(PR)oject America

– Justyna Wierzba

I’m sitting in the Buchanan Public Relation office, writing this post and still can’t believe how it happened. But, maybe I’ll start at the beginning.

My name is Justyna Wierzba and I am from ‘exotic’ Poland. I am double majoring in Economics and Communication Management at the University of Wroclaw. Throughout my life, one of my biggest dreams was a trip to the United States of America. The first step which I have taken to realize my dream was joining the ‘Camp America’ program. And this was the beginning of my adventure.

On May 30, 2016, my American dream came true. I was sitting on the plane to USA, twice as scared as normal, because it was the first flight in my life. First stop – New York. My first view of the city was breathtaking. I couldn’t even believe that I was walking through Times Square or Central Park. After three hours of walking with my head in the clouds and drinking a Coke (which had much less bubbles and much more sugar than in Poland), I took the train to my next adventure – to work at Deer Valley YMCA Camp in Fort Hill, Pennsylvania.

I was looking out the window of the train anxiously and wondered, “What’s next? What should I expect? What kind of people will I meet there?” When I arrived to the Camp, all my fears just disappeared. It was amazing, even my English became better and better. Thanks to this, I could talk freely, participate in the life of the camp, explore culture and make friends. And so, it happened! The most valuable thing that I achieved is the people whom I’ve met and memories which I’ll remember to the end of my life. Honestly, I didn’t expect something like this at all. My new friends support me and bring cheer with everything. This was clear, especially after working at camp – which of course was an amazing experience. After three months at camp, I started the trip of my life.

I decided to travel with my friends – more fun and pleasure. The first stop of our trip was Washington D.C. We just wanted to start from a very important place for citizens of USA. Then we went to Pittsburgh, where I could feel like a real student, because I took Slovak classes at the University of Pittsburgh with my friend. After that we flew to Las Vegas, which was our starting point for further travel, especially to see the Zion National Park and the Grand Canyon, but it wasn’t the end of National Park tour. During our trip to the West Coast, we also went to Death Valley and Yosemite National Park. After our nature trail, we finally arrived in San Francisco. To be honest, I can’t say which park was my favorite, because every single park was totally different and, at the same time, amazing. San Francisco welcomed us with rainy weather, but it didn’t disturb us from making our dreams come true.

From a very chilly place, we flew directly to the ‘tropics’ – Miami. And again it happened – a completely different world. What captivated me in this city is the Wynwood district – a place of street art. In general, I love every single piece of art and architecture. During the seven-day stay in Florida, we went to Naples and Orlando and were met with heat and sunburn. After two weeks of life at full speed, it came time for New York. There, I spent a week of sightseeing, exploring architecture and fantastic places. I even tried my first Pumpkin Spice Latte (I heard that I had to try this coffee during Halloween season. For sure, I won’t forget this coffee- for three days I have not eaten anything sweet 😉 ). Personally, I fell in love with Brooklyn, and even though it may seem that NYC is so huge and totally different from the Polish cities, I felt at home there (I even know how to use the subway!).

After a wonderful time in NYC, I went to Philadelphia to see the city, and also, it was the home of my friends from the Camp — Anne Buchanan and Jon Ericson. When we first met, we found out that we are interested in the same area – PR and Branding. Anne offered me the opportunity, if I travelled to Philadelphia, to take me to her office and show me what PR looks like here. I was so excited because this was also one of my dreams. And so it happened. After one day at her office, I literally fell in love (again) with her PR agency, and I realized that this is exactly what I would like to do in the future. The atmosphere which prevails here is amazing. The team creates one big family, and at the same time, everyone is working hard. Even I, after this short time, felt like a family member.

I’ve never expected that my trip to the United States would affect so much of my life. I met lots of great people, made my dreams come true. These are things that I have never even dreamed, and now … now I realized that if you want something, you have to be determined and never give up. If you do this, you can achieve more than you think.

Justyna is a friend of Anne Buchanan. She is considering a career in public relations, so Anne invited her to spend the week at the Buchanan PR offices to learn about the profession in the U.S.