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Looking Back on IT Day 2024

Connecting  

IT Day is more than a series of presentations or keynote speeches—it’s an invitation to explore your part in what aptly calls our “human machine.” More importantly, it’s a day to connect with the people around us. A day to break down silos and pull up a chair beside someone you’ve never met or someone you’ve only ever met on a screen. It’s a day of discussion and expanding minds. A day of aha and haha moments that each generate their own sparks of inspiration.

IT Day began with a challenge. Tim Hampton, Director of Information Technology and our emcee, dared us to introduce ourselves—even to those we’ve worked with for years. It was a lighthearted but powerful way to break down the first barrier that can keep us from truly connecting.

Connection is the purpose of IT Day. Tim describes that, above even new technologies and techniques, IT Day is about seeing the humanity in what we’re up against and how that creates a camaraderie that naturally chisels away at the tribalism that can grow between groups as we work in vacuums and silos.

Resilience

The theme of this year’s gathering was resilience. A word that means something different to everyone—and can feel trite if only examined at a surface level. To , resilience is “an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.” For us in IT, it means something far more.

For Sarah, resilience isn’t just an ability but an act and an art—even, at times, a martial art: “Sometimes we think about resilience as meeting the challenge head-on in a direct, even adversarial way. Like we're going to battle this thing to the ground. But other times, it's about absorbing even accepting the challenge and finding another way around, like in many martial arts.” Sarah expounds on this idea of absorbing challenge and redirecting that energy by likening resilience to a cork in water. “If you push a cork down, the cork offers no resistance, but the minute that you let go, the cork pops up with the force that submerged it, plus extra energy.”

To Tim, resilience is less the cork in the water and more the ship on stormy waves. He describes being truly resilient not as merely putting things back together after the storm but as having a clear purpose that serves as our north star and recognizing that “the ways we achieve that purpose can change with time, and so resilience is improving everything we do to achieve our purpose. The sails could be up to the left. They could be up to the right, but we're still going in the direction we need to achieve our purpose.” Brad Strom defined resilience in much the same way, as “the ability to stay the course” and drew on a simple yet powerful lesson from his children’s VeggieTales days—to “keep on keeping on.” To Milena Jeremic, that keeping on means, “giving "100% even when the situation is hard or things aren’t going the way that you imagined”

Mention of VeggieTales had Erin Skopitz thinking back to her earlier career working on the production of the Magic School Bus: “On that show, the kids were constantly being put in situations that required them to use their combined knowledge to think fast and adapt to new and changing environments. I think this notion of adaptability, often through trial and error, really lands with me in terms of how I view resiliency. So to quote Ms. Frizzle, ‘Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!’” 

The paradox of resilience is that it’s an independent journey we each share. We are all in our individual ships (or floating school buses) on the same stormy sea; some of us are hit by different waves—caught by different crosswinds, but we each keep on keeping on. You may see your colleagues from a different crew drifting off to starboard, others off to port; the important thing is that we acknowledge that while our journeys may be different, our destination is the same. As the storm worsens, we need to lash together in new ways and find new strength in our connections.

Value

IT Day offered more than just opportunities for connection—it provided attendees with unique and meaningful takeaways. For Milena, who did so much behind-the-scenes work for the event, IT Day showed how valuable being creative is and gave her a chance to leverage some of the soft skills that don’t always get to shine in her everyday work. Erin appreciated the opportunity to gain insight into what others are doing—removing the blinders that our busy schedules naturally force over our eyes to see the bigger picture. For Brad, it was watching the IT Team showcase their knowledge and gifts of communication and seeing those hidden talents clawing out from under their operational workloads.

These are vital aspects of our daily lives that we often overlook in our busyness. IT Day offers us that moment to pause, reflect, and broaden our perspective. It’s up to each of us to carry that outlook forward in the weeks and months ahead—extending the spirit of IT Day from a single day to every single day.

Taking the Plunge

IT Day owes its success to all of you—brave presenters and gracious attendees alike. The most valuable things we can share are our time and our thoughts, and IT Day thrives because of your willingness to contribute both. Beyond the day’s highlights, IT Day also offers opportunities for professional growth—but it’s up to you to seize them. When asked how to grow as IT professionals at 91��ɫ, Brad encouraged everyone to take the leap and submit a presentation.

“Where there is risk, there is growth. Standing before your peers can be intimidating—they know your strengths and weaknesses better than anyone. But every time someone shares, it benefits the whole community. Your courage makes the event possible and inspires others, showing them they can do it too. There’s something powerful about watching someone face their vulnerabilities, creating a ripple effect of growth and connection. The community's gonna benefit, both from your knowledge and also from your example, but you're gonna grow too. And I think that's some of the best fruits you can get.”

Tim describes this risk-growth mindset through the concept of misogi, a Japanese ritual where participants endure a freezing cold waterfall to prove to themselves that they can do something hard. Similarly, stepping up to present at IT Day can feel daunting, but it’s an opportunity to embrace the challenge, grow from it, and pave the way for others to do the same.

When the IT Day 2025 call for proposals opens, take the plunge and submit your idea. And if you’re not quite ready yet, we look forward to seeing you in the audience!

In the spirit of connection, growth, and taking the plunge, Brad offered another valuable piece of advice to carry with us as we prepare for IT Day 2025: the importance of openly sharing your aspirations and goals.

"It’s always amazing when someone approaches me and says, ‘I have aspirations in this area—can you offer any advice on how to get there?’ I’m always happy to come alongside them, but it takes courage to start that conversation."

Brad encouraged speaking not just to your manager but also to others, your directors or colleagues across teams. "Make sure your aspirations are known. People are busy, and your goals can easily go unnoticed. By sharing them, you create awareness and position yourself for opportunities when they arise."

He also recommended coming prepared with ideas or solutions when discussing your aspirations. Bringing something other than a blank page shows initiative and makes the conversation more real and productive.

Finally, Brad stressed the value of seeking advice and building connections. "Talking to others—not just your leaders—can give you valuable insights and help further your growth. Don’t be afraid to start those conversations."