Although she isn’t walking the halls of CMU anymore, this recent grad is our campus celebrity for taking on a corporate internship just a month after graduation. Chelsea Komblevicz is 23 years old and graduated from Central Michigan University in December of 2014. After completing a degree in integrative public relations and Spanish, she was ready to take on the real world with all the knowledge she had learned.
Today, you can find Chelsea in the city of Detroit where she works as a public relations intern at Quicken Loans, the largest online retail mortgage lender and the second largest retail lender in the United States. As she nears the end of her internship next month, Komblevicz has no complaints about the work she’s done with the company.
“I really enjoy the culture of where I work,” she explains. “It’s a company that is involved with the community and really empowers workers to be self-motivated.”
Before graduation, Komblevicz was involved at CMU in more ways than one. On top of a full schedule of classes, she was a member of Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), CM Life’s PR team, and PR Central. Komblevicz was surprised to enter the real world with fewer things on her to-do list than she was used to.
“Every day is different. Some days fly by and some days are slow. I didn’t hate being busy all the time, but I lost a lot of sleep and had less free time as a student,” she explained.
When asked what she missed the most about CMU, Komblevicz said it’s the community-feel of our campus and the fact that she’s no longer surrounded by many people her age.
“It’s different not knowing someone everywhere you go. In the business world it’s also hard being young because it’s easier to relate to people your age and you’re not trusted with as much responsibility,” she said.
As for advice to future grads, Komblevicz says it’s best to stay open minded. While many hope to jump into a full-time position after graduation, it’s not a bad decision to accept internships and get all the experience you can.
“I had to suck it up and find the positives of an internship as opposed to a job. I told myself that this was an opportunity to build my resume and become a better worker,” Komblevicz said.
As many know, a huge part of college is new experiences. If she could take one lesson away from her time at CMU, Komblevicz said it was the importance of networking and getting involved before graduation.
“I was a transfer student so it was hard in my two years at the university to really get involved like I would have preferred. I definitely encourage freshman at CMU to become a part of as many groups as they can,” she said.
Komblevicz’s dream is to follow her passion of PR and find work in the entertainment and music industry. This CMU grad has made herself a wonderful example of what can come of hard work and dedication at our university.