Moving to Lansing

A new chapter is about to begin in my life. I find it a little embarrassing to admit, but it has been 3 years since graduation from MSU and I have my first ever employer. I guess I’ve just always done my own thing.

Within the last week I accepted a position as “the secret weapon” (yes, I’m serious, I’ll show you the job offer if you want proof) at a wonderful marketing agency in Lansing, M3: Motion Marketing & Media.

During the last month I determined that my new project in life was going to be to find a salary, and I didn’t have to wait long. I’m excited to fill my new position.

At M3 I will get to work on developing ideas for clients and helping out on the website end of things as well. Hopefully I can do my part to help Michigan companies grow and thrive. I told myself I wanted to stay in Michigan, do my part for a struggling economy.

While in Marquette I struggled to find the social life I had hoped for. And it will be hard to move Yooper Steez, but I’ll enjoy the challenge of running a U.P. based company from toll-land. In addition, it will be sad to leave Marquette. There are a lot of things I love here.

I also realize how fortunate I am to have a job offer in this economic climate. Hopefully that is a testament of my abilities. This is going to be a great opportunity and challenge for me. I’m confident M3 is going to provide an environment that will allow me to thrive. I start on May 18th.

Though I’m sad to leave Marquette, Lansing is going to open a lot of opportunities. It has been three years since graduating from Michigan State and nearly three years since I have lived there. It will be fun to visit my old stomping grounds as a young professional.

Top 10 Things I’m Looking Forward to in Lansing

1. Friends! – I’m very excited to see a number of friends that I very rarely get to see, if ever. The other advantage is that all of my friends who are MSU alums will also becoming back to town once in a while, so I’ll get to see them from time to time.

2. 24 hour coffee shops – Sometimes I like to stay up late working, sometimes really late. If I am in the mood to work late I like to have a venue where I can sip down some tastiness. Biggby’s here I come!

3. Work environment & team – I’m eager to have a team of people to work with. It will be awesome at M3 to have an office space other than my desk at home, people to communicate with daily, clients to work with, and a team environment.

4. Networking – Quite frankly, Lansing is just a better place to network than Marquette. More people, more business, more events, etc. I’ve always wanted to join some things like a young professionals association.

5. My old professors – There are a handful of professors I had during my time at MSU that played huge roles in the success of my Hometown Invasion Tour. It will be a great opportunity to get to know them more and I hope they will continue to give me advice on new projects I work on. With that in mind…

6. Potential of grad school – Now this is a big decision and I haven’t made any yet, but most people who know me understand that I have always flirted with the idea of grad school. With MSU in my back yard a masters program sounds like a intriguing idea.

7. MSU football & hockey – Season football tickets with Kevin and Eric already sound like an awesome idea and I would love to get season hockey tickets again. There will be lots of fun to be had.

8. Teaching people about the U.P. – From co-workers, clients, new friends and everyone else they’re going to have to put up with a Yooper super-ego. I will be happily teaching them how to properly pronounce pasty and sauna, how a 6″ snowstorm is nothing, and where Marquette actually is.

9. Tweetups – Yes, I’m very much looking forward to some big tweetups. Twitter has been such a successful tool for me. And I have always wanted to attend some of the tweetups in Detroit that I hear about so often.

10. My old favorites – I’m anxious to return to my favorite places: MSU Rose Gardens, Crunchy’s Bar, MSU campus in the fall, Charlie Kang’s Chinese & Korean, Menna’s Joint, and the list goes on and on.

11. BONUS! – Going on a mission to find the best chicken nachos in Lansing!