It's crazy to say that I'm already a week graduated from DePaul. When they tell you freshman year that time flies by in college, it never really dawns on you while you're cramming for exams until you submit your last project of college on a random Monday evening. After I *virtually* graduated last week, I was able to rejoice and relax with close family and friends for about two days until my internship at Golin started. So, I thought I would give everyone a little beginning of summer update. 

I haven't officially introduced Golin, but for those of you who may not be familiar, they are a progressive PR agency in the heart of the Hancock tower. Their biggest client is McDonald's, although there are countless others such as Wal-mart (their newest and what I've been working on), Crayola, José Cuervo, and Allstate to name a few others. 

As an insight and analytics intern, and during this six month virtual internship, I will be cross functionally working with the strategic planning and analytics team to do trend reporting and social listening to inform the best insights and observations on all brands they are currently working on. I have been welcomed with open arms and I cannot wait to learn from the best in the industry! 

While my internship is going on, I have been able to make the most of my summer evenings: heading downtown to local beaches, celebrating with some Top Golf, reconnecting with school friends, eating good food (mostly pizza), going on late night drives, and taking spontaneous weekend getaway trips. Having a lot of places open, especially roof top bars and being able to go to Cub's games, has made this summer already feel like we are back to normal. It's made me realize just how good it has been and how grateful I should be with the people I have around me. 

This summer I actually have a couple of trips planned. The first being our annual summer camping trip up north in Petoskey, Michigan. Since I will be working, it won't be our usual ten day excursion, but we will still be able to celebrate my dad's birthday weekend up there and I'm so excited to get back to the lake—our happy place. With that, I will also be visiting my old college roommate up in Detroit, so I will be making all of the rounds up north this month! 

I've made it a goal to visit as many national parks in my lifetime, and I'm so excited to be able to head out west to the Yosemite later this summer with the fam (and because camping isn't enough outdoors for us!). My dad has really been the planner for this, as it was his dream to visit, so we'll make the most of it for a week and hopefully not get eaten by bears LOL. As far as that, those are my big summer plans and this new chapter has me feeling excited and ready to learn. I will definitely be soaking it all up (including that vitamin D) and making the most of these long summer days ahead. 

It all seems very surreal in the moment. Flash forward four years with a virtual commencement underway and finishing online classes on a random weekday, I can proudly say that DePaul has prepared me for what's to come. 

On June 12th, I will be graduating Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. in Public Relations and Advertising, with minors in Spanish and Environmental Studies. I always knew that I wanted to major in communications, and this blog was actually an inspiration for pursuing it. As well as, my love for immersing myself in a language and a life long passion for the outdoors, I knew I could make the most of my studies at DePaul and discover more about myself and what inspired me to engage and have a strong tenacity to learn as much as I could. 

I have always loved being creative, writing, and brainstorming new ways to bring stories to life. Little did I know that I would be able to lead not one but two on-campus organizations, Her Campus DePaul and DePaul PRSSA, study abroad in Europe, and get to help other writers during my time at DePaul as a peer writing tutor. I have many thanks to give to my family, friends, colleagues, professors, and those who have constantly supported me to pursue and challenge my creativity, but also my drive to lead and build community during my time in college. 

I've hit some roadblocks along the way, but it was nothing that I couldn't handle with a little help from my support systems that were crucial during these formative years. I know everybody is going to experience college differently, but I wouldn't change anything about my experiences at DePaul. 

I will keep this post short and sweet because I know I could write chapters and chapters about my time at DePaul and all of the great moments and memories that happened in between. As I cherish those on my own, I will say that DePaul and the community there holds a special place in my heart. 

As a new chapter begins for me as I become an Insight and Analytics Intern at Golin, a progressive public relations agency in the heart of the Hancock Tower, I will take with me everything that DePaul has taught me and more. I have admired Golin for their commitment to social purpose and environmental, social, and governance, which is where I hope to pursue transformative work that challenges the narrative and creates lasting change within our communities. 

In sum, whatever your journey may be—graduating college or just deciding if college is right for you—I think one thing will always remain a constant: