By Jenny Evans
Communications Intern

As summer came to a close and I returned to the good ol' Midwest, I came to realize one thing: Life on the West Coast is something truly spectacular. The weather alone is enough to make a person loathe the return to air so humid that it feels like you are swimming through it. My golden California tan is beginning to fade. The inside jokes I had with my intern team don't carry the same humor with my family and friends back home. People outside my intern team don't understand why a late night at Panda Express discussing the different forms a fortune cookie could take is considered a very intriguing conversation.

Jenny and her West Coast intern team

Nonetheless, I am happy to be back where trees line the highway rather than the endless Pacific Ocean. Out here, Smoothie King reigns and Jamba Juice is unheard of. Back home, driving on the highway you are bound to find a rest stop or gas station every exit, rather than a barbed-wire fence with no mercy.

While life on the road always constituted a lot of fun and excitement, life in the office leads to a simpler and sometimes healthier way of life. I'm happy to be able to wear jeans again and have a closet full of clothes options rather than a suitcase filled with a rainbow of polo shirts.

I am fortunate enough to be able to continue my internship with the AJGA in the National Headquarters where life moves at a different pace than on-site. The office environment offers a quieter and more peaceful work environment. It also offers Mary Ann's "Crack in a Bowl" birthday dessert. That is certainly something that I didn't have while on the road!

Jenny hanging out with the juniors before their tee time

But enough about decadent desserts and unfortunate bathroom breaks. I must admit that the internship taught me more than just how to navigate L.A. traffic and recite the options for lateral water hazard relief as though I've been doing it for years. I was given an opportunity to push myself to limits unbeknownst to me and work efficiently under all different types of pressure. There is no telling when a player will withdraw from a tournament - like after pairings have been copied, folded, stuffed and sit at registration tables where 144 juniors await their much anticipated tee time. Let me tell you, those pairings are being redone faster than you can say, "What's your twenty?"

Crisis communications isn't something that has a handbook. A checklist is a great tool to keep yourself on task. But the real test occurs during those times when there is no rule or no tab in your binder to help walk through the problem-solving steps. That is what I have taken away from my experience this summer, and will take with me as I begin my new adventures on the third floor. The AJGA has offered an arena for the fresh college students to step out of the comfort zone of sleeping in, skipping class and late nights out, to create their own standards as a professional in the work force.