When COVID-19 hit and enforced a work-from-home structure, for many companies it was like cutting off the head of a squid, with singular tentacles flailing and drifting further apart from each other in the great wide open. This disruption changed not only day-to-day working habits and routines, but company culture as well. As one of many that started a job during the pandemic, I was disoriented at first, wanting to acclimate myself but not fully able to. It often felt like I was in a game of musical chairs, never getting too comfortable in my seat before moving to the next Zoom room with more virtual strangers.
So, after a year and a half of minimal in-person interactions, the time finally came to begin planning our AJ Homecoming extravaganza. This event was my first real introduction to the atmosphere of AJ. Culture integration was the challenge as well as the opportunity that Homecoming posed, and I realized the last time I flexed the muscle of sociable banter among acquaintances was when Meghan and Harry were still in the royal family—and I knew I wasn’t alone. Below are my tips and takeaways from Homecoming as The Rookie.