And so it begins

Greetings! My name is Ciara Archer. I am the 2015 Arizona Friends of Saint Patrick Young Ambassador and I am so excited to share this adventure with you. I am a 22-year-old PR Associate and a recent graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. I received my BA in Journalism and Mass Communications, emphasizing in public relations, with a minor in Film and Media Production. During my four years, I was fortunate enough to be involved with several great organizations:

As a member of the Cronkite Village team, I worked with dozens of freshmen for several years to help ease their transition into college and, most importantly, into Cronkite. I lived in the residential community all four years and watched over them like mother hen.

In 2013, a dream came true. I was selected out of about 35,000 applicants to participate in the 400+ Disney College Program at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. I worked as an "archeologist" on the Indiana Jones adventure and as a "human traffic director" as a Guest Show Operations Cast Member. It was the best eight months of my life, filled with magic, happiness, hard-work and amazing memories.

Since then, I have worked at the Greater Phoenix Economic Council as a Marketing and Communications intern, the Artigue Agency as a PR Apprentice, and now at my "big girl" job at Axiom Public Affairs, a new venture that I am excited to be a part of it.

So, why this blog? I will be traveling to Northern Ireland for a two-week internship opportunity through the Saint Patrick Centre in Downpatrick. This program has seen several years of young representatives coming to Northern Ireland with the hope of promoting a greater understanding of the shared cultural heritage of Northern Ireland in North America amongst those aged 20-25. Arizona has seen four young ladies off to Northern Ireland - Sarah, Kelsey, Audrey and now me.

While I don't know yet who I will be interning with, I do know that I am setting out on the adventure of a lifetime. Ireland is where my family is from, and I am thrilled to learn more about Northern Ireland's history, culture and possibilities.

WARNING: This blog post has been very formal (and rushed) - I promise they will be a lot more entertaining. I hope to post as many pictures as humanly possible and keep everyone updated on this exciting opportunity.

You have now reached the end of this blog post. Kudos. Please exit to your right and have a magical day.

Love,

Ciara