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"Why Go Blue?" is a series that features alumni, their decision to Go Blue, and how that decision has impacted their careers and lives.

1. Were you accepted to other schools? Why did you say "yes" to Michigan?

Let me start by saying that for me, there no was other real option. My parents are both Michigan alumni and actually met at football game back in the late 60's. I grew up in Traverse City, and almost every year made multiple pilgrimages "down state" to see family and go to Michigan football and hockey games. Most of our childhood photos feature my brother and me in Michigan gear. I made a show of exploring other options, and was accepted to Penn State and Boston University, but I knew all along that if I got in to Michigan I was going.

There were a few other important factors as well:

• Many of my closest friends from high school also chose Michigan.
• It was far enough from home but not too far, as I saw it.
• Financially, it was a much better choice to stay in-state than to go elsewhere.

2. What opportunities, post graduation, did U-M help you find?

I studied communications, thinking I'd go into TV or newspaper journalism. But, as I was preparing to graduate in 2007, I was confronted with the hard reality of an industry that was already reeling from the advent of internet advertising and as a result, shedding entry-level positions. If I'm honest, choosing campus sports radio as an extra curricular over The Michigan Daily or Wolverine TV probably didn't help my prospects! Instead, I ended up applying for an international traineeship though AIESEC, a student group that I found out about through a friend in one of my Spanish classes.

AIESEC offered traineeships all over the world, and had a lot of opportunities in marketing and advertising, an industry that had not suffered the same fate as local journalism, so I ended up accepting an offer to work in New Delhi, India. I stayed there for a full year and had an experience that, like my time at U of M, was formative to my life and career, and of course it was thanks to my time on Ann Arbor that I had the chance to go.

3. How did what you studied at U-M impact your current career?

These days I'm a user researcher and digital designer for a company called DAI. We run international development programs in about 90 countries around the world, mostly related to economic growth and good governance, though we are growing in the health space. I go to countries where we're working (or intend to work) and conduct face to face research on how people--generally marginalized populations--are using mobile phones and social media to communicate, and then using that information to design digital tools or programs to address larger social, economic, and political challenges.

I love my job and I really credit my time at Michigan with putting me on the track to do this type of work. How?

• I was in the Residential College and the intensive language program there is second-to-none for anyone interested in really learning and using a new language. That, combined with a study abroad trip to Spain my junior year really gave me the language and cross-cultural skills that helped me land a gig with the Peace Corps (Dominican Republic 2010-2012) and got me a foot in the door with DAI.
• A lot of my classes covered the way that media and messaging reaches and affects the brain, and that perspective has helped me design outreach campaigns, promote events, and quickly develop empathy with the people I'm seeking to reach, whether they're Guatemalan cowboys or farmers in rural Rwanda.
• I was a four year participant in the UROP program, and in addition to making some cash at a time when I needed it, I gained a really valuable skill set around social science research that has been a major asset in my work today, especially when I get a call to head to Indonesia on Monday and have to get a research plan together quickly.

4. Do you see other Wolverines out in the world ( i.e. not in Michigan)?

Absolutely! I run in to other Michigan alums all the time. For example, I was just in Cambodia for work at a presentation about the local health system; it turned out the presenter was a fellow U of M grad. This isn't the first time this has happened, and as I grow older, these coincidences surprise me less and less, because Michigan alumni are literally everywhere (even outer space).

Domestically, DC has a really strong U of M club, and on game days it's common to see large groups of Maize-clad alumni walking the streets. It was the similar when I lived in New York, and I'm sure that's the case in most major US cities. (It's worth mentioning that there are a lot of cities outside the US with large Michigan contingents, too.)

5. What is one piece of advice you'd give a soon-to-be Wolverine?

Looking back, for me, the four years I spent in Ann Arbor were all about opening doors to ideas, people, and places that were a long way from where I grew up in Traverse City. That early exposure led me to so many new opportunities, in part because it made me get comfortable with getting outside my comfort zone. So, to incoming freshman, I'd say the following: Abandon fear, do everything! Meet new people, take classes about things you've never heard of, go to office hours (your professors are incredible people), join student groups and clubs, study abroad, and have the time of your life!

6. What do you miss most about your time at U-M?

Easy: football Saturdays!

Interested in contributing to "Why Go Blue"? Contact Elizabeth Schmuhl at [email protected].