The ironic part of hiring Jamie to be an intern with Hello West Michigan is when she started with us, she had every intention of leaving West Michigan when she graduated from GVSU.

In previous blogs, Jamie has written a lot about having southern roots and how that has affected her life. She wanted that southern lifestyle and climate her parents had during their younger years and she had experienced on family vacations. Mostly she just wanted to experience something different than West Michigan.

Jamie grew up in a little town where everyone knows everyone, everyone eats in the same restaurants, and do the same thing every weekend. “It got old by the time I left for college,” she said. “And honestly, I thought it would be the same when I came to college—cold, nothing to do, and no opportunities.”

Everything changed when she went to the GVSU Career Fair in 2016.

Jamie was only a freshman when she attended the career fair. Before she attended, she visited home and grabbed the best blazer and business pants that Goodwill offered (“due to the rather depleted bank account of a college freshman”), and sat down with her dad to write a resume. Jamie only had two professional experiences: being a barista and a nanny. “I was fully prepared to walk in to the career fair and either screw up all of my conversations, or just accept that no one would be interested in someone with so little experience.”

However, Jamie was shocked that people did want to talk to her. “They were incredibly friendly and supportive,” she said. Jamie made a connection with a recruiter at Amway, which ended up being the beginning of an exciting career path for her; she became the Talent Acquisition Intern at Amway. As a member of Hello West Michigan, Amway introduced Jamie to our team during Intern Connect. After working together on a project, Jamie mentioned that she was in need of a fall internship, and we happened to have an opening for her.

As intern with Hello West Michigan, Jamie experienced the benefits of making quality connections in a city like Grand Rapids. She learned about all that West Michigan offers. Mainly, she discovered this region has much more to offer than what her hometown offered.

A lover of the downtown city vibe right outside her apartment, Jamie frequents shows at Van Andel and 20 Monroe Live. She looks forward to turning 21 to “fully take advantage of the nightlife GR offers.” She’s found out that there is a vast variety of things to do: dancing, new restaurants, museums, trails, beaches, and festivals for all kinds of occasions. The number of activities to choose from makes for an exciting community.

With so much opportunity both professionally and socially, Jamie is glad she made the connections she did early on in her career. Thanks to the connections, she was able to see all this region has to offer. “That really changed my mind about the idea of relocating after graduation,” she said. “With a head start on her career and professional network, plus a town full of adventure and friends, how could I just leave all of that behind?”.