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Conner Carey (pictured center) graduated from MIU in the summer of 2015 with a major in English Literature with an emphasis in Creative Writing. Not long after, she became an intern – and, soon, employee! – at the wildly successful iPhone Life magazine. In this interview, Conner talks about how she succeeded in finding a job in her area and gives advice to those who haven’t yet graduated from MIU:

Q: How soon after graduating did you find your current job?
A: I started my internship in August and the official job in September, so about four months.
Q: What is it like to work at iPhoneLife?
A: It’s awesome and challenging. I’ve felt really grateful to have many responsibilities given to me quickly, and I’ve learned a lot about publishing off and online already. Also, the people I work with are great; we have a lot of fun.
Q: What would you say the company atmosphere is there?
A: There’s a strong focus on balancing work and personal life. As well as general laughter and friendship all around. I secretly love meetings because amongst the business are constant jokes and jabs.
Q: Did you have your internship set up before or after you graduated?
A: After.
Q: What have you learned about the workplace now that you’re out in it?
A: It’s intense and rewarding. Also, working 8-5 isn’t bad when you enjoy those hours.
Q: What skills do you think an MIU education helped you gain that are useful in the workplace?
A: Specifically, my writing classes with Nynke. I used to dread editing and she would always push me to do more. Now I edit my work everyday! Generally, I strengthened my ability to listen to myself. I spent my time at MIU really posing questions to life and pondering who I wanted to become. I also had quite a few bumps in my road on the way to graduation and the journey through that prepared me more than anything.
Q: What type of work does your current job entail?
A: My title is Feature Web Writer which means I write a lot of content everyday, seven posts to be exact. I recently started editing my posts and publishing them, with my editor reviewing later on for continued learning. This week, I participated in the iPhoneLife podcast; that was a lot of fun.
Q:  Do you have a five year plan career wise? If so, what is it?
A: What is this plan you speak of? Ha! Yeah, I have aspirations. I definitely want to go to Graduate school in the next five years. Beyond that, I’d like to travel to Paris and see how it unfolds. Oh, I want to finish and publish my book. That too.
Q: Any advice to future MIU graduates?
A: Yes! First, enjoy your time there; relax and do what you want. Figure out how it feels to do what you want to do after graduation and live in that feeling. It’s not far away.

Kat Kanan is a highly motivated writer and creative entrepreneur. She has been featured on MTV, published writing on Thought Catalog, and is the navigator for the highly publicized Forgotten Iowa project. As a perfectionist, she plans on using her skills to make a positive change in the world.