Taking chances, inviting risk, and seeking reward are not easy tasks to take on. The thought of uncertainty can turn a dream into a nightmare riddled with doubt. The ability to embrace uncertainty is a critical skill for career building. Bri Kleiner, class of 2019, speaks to the importance of open-mindedness for folks who thrive in structure for more peaceful paths to achieving success.

Briana Kleiner, T’19 Environmental Science and Policy

As a planner and problem solver, uncertainty has never been my ally nor my enemy. Our relationship could be best described as “it’s complicated.” We frequently encounter one another and I, begrudgingly must admit, that I am thankful for this complex relationship. You may be wondering how I could ever be grateful to not know what happens next, or you may be right here with me in understanding its utility. Uncertainty may foster my anxiety and existential fears, but it also forces me to exercise my individual strengths to combat them. One of the biggest lessons that I learned post-graduation is that the hardest part of handling adversity in our lives will always be the uncertainty that comes with it. These periods of adversity may not always be readily embraced, but they all require a level of adaptability, optimism, and strategic awareness to overcome.

Maybe that is why I found myself drawn to the field of environmental law after exploring a few other positions post-graduation because I have a clear understanding of my personal strengths. The legal field requires planning, problem-solving, and strategy rooted in attention to detail, optimism, and pensiveness. In my current role, I constantly juggle several tasks and competing deadlines for several cases that are all subject to changing demands. There is a daily degree of uncertainty that I need to manage because it is my job to be thinking ahead, anticipating and preventing potential problems from a litigation support and administrative lens. By gradually becoming comfortable with the presence of uncertainty, I am challenging myself to creatively think of different problematic scenarios, learn adaptive strategies, and propose or enact solutions, which can save precious time in the case management process. Engaging my strength family of thinking has proven to be invaluable in my current profession, but it took sincere intentionality on my part to appreciate and utilize the uncertainty for what it was: an opportunity for exercise.