Becoming Santa Claus

There are two quotes that Bonnie Rosensteel, director of professional services contract operations, lives by:

1. “Leave a place cleaner than you found it.” This is a quote Bonnie often heard from her father, who was a public educator for over 40 years.
2. “There are three phases in life: 1. You believe in Santa Claus, 2. You don’t believe in Santa Claus, 3. You become Santa Claus.” This quote is from George N. Parks, Bonnie’s undergrad professor at University of Massachusetts, Amherst. 

For Bonnie, as she reflects back on her life, “these mantras have helped guide me and fuel my purpose – be a change agent for good and one that creates a legacy where those that follow benefit and are uplifted by my efforts.

Bonnie’s path to realizing this purpose, as with most things, was not linear. Growing up in rural upstate New York, she spent a lot of time outdoors, working on her family’s vegetable garden and playing in the woods. She then studied psychology in college, before gaining a master’s degree in music and vocal performance from the University of Houston. Before making her way to tech operations, Bonnie had a variety of different career paths as professional musician, bus driver, and church music director, in addition to serving in the United States Army National Guard for 17 years.

Bonnie ended up in the corporate world “somewhat by accident (if you believe in such things as accidents — shout out to all debaters of chaos theory vs. determinism).” A church choir member referred Bonnie to a position in the HR department of the software company where she worked. Bonnie emphasized, “When I tell you I knew nothing about tech, I knew nothing about tech.” When her new manager asked her to scan documents and upload them to the company drive, Bonnie turned to her friend in a panic, asking what’s a scan and what’s a drive. “Thank the heavens for her kindness,” she remembers. “Instead of laughing at me (she very well could have), she willinging showed me the ropes, and as they say, the rest is history.” Her choir friend became her very own Santa.  

As she’s grown into different roles, Bonnie has always found mentors and like-minded people who have provided guidance, learnings and kindness that have helped her level-up. “Santa has certainly been good to me,” she jokes. 

Now Bonnie is entering her “become Santa Claus” stage, and she is looking to leave things better than she found them. In addition to becoming a mentor and coach herself, she has also co-created an emotional intelligence community at Splunk. The program builds safe spaces for shared growth, helping leaders and their teams to unlock their full potential. “It’s been a volunteer side hustle that has refueled my passion as a leader, teacher and performer. Getting to support my colleagues as they build themselves in this way fuels my passion and vision of the future. It’s truly exciting and empowering work.” 

Of course, this work doesn’t stop at Splunk’s doors. Bonnie is an active volunteer in her community, taking advantage of Cisco and Splunk’s volunteer time off program to further support those around her and do her part to make the world a better place. “I love that we’re given volunteer days above and beyond our PTO, are encouraged to support our communities and are incentivized to do so.” 

It’s the drive, care and passion of Splunkers like Bonnie who bring our culture of kindness and support to life. Bonnie reflects, “If it weren’t for my church friend all those years ago, and for the generosity of colleagues and mentors along the way, I would not be here today leading a contract negotiations team and building an industry-leading emotional intelligence program.” Now, Bonnie gets to be Santa in someone else’s journey. 

Looking for your own Santa Claus experience? You might just find your fit right here!