Get Into Grinnell Blog

Hi everyone! I will be starting my fourth, and final, year at Iowa State University this fall. I am majoring in Communication Studies, minoring in Event Management and working towards a certificate in Leadership Studies. You may have seen me around the Grinnell area as I've had two previous Communications internships with Grinnell Regional Medical Center and Brownells; I've really discovered that I'm headed towards a career field that I absolutely LOVE! My hometown is Montezuma, just down the road from here. My close hometown and internship experiences have really allowed me to make some amazing connections in Grinnell.

Being at the Chamber has been a fun experience thus far. After recently adding Event Management as my minor, I've gotten the opportunity to truly explore all that I can do with it. Helping organize events like Friday Night Live, Grinnell Games and Fly Iowa have been the highlight of my summer internship. I'm also gaining experience in social media, marketing, website usage, design and many other skills that will be helpful in my career.

Here's a question I'm asked a lot - What do I want to do after I graduate from Iowa State? Well, I just hope that all of the contacts I've acquired from my internships and leadership experiences will help me in acquiring a job in the Communications field. I have truly found a passion in writing press releases, social media posts, blogs, etc., while still getting to branch out into the community and plan events. I'm very interested in non-profit organizations and how hard they work to serve the community. I am hopeful that I can use my communication skills to be a part of a nonprofit in my career someday.

It has been an awesome summer so far working with Rachael and Kendra; I learn something new from them almost every day. They work tirelessly to do so many things for this community, and I hope I can have as much of an impact as they do someday!

--Clara Johnson

p.s. Enjoy all the activities and live music taking place in Grinnell this weekend, beginning with today's Farmers Market and Music in the Park, Friday Night Live tomorrow, bull riding at the fairgrounds. There's something for multiple interests!