STAYING IN MARQUETTE FOR COLLEGE CHANGED MY LIFE
Hey, I'm Lauren! I’m originally from Marquette and decided to stay in my hometown to attend college. This is my story on how I got out of my comfort zone, got involved with the NMU community (not just with my high school friends), and ended up having a college experience I will never forget. Spoiler! Take all the opportunities given to you and make all of the connections that you can.
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Hey, I'm Lauren! I’m originally from Marquette and decided to stay in my hometown to attend college. This is my story on how I got out of my comfort zone, got involved with the NMU community (not just with my high school friends), and ended up having a college experience I will never forget. Spoiler! Take all the opportunities given to you and make all of the connections that you can.
Growing up in Marquette, I knew it was really likely that I would go to Northern for college. From a cost of attendance and academic program offering perspective, it really just made sense for me. What made me most nervous about this was the idea of not expanding my social group or getting out of my comfort zone; so I got involved. Putting myself out there was scary, especially when I could so easily fall back on my high school friends, but making a point to do it made my college experience much more than going to classes and getting good grades. It made it fun, social, valuable, and unique to my interests.
In my freshman year, I put out feelers. I decided to major in public relations and minor in art and design after going into college undecided. My advisor, Dr. Tom Isaacson, suggested I join the NMU chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), and with that began my four-year involvement within the club. As a freshman in this organization, I was able to meet upperclassmen who had the same interests as me and could give me advice about the major I was about to enter into. I went through the Superior Edge orientation and started logging my volunteer hours for that program. My parents also encouraged me to live on campus as a way to more easily meet new people and have more of an authentic college experience. Besides these things, my freshman year was pretty mild with involvement - I was feeling my way through college and figuring out how to live on my own for the first time.
The summer after my freshman year, I studied abroad in Dublin, Ireland. I was there for eight weeks and I took one course and was an intern at a public relations firm called Cullen Communications.
I got some wonderful educational and life experiences through this and will carry those memories with me forever.
In my sophomore year, I became a part of the Student Leader Fellowship Program (SLFP) as a member of the Sun Block. This two-year program ran throughout my sophomore and junior years and introduced me to a fantastic group of motivated people. As a part of my first year, I was enrolled in a leadership class and went on a fall retreat to Bay Cliff with my Block and the Block above us. I also became the secretary of PRSSA.
For a job, I was a resident advisor in Odyssey House of Magers Hall. As a resident advisor, I went through a two-week training program and spent the year trying to give students the best experience possible. My house had a lot of ROTC students in it, so I was able to learn more about that program while making connections with my residents. As a part of this, I became secretary of a housing student organization called Primetime Productions where we would help organize and put on events like bringing comedians to campus or hosting a talent show.
As an RA, I was also able to work up to six hours a week at another job, so I started my first job that gave me direct experience towards my major as a Sports Information Intern in the Sports Information office on campus. This job gave me experience in technical writing, social media engagement, and was overall a lot of fun.
My junior year was when I really started to feel comfortable in my college involvement. I had found some really wonderful new friends through the different organizations I was a part of, I was deep into my major and our cohort was really small so we got to know each other well. For my second year of SLFP, I was doing a Community Service Internship with the Study Abroad office, trying to help other students get the unique experience of studying abroad that I was able to have. I got a job as a Student Marketing Assistant in the Marketing and Communications department; this has given me professional experiences working on a large platform which could be hard to find in a small town like Marquette. Finally, I was the Vice President of the Treasury for PRSSA. This put me in charge of collecting member dues and working with the Dean of the College of Business to secure funding for our annual international conference.
Finally, my senior year was really an extension of my junior year in terms of involvement. I continued my job at Marketing and Communications, moving from the “newbie” to more of a mentor for our newer employees. I became Vice President of PRSSA, working closely with the president and one of my best friends. I helped out at the annual SLFP fall retreat as an SLFP alumna. For all of my involvement, I was awarded Outstanding Student of Any Class by the Board of Trustees, which I consider a great honor and a reflection of the work I put in to stay involved.
I really focused my last semester on spending as much time as possible with my friends who were also graduating in May. The bittersweet part about getting involved and meeting so many wonderful people is that I’ll now have these friends and connections for life, but we won’t always be in the same city or just one call away. On the bright side, I’ll always have a place to stay in many different parts of the U.S.!
My takeaway: Being from Marquette and attending college in your hometown doesn’t mean you’re settling for less. In fact, as I found out, it means there is an opportunity for so much more. The first step is the hardest. Put yourself out there. Step out of your comfort zone. Get involved. Meet people. The few moments of being uncomfortable are worth it for the endless memories, connections, and experiences.
Growing up in Marquette, I knew it was really likely that I would go to Northern for college. From a cost of attendance and academic program offering perspective, it really just made sense for me. What made me most nervous about this was the idea of not expanding my social group or getting out of my comfort zone; so I got involved. Putting myself out there was scary, especially when I could so easily fall back on my high school friends, but making a point to do it made my college experience much more than going to classes and getting good grades. It made it fun, social, valuable, and unique to my interests.
In my freshman year, I put out feelers. I decided to major in public relations and minor in art and design after going into college undecided. My advisor, Dr. Tom Isaacson, suggested I join the NMU chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), and with that began my four-year involvement within the club. As a freshman in this organization, I was able to meet upperclassmen who had the same interests as me and could give me advice about the major I was about to enter into. I went through the 
Superior Edge orientation and started logging my volunteer hours for that program. My parents also encouraged me to live on campus as a way to more easily meet new people and have more of an authentic college experience. Besides these things, my freshman year was pretty mild with involvement - I was feeling my way through college and figuring out how to live on my own for the first time.
The summer after my freshman year, I studied abroad in Dublin, Ireland. I was there for eight weeks and I took one course and was an intern at a public relations firm called Cullen Communications.
I got some wonderful educational and life experiences through this and will carry those memories with me forever.
In my sophomore year, I became a part of the Student Leader Fellowship Program (SLFP) as a member of the Sun Block. This two-year program ran throughout my sophomore and junior years and introduced me to a fantastic group of motivated people. As a part of my first year, I was enrolled in a leadership class and went on a fall retreat to Bay Cliff with my Block and the Block above us. I also became the secretary of PRSSA.
For a job, I was a resident advisor in Odyssey House of Magers Hall. As a resident advisor, I went through a two-week training program and spent the year trying to give students the best experience possible. My house had a lot of ROTC students in it, so I was able to learn more about that program while making connections with my residents. As a part of this, I became secretary of a housing student organization called Primetime Productions where we would help organize and put on events like bringing comedians to campus or hosting a talent show.
As an RA, I was also able to work up to six hours a week at another job, so I started my first job that gave me direct experience towards my major as a Sports Information Intern in the Sports Information office on campus. This job gave me experience in technical writing, social media engagement, and was overall a lot of fun.
My junior year was when I really started to feel comfortable in my college involvement. I had found some really wonderful new friends through the different organizations I was a part of, I was deep into my major and our cohort was really small so we got to know each other well. For my second year of SLFP, I was doing a Community Service Internship with the Study Abroad office, trying to help other students get the unique experience of studying abroad that I was able to have. I got a job as a Student Marketing Assistant in the 
Marketing and Communications department; this has given me professional experiences working on a large platform which could be hard to find in a small town like Marquette. Finally, I was the Vice President of the Treasury for PRSSA. This put me in charge of collecting member dues and working with the Dean of the College of Business to secure funding for our annual international conference.
Finally, my senior year was really an extension of my junior year in terms of involvement. I continued my job at Marketing and Communications, moving from the “newbie” to more of a mentor for our newer employees. I became Vice President of PRSSA, working closely with the president and one of my best friends. I helped out at the annual SLFP fall retreat as an SLFP alumna. For all of my involvement, I was awarded Outstanding Student of Any Class by the Board of Trustees, which I consider a great honor and a reflection of the work I put in to stay involved.
I really focused my last semester on spending as much time as possible with my friends who were also graduating in May. The bittersweet part about getting involved and meeting so many wonderful people is that I’ll now have these friends and connections for life, but we won’t always be in the same city or just one call away. On the bright side, I’ll always have a place to stay in many different parts of the U.S.!
→ Takeaway
Being from Marquette and attending college in your hometown doesn’t mean you’re settling for less. In fact, as I found out, it means there is an opportunity for so much more. The first step is the hardest. Put yourself out there. Step out of your comfort zone. Get involved. Meet people. The few moments of being uncomfortable are worth it for the endless memories, connections, and experiences.
