When Kristen thinks of her years with SASE, one of her strongest memories is meeting the human resources team for the first time in 2017, at the SASE National Convention in Schaumburg. After having been a part of the team for about six months, they had up until then been working together virtually but had never met in person. 

One of her biggest takeaways is that even though members come together for professional purposes, there are lifelong friends to be made. 

“When you meet people at work who were also in SASE, there is a special bond you have with them because of your involvement,” she said. “As an introvert, sometimes it’s hard for me to start conversations, but I’ve found that everyone in SASE is happy to share their story about how they got to where they are today. They’re all willing to help if they can, so don’t be afraid to network with other people and learn about other people’s stories.”