We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sarah Marilyn a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Sarah, thanks for joining us today. Can you share a story with us from back when you were an intern or apprentice? Maybe it’s a story that illustrates an important lesson you learned or maybe it’s a just a story that makes you laugh (or cry)?
When your in college, most students take one or two internships for credit. But when I saw there were several different ways you can use your journalism degree, I was stumped. I loved community and writing but almost every job included doing that. It took five Internships in completely different field to find where I felt was a right for me. Reporting in television news, reporting for Radio, and Magazine writing. My thoughts on Television News changed when I saw that Digital Media could go further connecting with the community and sharing news. My advice is if you don’t know what you want to do to try out several different jobs until you find something that you most enjoy.
Sarah, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I started the GR Bucket List toward the end of COVID-19 as a way to encourage the community to start attending events again. We worked with many different businesses to create events that would have high community engagement like wine tastings, tours, classes, and dining experiences. I think what sets us apart from others, is our community engagement and being able to help businesses get creative during their slow seasons. I am most proud of our team that helps West Michigan with Digital Marketing, Event Planning, and Website Development. We also have become a hub to connect businesses with various Michigan Influencers.
Creating Events and Sharing about them helps encourage West Michigan to try something new.
Have you ever had to pivot?
There was a time where I felt I had to choose between being a Journalist or running the GR Bucket List, because I felt I could make more of in impact in news. I learned that what you seen on television news is often focusing on victim instead of the hero. In other words it was more geared toward the negative than talking about the positive that can come out of a situation. An example, a house burns down without follow up. What may not get reported is the community rallying with donated items to help that family after disaster. I learned that I would rather provide content that highlights the positives in West Michigan,
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
To be a one stop shop in Michigan for Digital Marketing, Collaboration, and best advice on things to do.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.grbucketlist.com
- Instagram: @grbucketlist
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grbucketlist/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gr-bucket-list/