A Pastel Tote Full of Gratitude
(and More Than Just Snacks)

21 April 2025

Today, I got a thank-you gift. It was hard to find a Trader Joe’s canvas mini tote with a pastel green trim, stuffed with a Starbucks Settle Themed tumbler, a variety of Trader Joe’s goodies, and snacks from the Philippines. See Figure 1. I was so happy to have received it and I wanted to share with you the small story behind it.

Last week, on the Thursday before Easter, Kristine reached out to me asking if I would be able to host her daughter, Rachel Ann, for a factory tour of the rocket company I currently work for full-time. After joining a local professional Filipino-American engineering organization last year as a member of its board of directors, I became acquainted with its president, Kristine, well. Her daughter, Rachel Ann, recently took up mechanical engineering studies at university and was in town that week for spring break. Kristine thought Rachel Ann would benefit from observing the type of work I do, working on suborbital and orbital rocket engines and vehicles. I said "Yes" without question. I’ve done many tours for curious people in the past during my almost 10 year tenure for other family, friends, and professional peers, and I loved doing it (while meeting new people) but had never hosted a student solo before. I didn't think much of what my commitment would lead me to, but later discovered I gave more than a glimpse behind the curtain at a rocket factory where I work.

My most memorable moment with Rachel Ann was a sit-down recap session after the factory tour. As we followed up together, we discussed more about my personal experiences working, with some touch points, inclusive of the challenges of working with different personalities. Honest in my response, I mentioned the realities and struggles of my being different than typical engineers in the workroom, and that with such a wide range of personalities at a large +10,000 employee-sized company, encountering difficult ones at the office is inevitable. In times of incompatibility and/or disagreement with others, working was not always easy, and so was the case with other corporate worlds. The struggles of being different are real (sometimes taking them home again and again before healing from them with traveling as a medication). Yet despite all that, there was still a place for me here, and after 15 years in the game, I’m still doing it.  I bring a genuine value of what I know, of what I do, and of what I am capable of achieving (with a bunch of hard work, of course).

Rachel Ann, also asked me what makes working at my current job most rewarding (such a smart question from such a young budding engineer!). I also mentioned that after a while, the product wasn't the main reason for me anymore. Rather, it was more about the people I work alongside with through the problems we run into that make me keep come back. The community I am part of and surrounded by supports me and each other, making it all worthwhile. How lucky am I to understand how strong teams are capable of doing amazing things, solving tough problems together. An understanding so profound to me that it is the foundation of my small business, Kami M&P, that I started. 

After that, two hours came and went, so we snuck in a few selfies, per Figure 2 (where we could in an ITAR-regulated industry, of course), before I dropped her off at the guard shack to part ways. Kristine picked her up to go home while I went back to finish the workday. Shortly after, I got a text message from Kristine saying thank you, with some small chatting seen in Figure 3. What a great way to end the work week.

A Big Surprise

Easter weekend passed and Monday came, and I was surprised that Kristine wanted to meet me at the same guard shack where I dropped off Rachel Ann last week. Midday, I caught Kristine in between meetings on her phone in her parked car and greeted her (in a non-intrusive way so as not to disrupt her meeting, of course). She recognized it was me, and she stepped out of her car to give me that treasured Trader Joe’s tote that was all over Instagram, filled with gifts inside. She expressed how she wanted to say thank you for spending the time showing her daughter around, and conveyed how my time with Rachel Ann really gave her great perspective.

Kristine told me that before I met Rachel Ann, Rachel Ann was on the fence regarding her interest in pursuing engineering. But after showing Rachel Ann around the factory and spending some one-on-one time, Kristine conveyed to me that she saw some kind of shift in her daughter. A course correction, perhaps, with a heading clearer than before. Kristine told me how excited Rachel Ann was on the way home that day we met, with Rachel Ann sharing what she took away from her exciting trip.  Certainly, it was time well spent.

I never thought spending time with a stranger/acquaintance/interested mind could leave such a lasting impression, especially on me. I’m just me, after all. But in retrospect, did I recognize that many moons ago, I used to be the one in Rachel Ann’s shoes, looking for guidance, in search of wayfinders to lead me to places where I needed to go, and being surprised by some of the places I ended up where I never thought I could go? Now, I am the expert. Now, I have the experience. Now, I am the wayfinder for others so that I can lead them, like those before me, to where they want to go.

Before she left, Kristine mentioned that also learned about my small business, I presume from my time with Rachel Ann where Kami M&P was one subject of conversation. Kristine mentioned she knew someone in the engineering consulting space and asked me if I would be interested if she connected us.  I gladly responded with a confident "Yes," curious to see what other doors await for me to enter.  Earlier in the year, I was challenged to get my first contract, and took a risk by putting my small business idea out into the wild to reach and look for others.  What perfect timing for this invitation to be presented to me. Who would have thought that a few hours and a small gesture could lead me to these new trailheads that were waiting for me to explore?  I am so thankful.

Final Thoughts

For those who are reading, I hope you took a few things away from my experience.  But just to make sure, here are some main points that I took away that I give to you: 

1. Acts of giving can be lessons in disguise. It is recommended to engage and to see them through.

2. Gestures, even the small ones, can make an impact on others in ways you may not know. 

3. In giving and supporting others, be ready for when something happens in return. You may be surprised.

I’ll end this writing with the following:

“Thanks, Kristine, for the gift and for speaking with me. I wouldn’t have known how well the visit turned out, and I am glad to have been a part of it. Also, please thank your daughter, Rachel Ann, for me, too. She’s great. If she or anyone she knows needs anything from me, make sure to reach out.”

Thx, m