Finding a ‘forever home’ in Wichita

Madison Harris interned in our Communications Department during the spring 2016 semester. She graduated from Valley Center High School last month and plans to attend Butler Community College for Mass Communications in the fall. She will then attend Wichita State University to study Business Communications. The blog entry below demonstrates the value of providing valuable internship experiences for young professionals to build stronger connections to the business community and a deeper affection for Wichita. By Madison Harris Senior year, for most, is a time when involvement in school clubs, extracurricular activities and sports comes to an end. It is a time to say your final “good-byes” to what you have been accustomed to for the past 12 years. For me, my senior year ended my dancing and competitive public speaking career. While the high school door is closing, a new one is opening: college. As senior year started, I had no idea what career field to venture off into. Would it be education or business? However, during the course of my senior year and internship experiences I realized what I am truly passionate about: serving the community, people and networking, and Wichita. It is through my time interning at the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce I found my true calling. Valley Center High School, where I attended classes, provides an internship program. At the start of my senior year, I interned with the local middle school in English Education. The students offered an array of experiences – teaching, helping, planning, and mentoring students, but I felt disconnected. While I loved getting to leave an impact on the students and the way they thought, I wasn’t happy. I knew that even though I come from a family who values the importance of the school system, this career path wasn’t meant for me. So I reevaluated and at the start of the second semester I found myself with an internship at the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce for business marking and communications. Growing up I always thought I would become a doctor or a lawyer but I never saw myself in business. My teacher once told me, “Find a career not a job,” and after joining the Chamber staff, I can’t see myself inside any other career field. My time at the Chamber has been an experience that I won’t ever forget. The staff welcomed me and always motivated and pushed me to become a better communicator. The skills I have learned will not only carry me through college or my future career but they will help carry me through life. I have learned how to effectively write news releases, hone my skills in Photoshop, InDesign, and Adobe, how to utilize social media for business, and gained exposure to Chamber-led events. After joining the Chamber team, I discovered how great of a city Wichita is. Before starting my internship, I was a Wichitan because I was born here. But now, I am one because I choose to be. I have been impacted by the way this city functions – the events, the small town vibe that radiates through downtown, the hole-in-the- wall restaurants you can’t find anywhere else, and the Wichita flag have all left an impression on me that is unchangeable.  Wichita is a place of simplicity and I know that it is a “forever home.”