On July 10th, I received my 10th MVP Award! 🤩 I became a Microsoft Data Platform MVP 2024-2025 in the Data Integration and Microsoft Fabric technology areas 🤓

(My puppy, Pixel, couldn’t care less. But she’s really cute! So I decided to pose with her instead of a piece of MVP swag 😁)

10 years. Ten. Years. Holy moly. I still remember the thrill and panic of receiving my first MVP Award. Back then, I felt like I didn’t really deserve an award. I saw myself as a shy nobody, definitely not a most valuable professional! But I was also proud and extremely grateful to be recognized for what I had done for my local community.

I’m no longer shy and I no longer think I’m a nobody, but I’m still extremely grateful for the recognition. I don’t take it for granted, even after 10 years. Or perhaps I should say especially not after 10 years, because a Microsoft MVP award doesn’t come for free. It takes time, energy, sometimes money, and occasionally some literal sweat and tears. (Hopefully not a lot of blood, though!)

In return, the stamp of approval from Microsoft has opened doors and opportunities I could only have dreamed of. I’ve forged a career I love, found some of my best friends, helped countless people in their daily jobs, and inspired others. Most importantly, I’ve grown so much as a person through this journey.

What’s next?

Over the past 10 years, tech and community has been my life. I’ve called myself a full-time geek, working with Microsoft tech during the day and having fun speaking, blogging, volunteering, and organizing community events focused on Microsoft tech in my free time. It’s been fun trying to explain to those outside of our community bubble that yes, I’m doing this techy thing, but no, it’s not work, but it’s technically what I work with, but it’s also my hobby, and… you get the point 😂

I’ve loved it. It’s been a helluva ride.

But you see that cute little teddy bear in the picture? Pixel? She is the most important thing in my life now. I’ve been dreaming of and longing for a pet for 15 years. It was just never the right time… until this year. Pixel has made my life so. much. better. I love her with all my heart 🥰

I’m not stepping away from the community, but maybe like… a step to the side? There are still events I won’t miss, knowledge I want to share, and people around the world I might be able to help in some way. But tech and community won’t be my entire life going forward. And I think that’s a good thing. It feels right.

See you soon, somewhere 💙

On July 6th, I received my 9th MVP Award and became a Microsoft Data Platform MVP 2023-2024, yaaaaay! 🤓🥳

In previous years, being awarded as a Microsoft MVP was my biggest achievement of the entire year. This year, however, it’s my second biggest achievement. What could possibly beat that, you may ask? Oh, you know, just fighting and surviving another major depressive episode.

Earlier this year, all I could do was survive. Now? Now I’ve kicked my depression in its big ol’ rear-end as far away from me as possible. My creativity is returning and ideas are popping up every day. Life is finally worth living again. Receiving this MVP Award was just the (most delicious) icing on the cake 😊💙

I feel ready to get back into speaking again, and I already have a few events planned this year, yay! At work, I’m involved in several Microsoft Fabric projects and I finally get to play around with Power BI, yay! In my local community, the kickass ladies Marthe, Emilie, and Ioana are all inspiring me to get more involved again, yay! I’m finally excited about the things I love and it feels amazing 🥳

Oh, and look at this shiny badge I got:

I’m ready for another year as a Data Platform MVP. Thank you so much to all of you for all your support, and to Microsoft for seeing my value when I didn’t. Let’s gooo! 🤓

Nope, I did not get a new job 😄 But! My company has officially merged with four other awesome companies into one super awesome company, and I got a promotion! I’m happy to announce that I’m now a Solutions Architect in Evidi, yay 🥳

New Employer: Evidi

We used to be Skill, AITC, Communicate, eSeven, and Pilaro. Today, we are finally Evidi, one of Norway’s largest independent consulting companies with over 300 people specialized on Microsoft technologies. Our name comes from evidence and reflects the importance of data-driven decisions.

…seriously, it couldn’t have been more perfect for me. I’m already proud to say I work in Evidi, and I can’t wait to roll up my sleeves and do my part to help make Evidi the go-to partner for all things Microsoft in Norway 🤓

I’ll keep it short here, but if you want to learn more, check out these Norwegian articles:

• Slo sammen fem og sikter mot milliarden
• Nytt IT-konsern legger lista høyt: – Skal omsette for en milliard kroner
• Bytter navn: har slått sammen fem selskap og sikter mot milliardomsetning

And of course, our fancy new website: evidi.com 😁

New Role: Solutions Architect

If the new company announcement wasn’t enough… I ALSO GOT A PROMOTION! 🥳

Ok, so, this wasn’t a surprise. I started working as a Senior Consultant with a goal of getting promoted to a Solutions Architect within a year. And I did it! It was important to me to have a goal to work towards, to get the opportunity to prove my worth, and to show that I do in fact have the skills and experience necessary to call myself a Solutions Architect.

I did it, I’m proud of myself, and I look forward to new goals and challenges, yay 😊

July 1st is an important day for all Microsoft MVPs: It’s the day we find out whether or not we have been re-awarded. This year, however, we had to wait until July 5th because of technical maintenance. Gulp! 😨 That meant a few more days of nervous hoping, waiting, and nail-biting…

When we finally got to July 5th, my Twitter timeline and LinkedIn feed exploded with happy announcements, yay! I’m so happy and thankful to receive my 8th MVP Award this year and become a Microsoft Data Platform MVP 2022-2023! 🤓🥳

This award means even more to me because I’ve had a rough couple of years. Many of us have been struggling, and I think most of us have had our lives changed in some way during the pandemic. For many, the pandemic meant new opportunities. Those who were previously unable to travel to events could suddenly participate in all kinds of virtual events, which was amazing! Others turned around and used the opportunity to start blogging or creating video content or podcasts. I have seen so many existing and new MVPs emerge and shine these past couple of years, which makes me so so so happy 🤩

At the same time, I felt completely lost. I was not able to turn around and try new things. I tried, I failed, I let people down, and I had to prioritize handling several personal issues over contributing to the community. In many ways, I let myself down. At the same time, I know I did the right thing taking care of myself first, and I know I did as much as I was able to. I had accepted that if that wasn’t enough to be re-awarded, it would be ok. But it was enough, and I’m so grateful to be recognized by Microsoft again 🥰

Receiving another MVP Award gave me such a boost of inspiration and motivation to continue being involved in this amazing community. Receiving some cool swag made it all even better. (I can now properly cosplay as a hacker, woohoo! 👩🏼‍💻) I will totally be smiling proudly whenever I wear this hoodie 🤓

Today is a very special day. It’s Monday, it’s a new week, and it’s a new month - all sorts of new beginnings. The most important new beginning, however, is that today is my first day as a Senior Consultant in the Data Management and Analytics team in Skill! Yay 🥳

Skill is a Norwegian IT consulting company with over 100 consultants working from two locations. They have teams focused on everything from cloud infrastructure to cloud productivity, from security to business applications, and from collaboration to analytics.

What do they all have in common? They all deliver solutions built on Microsoft technologies! Just like me 🤓

(And just like me, there are many people in Skill who love giving back and helping their communities! I’m honored that I can now call fellow Microsoft MVPs Jan Vidar Elven, Magnus Goksöyr, and Ulrikke Akerbæk my coworkers 🤩)

I’ve joined the Data Management and Analytics team, and will continue to focus on Azure Data and the Microsoft Data Platform. I get to dive deeper into fun things like Azure Synapse Analytics and Azure Data Factory, and I’m hoping to learn even more about Power BI and the rest of the Power Platform. Maybe I’ll even pick up a thing or two about infrastructure, networking, and security?

I’m very much looking forward to this new chapter. Great people, a supportive workplace, and exciting technologies…? I’M SO EXCITED! 😊