Thinking Out Loud

Well hello there all you fabulous people. If you’re just tuning in, you’re in the same boat as everyone else. This is my first blog post for those accounting wizards at Industry Standard Inc. Welcome to my tiny little spot in their world. I believe introductions are in order:

My name is Keryn Nicholson (pronounced like Corrine, not like Karen, but that’s another post). It gives me great pleasure to virtually chat with you about various topics that may or may not have anything to do with taxes, bookkeeping or accounting. Actually, I know nothing about those things so we probably won’t discuss taxes, bookkeeping or accounting. This is a space to passionately discuss topics such as: food, non-profits (that magical yet frustrating world that we love so much) and overall wellness in and out of the workplace. I’ll also dive into anything else relevant, intriguing, current or just plain awesome.

Here’s a bit of background on why you should even bother reading what I have to say (in a nut shell):
First and foremost, I am a habitual traveler and eater. My father was in the military so my “worldly” education started fairly early. It certainly gave me a set of…well…it made me level-headed. I studied food and nutritional sciences/dietetics and Fresno State, which ultimately started my healthy obsession with all things eatable. After my undergrad — a grueling program mixed with internships and volunteering out the a**— I decided I didn’t want to work in a hospital. I knew I wanted to travel, serve and educate others about healthy living, so I began searching for a way to incorporate all three.

I joined the Peace Corps directly after graduating and served in a tiny, mountainous village in Sagure, Ethiopia as an HIV/AIDS educator. For several reasons, I was unable to complete the 27-month stint, so I moved back to the US and began searching for jobs. I started working for a locally owned specialty running shop (running being a close second obsession of mine) and served as the wellness director for several years. Throughout that time I took small trips overseas and worked on a couple small international projects focusing on health and education for children. I then decided I craved a more international education and global perspective so I moved to London where I earned my MA in international non-governmental organizations (INGOs). That experience afforded me the opportunity to intern at two very different NGOs, where I learned how different the functionalities, governing structures and cultures of organizations can be. So after a year of study, travel, work and more work, I moved back to the states (you sensing a pattern here?) and am now working as a marketing manager for an exceptional locally owned company.

Some of you might be wondering why I titled this post “I’m not a vegan I just veg a lot”? As most of the gents at Industry Standard are NOT vegans (which by the way neither am I) they like to call me “the vegan” or “the hippie” as I do love me some healthy delicious treats. A good handful of these posts will most likely resemble the infamous how-to or provide useful quick tips on how to cook nutritionally dense and delicious meals — mainly for those of us that work our booties off but don’t have allotted time to cook for ourselves. Time management, I know, is an underlying commonality with most of us.