I truly can't believe it, but I'm finally graduating from college next Saturday! It seems like it took me forever to find my way into what I want to do with my life--writing. However, like a kind-of snowball effect, once I got the ball rolling, everything fell into place super-fast and I'm sitting here at my computer tonight with my head still spinning form the quickness of my last semester.
When I look back at my time at Western Kentucky University, I can break it into multiple chapters. Unlike most college students, I didn't take the traditional four-year route but, instead, took a two-year detour of traveling abroad and working full-time after an extremely stressful, unsuccessful freshman year of trying to balance school with being there for my step-dad as he battled lung cancer. When I finally did return to WKU, the thrill of my Mexican travels lingered in my mind and I spent a solid two semesters entertaining the idea of studying anthropology with an emphasis on "ethnomusicology". After my mom convincing me that I would starve to death, I fell into Marketing, which I absolutely hated! It took a close friend of mine talking to me about "playing to my strengths" that I realized that I needed a career in writing.
When I finally got into the journalism program, everything seemed to fall into place. It took two semesters for me to be accepted into the program after struggling to build back my GPA, but once I was there, I felt like I finally found what I wanted to do in life. At first, I was convinced that I wanted to focus on a major in news/editorial, but I found that my future career was better suited in the public relations industry. I'm ashamed to say that my confidence as a writer wasn't extremely high and I was constantly surprised when I excelled in all my classes. When an advisor convinced me to apply for a position at WKU's student-run advertising and public relations agency, Imagewest, I was doubtful that I would be considered for the position. You can imagine my surprise when I got a call back for the job the next week!
My internship at Imagewest taught me to be a better writer, a stronger communicator and how to prioritize my responsibilities in order to accomplish more. Looking back at my time at WKU, I can say that my internship experience truly tops off my college education.
