Sweet Home Chicago

I kind of hate the question, "Where are you from?" because I don't really know how to answer it. For the last four years I've lived in South Dakota, but I'm not a South Dakotan. I was born on the Grand Forks Air Force Base, but I never lived in North Dakota. I spent most of my childhood in Marshall, Minn., but my parents no longer live there and I don't really have any ties to the community anymore. My parents now live in Rochester, Minn., but I never lived there, so that's not my "home" either. It wasn't until my mom called Chicago my home that I realized that city is probably the closest thing I have to a "home." I visit the city regularly, lots of my family live in the area and I lived in the area for four years while studying at Northwestern University. That's why I'm so excited to "return home" in April.

When I made my Coffee Cup list, I quickly added two related items: move to a city and find a new job. This is not because I dislike my current position or because I don't like living in Brookings. I just need a change and I really miss the energy of city life. So when I received a Facebook message titled "Looking for a Public Relations Intern ASAP!" through the Gamma Phi Beta Young Alumnae - Chicago group, I quickly responded to Laura, the poster.

The next day I interviewed with Laura and Laurent, two days later I visited Hill and Knowlton's Chicago office to take the writing test and just six days after I saw the initial post, Kimberly in HR offered me the position of Public Relations Intern with the Public Affairs team. What a whirlwind!

I don't really know what I'll be doing as the intern or if I'll have a fulltime job after the internship ends on June 12th, but it doesn't matter. I do know that I'll be paid, I will work in my favorite city and spend some quality time with family. It's scary and exciting all at the same time. Lucky for me, everything is moving so quickly I don't really have time to be afraid, I just have to act and move.