I don’t know the TCU fight song, and I’ve never attended Frog Camp. I was not an ad/PR major, and until a week ago, I had never heard of Ol’ Rip. I am a far-from-the-desert Wildcat from the University of Arizona in Tucson with a degree in communications and a minor in economics. When I tell people where I went to school, I get confused looks followed by, “How in the world did you end up in Fort Worth?”
The truth is, I’m a native Texan, but never envisioned myself returning after moving away in first grade. But I’ve learned that sometimes in life, the paths we think we are going to follow lead to dead ends, and new ones emerge from the ashes of old dreams.
I was born in Houston and lived in Katy, Texas, until I was 6 years old. Most of my family lived in Texas, too, and growing up with family around was something my parents had always planned on. But things rarely go according to plan, so off to Arizona I went with my mom, my dad, my baby brother and a hamster named Goldie. I grew up in Scottsdale, went to college in Tucson, and until September 2009, Arizona had always been home. After graduation, I had a “foolproof” master plan – to move away from the cacti-ridden state, become wildly successful and start a new life in Chicago. Doesn’t that sound fabulous? I thought so, too, and then this unfortunate thing called reality checked in.
My entry into the working world occurred at exactly the worst time. Launching a career during a time of nationwide economic hardship was difficult, to say the least. After five months of searching for a foothold in the Chicago advertising world – while slinging pita and hummus at a restaurant in Scottsdale – I decided to move to Milwaukee, Wis., where my boyfriend’s family lived. From there, I could search for jobs in Chicago, which was only a 90-minute train-ride away. So off to the cheese-curdling, beer-brewing state I went with nothing but three suitcases, hope and a prayer. Two months later, still jobless and with dwindling funds, I had a mini-mental breakdown, held a brief pity party for myself and decided that a new plan was in order. I made a phone call to my cousin in Texas on a Thursday evening in November, and 12 hours later, I was packed and on a one-way flight to Fort Worth. Although some called me crazy and seriously questioned my ability to make decisions, my gut was telling me to go, so I went.
I will admit that the first two weeks here were an emotional rollercoaster. I was plagued with the notion that I may have made a grave mistake, and with every day came a flood of different emotions. Nonetheless, I hit the pavement hard here, lunching and brunching, networking and passing out resumes. To my surprise – and only three weeks later – GCG Marketing’s account services director, Michelle Clark, called to offer me an internship in the account services department. I breathed a deep sigh of relief. It finally felt like I was in the right place at the right time.
Despite my outsider status and the compete lack of TCU paraphernalia in my possession, the employees of GCG Marketing in Fort Worth have made me feel right at home. The internship with GCG has been nothing but a wonderful learning opportunity. From the weekly brainstorming sessions to client conference calls to the in-depth research we conduct, every day is a new day and a new opportunity to gain insight and understanding about our clients and the world of marketing. I could not be more thrilled and proud to be a member of the GCG team and am looking forward to the exciting projects that are sure to come.
