Hailing from Lansing and a graduate of Western Michigan University, Don worked all over Michigan before moving to Massachusetts and then to Upstate New York to work on the vendor side of the IT industry. Don‘s biggest motivation to move back to his home state was the birth of his first grandchild. As an IT [...]

Originally from France, Olivier spent the last 15 years living and working outside of London, England. But when his wife began thinking about relocating for her job with Amway, the couple began to consider leaving the bustling life of London for a more family-centered life in West Michigan. Both cities have their merits, but the [...]

As a West Michigan native, Lisa already finds the beaches of Grand Haven very familiar. Leaving her hometown of Spring Lake behind, Lisa went to college at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. After graduating with a degree in Communications and Marketing, Lisa got married and moved to the East side of the state where her [...]

Normally when you speak with college students about their hometowns, the last thing they say about it is that “it is magical.” Typically, the plans for a soon-to-be graduate consist of hopping in the car to the big city just named “Hottest Town for Singles,” or “Top 10 Cities to Find a Job,” sometimes [...]

Joel is originally from Pennsylvania, however attended Michigan State University. While at college he met his wife, whose family was originally from Michigan. After college the both of them moved back to Pennsylvania for two years before moving to South Carolina. Growing up in the suburbs of Philadelphia 30 minutes north in Washington’s Crossing, Joel [...]

Anne is a firm believer in deciding what she wants and making it happen. As native Michigander from the opposite side of the state, she considers herself fortunate to have made her dream a reality in Grand Rapids. Anne’s last semester of college was dedicated to finding a health care public relations job in [...]

Like many Michigan natives, Peter wanted to try something new after graduating high school. He picked Butler University in Indianapolis and left for the big city. Butler was full of opportunities for Peter where he worked throughout school and upon graduation, landed a job working for a trucking company. Peter found the experience enjoyable but knew [...]

Michigan’s Internship Movie and Mixer in June,” said Anthony. “I met several people, passed my resume along, and got a call a week later.” Anthony couldn’t be happier with his “first real job.” He enjoys getting new projects and having new responsibilities. A fun team helps too. “My team is warm and friendly. I’ve had [...]

“I don’t have any winter clothing” seems like a pretty good excuse not to move to West Michigan from your warm home in Austin, Texas. But that reason didn’t fly for Gigi, whose husband wanted to relocate to West Michigan for his custom home building business. “We moved back in January and I didn’t want [...]

I am a Michigander, born and raised. I studied at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) for both my undergraduate and master’s degrees. As part of my graduate program, I had the opportunity to participate in a great assistantship with GVSU’s Career Center. This was my first experience engaging corporations with universities. Upon completion of my [...]

Originally from Kalamazoo, I am very familiar with west side of state. I moved to Saginaw sixteen years ago for work. Recently, my wife, a WMU grad, accepted a role with Meijer in Grand Rapids so I was what Hello West Michigan calls a trailing significant other. Because Meijer is a member of Hello West [...]

I grew up in Allendale, Michigan. I attended Miami University from 2000-2004 and upon graduation; I joined the Marine Corps as a Second Lieutenant. While in the Marine Corps, I lived in Hawaii, did two combat tours in Iraq, attended graduate school in Monterey, California, moved to Virginia, and did another combat tour in Afghanistan. [...]

I grew up in Grand Rapids, MI, and after college, I moved to Chicago for five years where I worked at an ad agency. I think being away for five years and living in a really big city gives you a different perspective on where you grew up. I saw Grand Rapids and West Michigan [...]