In a new series of articles black women share their stories on Europe. In the 6th article in this series Destiny Gordon chronicles her destiny to live in Europe.
So, how does one become a black women in Europe? That is a good question, and one I have been searching to find an answer for. I know you’re probably saying “thanks for nothing”, but it was only recently that the path leading to my answer came together. I’m a single woman..no, a young lady with no children and like most people I want to live not just exist.
A former college drop out, before Kanye made the term popular. I recently decided to go back to school and get a degree. I graduated and now I’m pursuing another degree to establish a career in Public Relations and/or Market Research and in the midst of this I realized that I don’t want to remain in the United States. Therefore, being the natural researcher that I’am, I decided to start finding out more about the international market and making it known to anyone that would listen that I wanted to live and work in another country.
The first person I expressed my interest to was my Public Relations professor, who was a sweet woman from a small town. She had been in the business for several years and had even got offered a position in New York paying her six figures! However, she decided to do the right thing, like caring about being with her family and tucking her kids in at night (I guess, if you’re into that sort of thing). Needless to say, she turned the position down and because her husband had a job transfer, she decided to take the position she has now as the Public Relations professor at the university I attend. She was very insightful on the different positions one could take under the Public Relations umbrella. One of those areas was “international relations”. This immediately peaked my interest since I had been learning languages via “duolingo” (don’t judge me) and knew that this was something I wanted to do and take to the next level. She had given us endless resources and named many of the top agencies in the business. At the end of the semester as our final project, we had to research three areas within the industry that we had an interest in. It was her way of us learning whether or not this was something we wanted to continue to study. Of course one of my three areas was international relations.
While doing my research, I learned that several of the top companies had offices all over the world. Also, almost all of them had some kind of office or internship program in London, (I will get to why that is later). Knowing this and discovering that in some international markets, a foreigner (that would be us Americans) is more sought after because we have an outside voice. We can become an asset, because we can help these companies appeal to the American market. Well, you know that made the desire to go the international route all the more enticing; and one of the ways I found to get my foot in the door knowing my current situation is INTERNSHIPS. I’m talking programs out there that get you international work and experience and you don’t have to necessarily be enrolled in school. Did anybody else know this? I know I didn’t, but anyway, this is my stop so I got to go. I’ll have to tell you the rest of my story later when you get back on the bus.
Same place, same time? ….The journey begins.
Destiny Gordon is a communications professional/writer, with background experience in the banking industry. Her written work was featured in an online magazine for the History club at her former college. Also, her work made an impression on her writing teacher so much, that the teacher told her she was scared to be too critical of Destiny’s work in fear that she would “cause her to change her writing style.”
She obtained her Associates degree in Communications at Delaware County Community College. While a student at Delaware County, she was placed on the Dean’s list. She is currently attending Temple University as a Strategic Communications major with a concentration in Public Relations and a minor in Business. She holds a 3.22 GPA and is expected to graduate in the summer of 2015.
She is also a member of PRSSA, the Public Relations Student Society of America and recently signed on to the schools newsletter committee.
Destiny Gordon currently resides in Delaware.
That’s a great idea. You have to take a chance if you’re trying to get what you want. Opportunities are never posted for everyone to see. It’s only for those who can recognize what’s in front of them. I hope to hear about your trip to Europe!