This week back at home base feels almost unnervingly quiet. Partially because nothing compares to the excitement of last week, but also because we're back to the grind. Just days ago, we were on site for one of our largest events kicking off 2026. Now, it is a week of catching up, exhaling, and reflecting. Our magazine reporters are already hard at work shaping their stories from the event. We are editing videos and recaps, and all the while carrying on with business as usual.

When our CEO asked me what I thought of the event last week, my answer was simple. There was not a single moment of boredom. I wore many hats: working registration, stepping on stage to help present awards, editing slides behind the scenes, and sending late night emails to attendees paired with recap videos. I also had my first real experience working a booth at a large scale expo hall, representing the Mortgage Women Leadership Council with a fabulous event team. In between, I attended a speaker dinner with inspiring women from within the industry and beyond, and found time to network with both exhibitors and attendees alike. It was a whirlwind, but an incredibly worthwhile one.

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Leading into the event, we met with several of our new 2026 Advisory Board members on Zoom. Almost immediately after that call ended, Melissa Pianin, Executive Director of the MWLC, and I were deep in orchestration mode for the New England Women in Banking and Mortgage pre-conference event ahead of the New England Mortgage Expo. Layered on top of the work, the conversations, and the inspiration, was something I do not take lightly. I was able to experience it all alongside dear friends, both within my organization and across our partner organizations.

Both my best friend and my sister were on site representing their company, and I had the opportunity to meet new advisory board members in person. Eliana Parada, one of our newest Advisory Board members, stopped by the MWLC booth in a perfectly on theme light purple sweater. By the end of the conversation, we felt like fast friends.

Jennifer McGuinness welcomed us to the NEWIBM pre-conference event by sharing her Managing Workplace Relationships and Handling Difficult Conversations session from the Breaking Barriers series, while simultaneously making me blush as she referenced the article I had written about her for Mortgage Women.

We also celebrated female bank presidents who accepted their awards with grace and humility and got to hear from inspiring female speakers on the banking side of the industry. Michelle Dwyer, president and CEO of Franklin First Federal Credit Union, spoke candidly about being introverted and the ways she pushes herself to show up as an extrovert when necessary. Her words resonated deeply with me and felt like a reflection of who I am as a person.

At some point during the constant motion and influx of information, I remembered a line from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” That moment of looking around stayed with me. I found myself thinking about the future of the council, my own future in this career, the connections I was making, and how they might matter long after the event floor cleared. I thought about the lessons these women were teaching me, often without even realizing it, and how those lessons would shape me long term.

In the middle of it all, I caught glimpses of my coworkers and friends working alongside me. I saw my sister immersed in her role, and my best friend attending her first event since becoming a mom to one of my now favorite humans on the planet, someone who did not even exist the last time we stood together at this conference.

Now that I have a moment to breathe and reflect, I have come to a few realizations. The event may be over, but what I noticed, learned, and felt in those moments will stay with me long after the final session ended. And maybe it makes me a bit of a cheeseball to feel this deeply about a “work event,” but every time I show up as a representative of the Mortgage Women Leadership Council, I feel an undeniable sense of passion and purpose. With each interaction and every conversation with inspiring women, my motivation deepens and my commitment to this work continues to grow.