Bankruptcy

So I found out today that the company I worked at straight out of undergrad has closed its doors. Bankruptcy. None of the remaining workers get to keep their jobs. Not even a Chapter 11 "reorganization" filing, but a Chapter 7 "we're done -- throw the towel in" filing.

Hearing this news, I can't decide whether I'm happy or I'm sad. This was, after all, my first job out of undergrad. The place where I was promoted twice and given a lot of responsibility for someone in their early twenties. It was the first place where I felt like I was making a real impact in people's lives. From traveling around the world to meeting high profile nephrologists and patients, I grew to think of it as home. I had the opportunity to work with some of the brightest biomedical engineers and the chance to make some lifelong friends. I even had the chance to meet Dean Kamen and to test drive a Segway.

But at the same time, this was the same place that laid me off. This was the same place that had vice presidents who could barely type emails. Sometimes, I'm surprised that we even had a product out there in the market, when we could barely handle the design issues we faced in-house. Part of me thinks that they had this coming the entire time.

But overall, I think that I am sad. I'm sad for all the patients out there who were using our product. From the numerous patients that I visited during my career, I knew that all of our long nights and weekends were not for naught. Peoples' lives improved with our product, and now we're taking it away from them. Fortunately, we have some very successful competitors out there who will just pick up where we left off.

I didn't think that I would be filled with so much emotion upon hearing this news, but I guess that the company will always be part of my history. It forever holds both a place in my heart and on my resume.