Some journeys don’t follow a straight line. Mine runs along two paths at once. One through customer renewals and contracts at Guidewire, and the other across the ice, towards the world’s biggest stage in curling.
As a Renewal Operations Analyst, I manage the day-to-day renewals for existing customers, drafting contract amendments, managing churn, and working closely with CSMs on customer requests. Since joining Guidewire in July 2024, I’ve worked on large projects, such as entering customers into a new five-year deal. I find a lot of satisfaction in getting to that finish line where the customer signs.
But long before I was drafting contracts, I was learning how to slide a stone across the ice.
How Curling Found Me
My grandmother was a competitive curler from Saskatchewan who curled in the 60s. She was a pioneer of the sport, becoming one of the first competitive women’s curling “skips” of her time. As I was growing up in Seattle, she suggested to my mom that I try curling at the Granite Curling Club in North Seattle.
I attended a “learn-to-curl” session and got lucky with a very good instructor who made me feel like I had talent. I loved it from the beginning, and soon after, joined a junior league where I met some amazing mentors who began coaching me. I’d always been a competitive kid, but growing up in a mostly musical family, I didn’t have much of a competitive outlet until I was introduced to curling. Once I found out that I was fairly good at it from the start, I was hooked.
The Road to the 2026 Winter Competition in Italy
In 2016, I took part in a youth event in Lillehammer, Norway. Qualifying for that event was when I started to realize I had a real shot at the biggest stage someday. I had put a ton of work and effort into getting there, so I figured that if I kept working hard, maybe I would be rewarded again with something even bigger.
Beating Team Shuster in the US Trials was when it felt the most real. Shuster had represented the US at that level five times in a row, so beating him felt like such a monumental accomplishment, even though we hadn’t even qualified yet. When we beat China at the final qualification event and secured our spot, it felt like a wave of relief. The win at trials finally meant we were actually going to Italy.
Of course, no journey like this happens alone.Teamwork on the Ice and at Guidewire
Teamwork in curling is absolutely the most important thing in our sport. You can be an amazing thrower, sweeper, and curler in general, but if you can’t get along with your teammates, it means nothing. Our team has worked hard to be the best teammates we can be, and it’s shown in our success on the ice.
I’ve found that, just like in curling, if you’re not respectful and kind to your coworkers, you will not succeed. I’ve been so lucky to have the best teammates and coworkers in both curling and Guidewire, and that’s what’s made the past year-and-a-half so rewarding.
As February gets closer, my focus is starting to shift forward.
Eyes on Italy
I’m really excited to meet new people and make some lifelong friends. I also can’t wait to compete against the best teams in the world and hopefully bring back some hardware.
I hope my journey emphasizes the importance of having a work-life balance to my friends at Guidewire. I believe I’ve been able to be successful at work because of my passions in life and how they’ve helped me see things from a new perspective. A famous curler once said, “A well-rounded person makes a great curler,” and I believe that’s true in both sports and work.
I’m excited to share more of this journey as it unfolds and hope you’ll follow along as I head toward Italy.