When I graduated from high school at 17, my grandmother gave me a backpack. She and I were not close, but she must have known I was ready to hit the road. Reflecting on the period of my life that followed, the gift couldn’t have been more fitting.

The winding path I would take from that point forward, which has ultimately brought me to my role as President and CEO of Kitestring, an Evergreen technology services company, has been guided by the same desire for independence, adventure, and challenge that sent me packing at 17.