Reggie Smith (MBA ’20) tells us what to expect this month.
Transitions are sometimes difficult. As we move through life, we are constantly ending one chapter and starting another. While we eagerly anticipate what lies ahead, we sometimes mourn the loss of what we had. Class of 2020, we are flipping the page and entering a new season. We will take the incredible memories, relationships, and learnings we have had together forward, but our HBS season is ending and will not return. While we will face challenges in our new season, trouble will not hang around forever. Just as our February shivers on a frozen campus always give way to sunshine and warmth in May, so too will our challenges be replaced with new opportunities.
The weather reminds us that seasons change. It is cold half the year, but it is warm the other half. It is chilly one month but warmer the next. It is sunny and bright today but rainy and dark tomorrow. The weather is constantly oscillating between better and worse, between what we enjoy and what we do not. It changes by the minute, day, month, and year. Our lives are not too dissimilar. We have seasons of accomplishment and triumph and seasons of pain and loss. Our lives change in a moment (like when we got accepted into HBS) or over a period, for example, when we deal with a prolonged family health crisis.
For weather, we have tools and protective gear to help us deal with these changing seasons: umbrellas, rain coats, hats, and snow boots. For life, what will be the source(s) of protection and comfort that sustain you through the different seasons of your own life ahead?
As you read this, the weather is flipping to a new season right before your eyes. The leaves are coming back and the flowers are blooming. April was a yucky month. It was cold and dreary with lots of rain. In fact, temperatures averaged about 3 degrees below normal with more rain than usual. The real issue is that it rained half the time. Seriously, we had measurable rain on 14 of 30 days in the month. So what will May bring?
May will start much the way April ended. Temperatures will be cooler than normal and we will have to deal with rounds of rain. The highlands in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine will probably still see another round of snow. It just will not end. However, by the second half of the month, summer will start to crack through. Temperatures will start to climb regularly into the 60s, with even 70s and 80s making an appearance or two.
I have had the time of my life these past two years and being able to share my love of the weather with you has been one of the highlights. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for giving me this opportunity to share this passion with you. No matter what season of life you may find yourself in, I am always happy to give you a custom forecast. I will leave you with a saying from one of my favorite meteorologists:
“Enjoy the weather, it’s the only weather you got!” — Joe Bastardi.
Accu-Reggie, signing off for the last time. Congratulations, Class of 2020, we made it!
Reggie Smith (MBA ’20) grew up in Philadelphia and has studied the weather for over 17 years. He was the Meteorologist for the Spirit News serving over 100,000 people in the city. Prior to HBS he worked at Johnson Controls (JCI), where he developed large energy conservation and solar projects. Most recently, he led the development engineering for an energy storage start-up business within JCI. He spent the summer of 2019 at Marathon Capital and Eventide Asset Management doing investment banking in clean energy and investing in clean energy-related companies, respectively. Reggie graduated summa cum laude with a B.S./M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Drexel University.
