When I boarded a plane to Samoa 24 years ago, I wasn’t looking for a career - I was looking for meaning.

I had a degree in engineering, job offers lined up, and yet something in me said: Not yet.

I didn’t know then that this choice, joining the Peace Corps, landing on an island halfway around the world, would shape not just my career, but the way I move through life.

Samoa taught me things no classroom could: how to slow down, how to listen, how to live in community. I learned the language, made a home, found the love of my life, and in those years, I realized something simple but profound: fulfillment doesn’t come from chasing titles; it comes from showing up, fully, where you are.

The Pacific, however, wasn’t done with me.

My path eventually led me to UNDP in 2008, and I spent much of my career based in Fiji, working across climate negotiations, governance reforms, and inclusive development efforts throughout the region. I met extraordinary people: from ministers and community leaders to farmers, fishers, and youth activists, all fiercely committed to protecting their islands and their futures. The work was complex, the relationships even more so, but underneath it all was a shared belief in possibility.

In 2021, when I was asked to open UNDP’s newest Pacific office in the Federated States of Micronesia, it was in the middle of a pandemic. Launching an office at that time was, frankly, chaotic. Borders were closed, supply chains were tangled, everyone was learning to work on Zoom, and nothing went quite to plan. But that’s the thing about the Pacific: even when things fall apart, somehow, they also fall into place.

We built the office, piece by piece, alongside an incredible team and committed government partners. We set up projects in climate resilience, inclusive governance, water security, and more importantly, we created a foundation that will continue to grow long after I’m gone.

Looking back, what stands out aren’t the project reports or the meetings, but the moments in between: mid-afternoon laughs with colleagues, learning from local wisdom, fumbling my way through languages (with varying success), and witnessing first-hand the resilience and generosity that define the Pacific spirit.

People often lose patience when things are running late, when plans change, when progress meanders, for me it was an opportunity to learn how to get things done in a different way. A reminder that relationships matter, that time flows differently, that solutions must be rooted in culture, in people, in place.

As I prepare to take up my next post in Sierra Leone, I carry the Pacific with me, not as a chapter closed, but as a compass set. This region has taught me about patience, humility, and being adaptable. It’s taught me that leadership isn’t about control, but about trust; that service isn’t about fixing but about walking alongside.

I’m grateful for every colleague, every partner, every friend who’s been part of this journey. You’ve challenged me, grounded me, and yes, at times kept me on my toes — but you’ve made me better.

And though the Atlantic awaits, I know this much: I am a Pacific Islander and will be an Ambassador for the Pacific wherever I go and I find comfort in knowing that we are all still connected by our big, beautiful ocean.