This week the world and the tech industry lost a truly special person.
A colleague of mine and all around great guy, Brandon Nelson passed away Sunday, February 26th at a very young 29 years old. It goes without saying that this was unexpected and a shock to all that knew and loved him. For many of us, death puts things into perspective, it allows us to take a big reflective step back and consider whether or not we made the most of the time we had with that person. It allows us to think of what we are doing right now and if it is purposeful, meaningful and worth the effort. Brandon especially brings all that to the surface. As shown in the picture above he was always smiling, always there to help, very loving and accepting as well as a phenomenally great technical mind. He taught me so much SQL related I could never pay him back nor would he expect me to…. instead he’d be happy to know I am paying it forward.
There are more Brandons out there waiting to be discovered that may not have had the opportunities and background that he was fortunate of enough to have. I am inspired to seize the day and make the most out of the time we have and to reach as many as I possibly can. I want to see more men and women of Color smile this big and live as free as he did, unencumbered by the obstacles of life. I hope to find them and when I do I hope the tech community is ready to welcome them with the same free openness and gracious spirit as Brandon Nelson.
Rest in peace, Sweet Brandon
