We put in good work for the people we serve, for each other, and for ourselves. And our good work is appreciated and opportunities are plentiful.

I’m so glad to have stumbled into 2U, and I’m excited for what is to come.

Cheers for six months!