(Photo by Amy Randall Photography)

Many Furman students recommend experiencing a “Greenville summer” for one of their college summers. You live in an on campus apartment, usually interning somewhere or doing research with a Furman professor. The campus buzz during the school year has quieted, so you form friendships with the students staying for the summer. I took their recommendations, and I decided to stay at Furman for the summer. 

Furman offers a summer fellowship program through the Malone Center for Career Engagement. This program provides students with discounted on-campus housing, a stipend for unpaid internships, and optional course credit. It is a highly encouraged program at Furman. Through the Furman Internship Database, I applied for the editorial assistant position at Greenville Business Magazine, which is the internship I have now.

I am a rising junior and English major on the literature track. I knew I wanted something related to the publishing field. I have been able to write and publish articles, accompany and lead interviews, and attend events for the magazine. I have never written in a journalistic style before, so it has been a great opportunity to expand my writing skills. It has been a wonderful learning experience this summer, and has prepared me well for my journalism internship in Scotland in the fall. 

A memorable moment comes to mind when reflecting on my internship experience. A few weeks into working at the magazine, I accompanied the associate editor, Donna Walker, on an interview with the man who started the Trueline Music Venue project, Michael Grozier. This was the first in-person interview I had ever been involved in, and we went to the site where it is being built. Greenville has an incredible food scene, but a way to launch the city even further is live music. This venue will resemble the Orange Peel in Asheville, North Carolina. 

I loved getting insight about a new development in Greenville that could add more life to the city. Michael Grozier has been in the music industry for years, and it was so interesting to see his vision for Greenville and what this new music venue could do for growth. While I hadn’t thought much about pursuing a career in journalism, this made me question that possibility. 

My summer compared to last year looks very different. Last year, I was a sales associate at a clothing boutique in my hometown, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. All of my high school friends were home, and my nights were free, giving me time to read or watch “Suits.” I didn’t have to worry about cooking, because I was living with my parents. I was living in the city I had grown up in, so I knew the place in my bones. This summer in Greenville has been quite the opposite. Very few friends stayed in Winston, I am cooking for myself, I have an internship, and while I know Greenville, I don’t know it enough. 

However, many of my close friends from Furman stayed this summer, which was an added bonus. We have spent our time wisely, with every night having some sort of activity. Whether it’s starting a new show, attending trivia at the Traveler’s Taproom, or practicing yoga at Camperdown Plaza on Mondays, we have made sure to spend quality time with each other while also experiencing Greenville.  

I feel that I have seen Greenville from a different perspective. During the school year, I get so wrapped up in homework and events happening on campus, that I don’t leave my bubble. Now, I am making an effort to get to know Greenville from a different lens before I study abroad. Unless I am eating out for dinner, I never venture downtown past 5:30 during the school year. Now, I find myself going there at least once a week, investigating all of the activities, like a Greenville Drive game or JazzFest. 

One of my favorite parts about being at Furman this summer is getting reintroduced to something I used to love: tennis. I have been playing the sport since I was 7 years old, and stopped after my senior year season ended. I was burned out, and needed to miss the sport again. I didn’t know very many players at Furman who weren’t beginners, until this past spring when I met a friend who had played in high school as well. 

That was the first time I had picked up a racket in over a year. The next time I played was this summer, with another friend who had played in high school as well. So far, we have been playing every Tuesday evening for the past couple of weeks. It has given me a new liking for the sport I used to play. In a competitive setting, I was known to be very hard on myself, and my confidence in my performance weakened. This summer, tennis has been one of the things I have enjoyed the most. It makes me feel productive, lets me move around after the 9-5 workday, and I am able to spend time with my friends. 

I have really enjoyed my summer at Furman and at the magazine. I wanted to spend a summer at Furman, specifically before I went abroad, so I could get as much time with this place as possible. I can’t imagine myself anywhere else besides Furman. Last week, my friend Madeline told me something her mom said. “This is what your 20s are going to feel like,” Leslie, Madeline’s mother, said to her over the phone. That got me really excited for the future. Obviously, it’s hard to know what my 20s will really look like, since I just graduated from the teens in March, but the idea of being independent, having my own routine and job, in a new city with my friends, and filling our evenings with activities sounds pretty nice. 

As I leave for Edinburgh in early September, I feel pulled in two directions. First, I am extremely ready to travel outside of the U.S. for the first time. Every time I see a video of Edinburgh, I start tearing up because of the anticipation. This is something I have been wanting to do ever since my brother studied abroad in Copenhagen in 2017. On the other hand, I am already starting to miss Furman while I am still here.

The peaceful nature of a lake walk, the mountainous landscape in the background anywhere you look on campus, and most of all, the people. I haven’t met anyone like the friends I have made, and those bonds have only been strengthened since the time I came back in May. 

For those reading this and are still in college, I highly recommend spending a summer in your college town. You have much more free time to get to know your city, and the more time you spend on your college campus, the more it feels like home.

Meg Salt is a rising junior at Furman University and the summer intern for Integrated Media Publishing, which publishes Greenville Business Magazine, Columbia Business Monthly, Charleston Business Magazine, and B2B: The Grand Strand. She is a native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.