As college students walk across the stage on graduation day, they cross the bridge between the world of academia and everything they know into the unfamiliar world of adulthood. For a lot of students, it can be daunting to figure out what their next step will be. A lot of people feel the pressure to take a job—any job – just to keep up with their bills and pay off their loans. Some further their education to become even more marketable, while others are able to land a position with the employer they’ve dreamed about working for since freshman year.
Those are the people I envy, not only for having a full-time job right out of college, but because they knew what they wanted to do and where they wanted to go. I wish I had that direction, because even after spending four years earning a degree in public relations and completing multiple internships, I’m still not sure what I want to do with my degree. Public relations is such a broad field and I haven’t even dipped my toe in the possibilities it offers.
So, after graduation I decided to take a path few others consider. I took on another internship. I chose an internship with Resch Strategies because I knew it would give me the opportunity to work with an agency, something I have never done before. I am extremely excited to work with a small team of professionals, and a variety of clients. Being close to the Capitol and learning more about public affairs is an added bonus.
I have only been part of the team for a couple weeks, but it already has been an amazing experience. My first day, I took a road trip with Sarah to Grand Rapids to help pull off a press conference for the Emily Stillman Foundation. It was the first press conference that I have ever been to, and it was great to see how excited the team was to work with and achieve success for their client. The next day I helped assemble targeted media lists for another client, and even though Joe kept apologizing for making me do such a ‘boring’ task, I didn’t mind because I knew it was important work.
Yesterday, I got to explore downtown Lansing running a variety of errands. When I got back, I was assigned a variety of small projects, including this blog, another first for me.
I’m still not sure what I want to do in the future, but I’m not as worried about it. I’ve already learned a lot here, and I know by the end of the summer I will have had a valuable and worthwhile experience. Maybe then I will know what I want to be when I grow up.
- Cirsten