The Ultimate Crisis of My Career

March 21st, 2025

Fate, suffering, and a Divine Appointment have shaped the course of my career more than any title ever could. A year ago, I lay in a hospital bed, my leg shattered, my future uncertain. Today, I stand as the Engineering Manager over the Cyber AI Innovations Portfolio at Deloitte, leading the charge in AI-driven cybersecurity innovation. This is the story of how pain led me here.

Now this new role doesn’t come with a title change on paper, but what it does come with is something far more valuable—a team and a mission I truly believe in.

In May 2024, fate led me to a meeting with Dr. Jane Chung a moment I can only describe as a Divine Appointment. She recognized my work in Deloitte US Strategy’s Hybrid AI group and invited me to join the Cyber AI group. With the support of senior leaders like Kieran Norton and Alison Hu I was given full authority to build a team from the ground up—engineering, data science, AI development—all aligned with Deloitte’s vision for Service Delivery Transformation. My mission: turn Cyber AI’s most ambitious ideas into reality.

I truly only have God to thank that I am where I am in my professional career today. I was slated for a promotion to Senior Consultant last year, but I had to step away. At the end of 2023, I took medical leave to recover from a devastating skateboarding accident—both physically and mentally. A spiral fracture shattered my tibia, fibula, and ankle, requiring two intense surgeries and eight days in the hospital (if you would like to read my personal blog on the injury feel free to check out my writings here: Skate Spill).

As I lay recovering, the hardest part wasn’t the pain—it was knowing I was being pulled from one of the most meaningful projects of my career. At Deloitte, I had the privilege of leading the technical architecture for a personally deployed battle medic communication network system designed to save lives in active war zones. When soldiers in the Ukraine & Russian conflict used WhatsApp to communicate with each other, the enemy used advanced geolocation techniques with thermal satellite scans to triangulate their positions, unleashing drone strikes with deadly precision. To counter this, we built a personally deployable network atop an NSA-approved, end-to-end encrypted VOIP communication platform. And just as I was deep in that mission—I was forced to step away.

You can imagine when I was pulled from this meaningful & purposeful work b/c of my medical leave, I was absolutely crushed. But God always has a plan, and I am now happier than ever working for the Cyber AI group.

As I return to my work, I carry the lessons of 2024 with me. Pain is a great teacher. Setbacks are often blessings in disguise. As Zhuangzi reminds us, “The great man does not seek reputation—he simply walks his path. Titles and honors mean nothing. Gain and loss are illusions. In perfection, this is the path he follows.”