Here is where it seems natural to give you an introduction to me; however, describing oneself has always been a bit of an odd concept to me. How can I sum up into words the result of what 23+ years of experiences and genes have created? Is this where I should have an in-depth nature vs. nurture debate? How can you really understand a person's intricacies when reading a self-written and unavoidably biased bio? Wish me luck in my attempt at accurate self description!
Hailing from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, I was always an active kid. With two older brothers and a dad that loved to be outside, I naturally was the 4th player to even out the teams. As we grew, my oldest brother, Jim, was introduced to the world of music. Starting early on with inspirational teachers, he grew to love the saxophone. My other brother, Al, and I were right behind him; Al played trumpet and I ended up with percussion. The three of us were from then on immersed in music.
For me, music was a way to challenge myself. I soon was attempting every solo I could get my hands on along with every instrument. Marimba, drum set, timpani, tambourine: I wanted to learn it all. By the end of high school, I had a shadowbox full of metals, was the drum major for our nationally ranked marching band, had traveled to Germany as well as New York City where we competed in a national jazz band competition and placed third, had received an award from my teachers and peers, and had experienced a lifetime's worth of memorable events.
After high school, I went to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. There, I still played music but had an inkling that it wasn't what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. During my Freshman year, I went on a mission to find my passion. I talked to the academic and career offices, people in different professions, explored various jobs, and did all the fact finding I could. I ended up landing in a Professional and Organizational Communication major. It felt much more right to me but still, I didn't feel completely fulfilled.
To continue to challenge myself I took up a minor in Music, certificate in French, and was also a Bachelor of Science. I will be the first person to tell you that math and science are not my forte but I sought a well rounded education. In my final semester at UW-L, I was writing a research paper entitled "Job Interview Behavior of Graduating Seniors." Through extensive research and multiple interviews, I studied verbal and non-verbal behaviors that could help or hinder people of my class in getting a job. During my last semester, I also took a Public Relations course and it was here that I found my passion.
And here is where I nerd out. Combining persuasion and words and advertising and marketing and social media and the Oxford comma to create a whole campaign to increase company awareness? Count me in!
During all of this time, my interest in renewable energy had brought me to an energy specific law firm. Through connections dealing with this, I began as a paralegal/receptionist the day after I graduated for an employee out on maternity leave. Immediately after that position concluded, I was drafted to do the same thing for another firm. With law as a vague interest I studied up and took the LSAT and did pretty well. But the longer I was involved, the more I missed my PR passion.
So now here we are, a year after I've graduated and I'm still working at the law firm. I've sent out a total of 160 applications to other, more suited positions, and have a whole list of more. I'm exhausted but not ready to give up on what I love. As I gear up to use a new strategy to find someone to take a chance on me, I invite you to tag along with me on this journey. If this is of no interest to you, that's okay too.
As I stated before, this is by no means an exhaustive view at my life. If you are still reading this far in, I would like to invite you to have coffee. Please, feel free to reach out. There's a free cup of Joe in it for you!
With honesty and love,
Christine
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