What makes Lansing a great place? As a young professional who lives and works in Lansing, I get asked this all the time. While many of my fellow Michigan State University graduates were attracted to the big city lights of Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, there were also those young professionals who chose Lansing. We need to celebrate and understand why. And we need to foster the spirit and things that continue to make young people choose to live and work in Lansing.

A few months ago, Kiplingers.com named Lansing among the nation’s Top 10 cities for young adults. That announcement was greeted by celebration in some quarters and a bit of eye rolling in others. But the fact is, Greater Lansing is an attractive place. And, working together, we have the opportunity to develop and celebrate the attributes that make us vibrant. Where should we start?

As a recent MSU graduate, all I heard was how difficult the job market was. Now all I hear is how lucky I am to have a job, and beyond that, a job I really enjoy. How did I find that job? I interned all over Lansing while in college. I just wanted to get my feet wet, but they ended up soaked. Five internships later, I now have a full-time job in marketing. I love the job. And I love that it’s in Lansing.

From internships to tweets

Interning in Lansing helped me develop a loyalty to this town and it kept me here, so surely that must be the case for others. Lansing is a great town for young professionals; it is not too big and not too small, and it’s active. So how do we tap into that loyalty to Lansing to keep young professionals around after college? Employers can focus their recruitment efforts on two fronts: using internships to energize and bond with young talent and actively promoting what Greater Lansing has to offer them.

Young professionals want other young professionals around. The Love Lansing movement has made strides among young Lansingites via Twitter by keeping each other updated on what we are doing and where we are going and letting us declare our loyalty and love for Lansing. So thank you to all those who tweet about their happenings around town and push the “Love Lansing” hash tag/trending topic. You are providing some really great guerilla marketing for the city.

Lots to talk about and celebrate

Greater Lansing is busy this winter: Silver Bells, Old Town Dickens’ Village, Wonderland of Lights and East Lansing Winter Bowl, just to name a few.

It’s important that we support these activities. It’s easy to take them for granted. It’s much better to celebrate and share them. If it’s been a while, take another look at Old Town, Downtown Lansing or REO Town. You may be surprised at how quickly things are changing. Spend an evening on the Entertainment Express along the Michigan-Grand River corridor. You’ll find more than 70 nightspots open and waiting. Talk, visit, support. The more we get involved, the more attractive Lansing becomes. And attractive cities are places where talented people want to live.

Got some more energy? Hook up with Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce, AccelerateLansing or LEAP, Inc.. They’ll be happy to help you apply that energy to move the region forward.

So, what makes Lansing great?

A year ago, my answer to the question was, “Lansing is great because Lansing has a job for me.” A year later, my answer to this question has changed dramatically. Lansing is great because Lansing is alive. It’s a work in progress that I’m proud to be a part of.

Keep talking, keep tweeting, keep status updating and FourSquaring. Keep loving Lansing. It’s working. And it’s constantly reinforcing why Greater Lansing is great.

		Carly Schiff is an account coordinator with Pace & Partners in Lansing, a full-service marketing agency always up for a challenge.