What was I getting myself into?
October 4, 2024 | Brent Walsh, Program and Engagement Manager
Dear Friends,
What the heck was I doing? Questions crowded my mind as I boxed up my belongings and wedged them tightly into the back of my SUV.
I was going from a seasoned professional in a 30-year trucking career to an anxious trainee at Beacon Hill Friends House, and bundles of uncertainty were stuffed under cardboard flaps and packing tape. Will people like me? Will the community be better with me in it? Will my skills live up to the promises I made in my application? Will I turn around halfway there and decide this was a crazy idea that would never work? It wasn’t just a new job, but a whole new way of life. I had never lived in a city the size of Boston, and I had never shared a home with this many people. What was I getting myself into?
A few weeks after I unpacked those boxes in my third-floor bedroom at the Friends House, I joined my colleagues at our fall staff retreat, tucked away in a picturesque corner of western Massachusetts. Some of my questions had found suitable answers by then, but others still lingered. The main one: Do I belong here?
After our conversations about business, strategy, and vision drew to a close, we settled into Quaker worship. Life-giving words of appreciation rose from our circle, answering the question I didn’t dare to speak. “We love you,” they said in various ways. “You are one of us.” And with that, my shoulders relaxed. The air settled. And I was home.
Friends, my name is Brent Walsh. I am the new Program and Engagement Manager at Beacon Hill Friends House. I am excited to be with you on this journey.
