Today is my last day as a content strategist for the University of Washington’s central marketing department. Funny thing is, I never thought I’d leave just shy of two and a half years—I was aiming for something lengthy like a five-year tenure.

While my time at the UW was too short, it was a phenomenal experience. This was my dream job. One in which I learned and accomplished more than I could have imagined. Here’s just a few of my highlights:

• Developed training and governance practices from the ground up
• Shepherded 73-some university sites into my team’s WordPress multisite system
• Pitched the crap out of what makes good content and why it matters (and even saw some direct results)
• Turned a mess of brand resources and politics into uw.edu/brand
• Organized many a UW Web Council (a part-time job on its own!)
• Worked with so many amazing, passionate, and mind-blowingly intelligent people that inspired me every single day

I love content strategy. I love higher ed. I love this job.

And I adore my colleagues. They are one of those rare teams you’re damn lucky to ever meet—much less belong to—during your career. I developed a very strong bond with many of them and in leaving my job a part of me feels like I’m abandoning my family.

But everyone who knows me knows that I’m happiest when learning and improving, be it personally or professionally. Which leads to why I’m leaving a team and job that I love so much. Simply put, I reached the limit of professional growth in my role at the UW. And right when this became so very clear last month, I found my next dream job.

So it’s with both sadness and excitement that I dive onwards into my new role as a content strategist in city government.