So many people have asked me over the past few weeks, “How did you get an internship all the way in Atlanta from North Carolina?”

After answering the same questions about 10 times, I have consolidated my response. I hustled and I networked! I knew where I wanted to be and I knew that I only had myself to depend on to get me there.

I thought about all the new things I could learn in Atlanta. I love Orange County, but I knew I wanted a different kind of experience. I made a list of all the things that I’m interested in and that would make an interesting topic for my capstone paper.

I am interested in learning everything so my list is long. It ranged from regional government, land use and transportation planning (traffic is horrendous in ATL), public transportation, non-profit development and management, economic development, public private partnerships, consulting firms, etc.

I did way too much research on different agencies and organizations in the Atlanta area. I Google-bookmarked over 50 agency websites- that I obsessed about everyday. I sent letters of interest, I got my career person at school to send job fair invitations to people, and I sent email inquiries. I did everything I could to get a job.

And I got nothing. But here is the interesting part. I started telling everyone I knew that I wanted to be in Atlanta this summer. I told my classmates, I told program alums, I told my professors, I told people I met in hallways. It became a standard part of my introduction: Hi, I’m Monica; I’m a first-year MPA student. I am interested in Economic Development, Social Justice, Regional governance, and Downtown Redevelopment. I want to be rich and famous. Most importantly, I am interested in interning in Atlanta this summer.

It was amazing the response I got. Professors and alums immediately started talking to me about the people they knew in Atlanta and people I should call. And it worked; I met great people, made some great contacts, and got myself an internship. And if I decide to move to Atlanta after graduation, I’ve already started building my network.

And all those useless emails and letters that I sent before? Not a waste at all because I’ll start meeting those people, too and I can revisit them for jobs later.

Honestly, I hate networking. It feels like begging. But it works and I’m starting to get good at it. So what does that say about me?

However, slowly and surely I’m beginning to understand that the world is such an easier place to move in if I have my peeps working for me. Life is truly all about WHO you know. And if I know some people and you know some people and then you and I network, at the end of the day we leave with twice the resources. Which rocks!!!

I’m learning that I’m not using a person if I network with them. Most people like to be helpful. I love when I can help someone make a useful contact. So it’s a win/win, right?

By the way, I’m Monica and I’m looking for friends and fun stuff to do in Atlanta. Any ideas?