2025 stretched me in many ways and pushed me far outside my comfort zone. It was messy, imperfect, and intense at times, but when looking back, the dominant feeling is gratitude for everyone who encouraged, challenged, and supported me.
AI and hackathon wins
Felt proud that this hackathon project won an internal award, and now exploring how to get it funded and move it toward production.
Created a full-stack game (UI, graphics, backend, APIs, monitoring, database, and interactive API docs) in just a few days something that would usually take weeks or months. It honestly felt a bit magical when everything worked together.
Received multiple “level-up” recognitions coins from my company for growing myself, my projects, and my team through innovative work.
Certifications and leveling up
Became AWS Certified AI Practitioner this year.
Grateful to my company’s Level Up program for sponsoring the training and exam, and for giving me the nudge to keep raising my own bar.
Continued to deepen skills in AI, full-stack engineering, cloud, and product thinking, with more focus on impact and less on just “cool tech.”
Work highlights and trust
Was trusted by leadership to design and implement the integration between my company’s identity system and the gaming identity platforms of Netflix Games and Amazon Luna, under a tight timeline.
This project was a big growth moment and a reminder of how much can happen when people believe in you.
Very grateful to my directors, VP, and tech leadership for backing me and giving me room to learn and execute on such a big integration.
Content, podcast, and community
Finally launched my long-time dream podcast “Tech and Wisdom” in May 2025, thanks to a push from my mentor and former CTO, who is now CEO at TLEX Mind Matters (https://tlexmindmatters.com/). I very grateful to Raghu for believing in the idea and supporting the first steps.Felt a lot of love from my network for my AI education content, which motivates me to keep sharing what I learn in a simple and honest way.
For 2026, committing to at least two meaningful, educational AI posts every month for this community.
Balancing ambition and health
In trying to juggle many things in 2025, my health definitely took a hit.
In 2026, planning to be much more intentional about physical and mental health, and to use AI as a quiet assistant 🙂
Wishing you and your loved ones a very happy and prosperous New Year 2026 — may you grow in your career, finances, relationships, physical health, and mental well-being. 🌟
#AI #AWS #Hackathon #FullStack #GameDev #CloudComputing #Podcast #CareerGrowth #MentalHealth #NewYear2026
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