“My brother-in-law is involved in implementing all the technology at the new NFL stadium that’s being built. He’s looking for a Project Manager. I can connect both of you if you are interested”. In 2015, when I heard this from my previous manager, I didn’t think twice. I needed a job to stay in the USA with my visa status. Even though I had lived in Minnesota for two and a half years, I had never stepped inside an NFL stadium. American football was completely new to me.
I went to meet JF, who was responsible for the technology implementation. We talked for about 45 minutes about my background, project management experience, family, and more. I had already spoken with 15–20 people for different jobs. JF was ready to move forward, and I was excited to start as a Contract Technology Project Manager for the newest NFL Stadium.
For the first time, I wore a hard hat, work boots, high-visibility vest, gloves, and safety glasses on the construction site. I was learning how technology brings a stadium to life. Some days I would stand there thinking how different this was from the desk jobs I had done for over a decade. But I was grateful just to have a job.
I worked with JF — building project trackers to track over 10 scopes, reviewing BOMs, mapping dependencies, identifying risk items, building reports and project plans. After work, I would go home and keep learning about stadium infrastructure and how everything worked.
I leaned on my project management strengths to prove my value, while also pushing myself to learn everything new. I asked lots of questions and worked hard to catch up. I didn’t want JF or my previous manager to regret trusting me.
After a year of hard work, inauguration day was an experience I will never forget. Standing there with me, JF said, “Unlike short term projects, in construction, the real moment is when you see 60,000 people enjoying the game. That’s when you know the last 12-24 months was all worth it.”
All I had wanted was a job. What I got was a lifetime experience.
Once the contract ended, I was back in the job market. I was interviewing with my previous employer. When I updated JF, he spoke to the CEO, TM, who called me into his office.
“Yagya,” TM said, “after working on a sports technology project, you cannot go back to a regular desk job. That won’t keep you motivated. Go meet JW at AD. He’ll have something that will bring out the best in you.”
I met JW in November 2016. He put me on a new soccer stadium project opening in March 2019. I spent the next two-plus years applying everything I had learned from JF. It was a big responsibility, but JW trusted me completely and handed the project to me. We started meeting once a month, then more frequently as opening day approached.
The day before the grand opening, we did a final walkthrough. At the end, JW said I had exceeded his expectations and that we were building something big and unique.
From that day forward, over the next eight years, we grew that department. We built technology for four new venues, renovated four others, and expanded our support to more than 25 venues.
Looking back at the last 11 years, it’s amazing how much life has given me. All I originally wanted was a job so I could stay in the USA. But I received so much more — hundreds of exceptional colleagues, clients who trusted us with multi-million-dollar technology decisions, the experience of building complex sports venues, conversations with team owners and C-level executives, and mentorship from some of the best in the business. I never imagined any of this when I made that call in 2015.
I simply kept playing my part — showing up, working hard, and saying yes to new opportunities even when it meant starting from scratch. And life kept responding with abundance.
As I write this, I’m reminded of a story from Mahatria. A mother and her young son go to a grocery store. Before entering, she tells him, “If the shopkeeper asks you to take chocolate, don’t take it.” The boy agrees. Inside, the shopkeeper asks the boy to take chocolate. The boy says no. He offers again — still no. Finally, the shopkeeper puts the chocolate in the boy’s hand, and the boy happily accepts it.
The mother asks why he took it after refusing so many times. The boy replies, “Before we went in, I decided — if he asks me to take it, I will not take because only a little will come. But when he gives it himself, there will be a lot.”
That’s exactly how life has worked with me. Existence keeps blessing me with abundance. All I have to do is be ready and do my part.
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