#483 2Two 20 Janvier 2010

Michael Ortali

52 weeks ago, I proudly announced my 21st birthday without knowing what the year ahead would bring. It has been full of surprises. Truly.

In early 2009, my future was oriented towards 3 possible directions: another year at Les Gobelins school in the MPNI program (to become a Project Manager), an internship in Europe (England or Germany) or a traineeship in the US.

Thanks to Isabelle Dauvergne, Marie-France Zumofen, and Laure Poulain, I passed the entrance tests and was accepted into the MPNI for 2010. Thanks to Mathieu Thouvenin and Nicolas Brousse, I had all the information needed to do a traineeship in the US, and thanks to Larissa Meek, I had a contact inside AgencyNet.

At the same time, as part of my program at Les Gobelins, I joined the Mook-E project: an immersive installation in augmented reality where you move around within a space to discover a parallel universe. This project was a real challenge, technically, graphically and interpersonally, requiring intensive teamwork and the ability to persist in spite of conflict. I am deeply appreciative of the support of my collaborators, Claire Simoes Grangeia (Flash Developer) and Emilie Huot (Project Manager). Overcoming the difficulties had its rewards: our project was judged the best of the year and received an award at Europrix (Quality Seal) and best of all: I graduated first in my class.

I saw my family in early July and left the old continent on July 6th, 2009, headed towards Florida. Adam L., a co-worker at AgencyNet, was waiting for me at Miami International Airport. My internship started few days after my first steps on US soil. I had a blast participating in a video shoot, published some articles on the agency's website, experienced my first Halloween at their fantastic annual party. Time passed, the weather stayed the same, welcome to Florida!

By the end of October, I started feeling the need for more professional challenges. Was it time for a change?

By November, I was ready to go back to France when Yahoo! contacted me: they were interested in my profile. I took the opportunity to make a turn in my life. It was an exceptional chance. After several interviews, they asked me to perform a test. I did it very carefully. They flew me out to California and I designed a special presentation during the flight. I landed close to midnight, and thanks to Mary, I arrived safely in my hotel near the Yahoo! headquarters. Several hours later, I woke up and was ready to give everything I had in this full day of interviews. I did my best and, after an enjoyable weekend in San Francisco, flew back to Florida. The next Saturday, I received a big purple box that yelled "Yahoo!" when I opened it and contained a wonderful job offer letter, lots of information, and some fun gifts. Thanks to Minoo A., Maggie G. and April K., I obtained my H1-B visa. They were continuously available and very helpful. My application was sent 2 days before the annual H1 quota had been reached. That was frightening but everything worked out.

In conclusion, this year has definitely been crazy. It also showed me that luck does not exist in the professional world. It all depends on you: you have to seize the opportunity when you see one. Even if your chances are small: if something can go well, it will. During this year, I feel the power of relationships and how important they are. It’s not a question of physical presence, it’s more spiritual because when you know you’re not alone, you can take that feeling to build your strength and move forward.

The future is always in our hands, it’s time to make it yours!

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