Jessica Yakima

I am a self proclaimed "people person" who loves to talk and communicate with any and all people.

I am currently attending Grand Valley State University where I am majoring in Public Relations and Advertising with an emphasis in public relations. I am anticipating graduating in the fall of 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree.

While at Grand Valley I am actively involved in the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). Through PRSSA I have had the opportunity to network and meet many different types of people from all over. PRSSA has allowed me to meet and create connections with my fellow students as well as professionals in the Grand Rapids area.

A major passion of mine has to be planning events. After graduating I plan on receiving my event planning certificate from Macomb Community College. My dream would to work for a public relations firm, working as both a public relations practitioner and a event planning corespondent. This would allow me to combine the two aspects of communication that I love. I hope to one day maybe even opening my own firm specifically dealing with planning events for temporary clients or teaming up with bigger firms to create events that will get noticed by many.

After I graduate from Grand Valley and receive my event planning certificate from MCC I plan on obtaining a job in a public relations firm. I have always been fascinated with the city life and it would be my dream to move to a major city like Chicago and acquire a job there. Because of my passion for animals and animal rights, I hope to one day work as a public relations practitioner with a non-profit that shares that same passion as me.

In terms of personal information of me, I grew up on the Eastside of the state in Macomb, MI with my parents and younger sister Nicole. I am super close with them and they are the ones that inspire me to be the best I can be. I am an avid animal lover and have been around them all of my life. Two of my best friends are my chihuahua/terrier mix Frankie and my cat Zoe. They help me get through my toughest days and always put a smile on my face. I also have been dating a wonderful guy named Alex for the last 3 years and we are planning on moving to Chicago in a year once we graduate so we can both peruse our our dream jobs.