Earlier this year I ventured away from my desk to attend two different but equally fantastic events. In February it was economist Neal Fried’s presentation to the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Alaska, in which he talked about his economic forecast for 2022. For those who haven’t had the pleasure of hearing Fried speak, make sure you seize the next opportunity you have. He has a great sense of humor, a charismatic way of speaking, and a vast repository of knowledge about Alaska’s economy. His style of speaking was particularly well suited for the SMPS luncheon, which was a relatively small in-person affair with a streaming component. It allowed Fried to answer questions throughout the presentation, engaging with the audience while still covering the material he planned.

About two weeks later, I was back at the Dena’ina center, attending the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation’s Economic Forecast Luncheon. This year marked its return to an in-person event after the onset of the pandemic and featured keynote speaker Richard W. Smith, FedEx president of the Americas and EVP of Global Support. I was among hundreds learning about Anchorage’s potential year, engaging along with the people who will actually build that future.

It was refreshing to connect with a small group and sit as one in a crowd. Both forecasts were optimistic about the economy of Alaska in 2022, predicting job growth in almost all sectors. That optimism was reinforced at both events by the fact that we were all gathered there together: we weren’t just being told that there is light on the horizon—we felt it, surrounded physically by our peers.

At the SMPS luncheon I happened to run into Tamás Deák, a principal at KPB Architects, who is one of my favorite sources of all time. He’s the kind of source that is so open and enthusiastic about his field that conversations with him can morph a so-so angle into an excellent article. Our interview for “Sustainable Design,” which ran in March 2018, still influences how I think about engineering and architecture. “In my view, sustainability is about stewardship,” Deák said in the 2018 interview. “Basically you inherit what’s around you, you get it from your forebears, you take some responsibility to care for it, and then you pass it on.” Sustainability then, to him, is a part of every project, whether it’s billed as “sustainable” or not: “It’s innate… you always look at it.” I’ve reflected many times since then about how I can approach my own work with a similar mindset—searching out how a project can reach its best potential—whatever my specific goals may be.

It’s always wonderful in April to focus on jobs in Alaska, because it gives us an opportunity to focus on people, and it is our connections with each other that form us. In-person interviews, small luncheons, and large conventions all present opportunities to connect, and the pandemic has highlighted how critical those opportunities truly are.