Kansas City, Missouri is where I call home.

"Kansas City Here I Come" by Wilbert Harrison doesn't even scratch the surface on what my hometown has to offer. Called the city of lights, KC is a booming metropolis. I love being in the heart of the Midwest and cheering on my home teams: Royals, Chiefs, SportingKC, and Mavericks. Although I've lived in the metro area my entire life, I love exploring the city because there is always a nook or cranny that is a secret gem waiting to be discovered. You will find me in the heart of downtown for school and work or in my cozy apartment just outside the hustle and bustle.

I'm currently at university.

I am in my third year at Rockhurst University. I study nonprofit management and have a concentration in fundraising. Rockhurst is a Jesuit university that is committed to service, which was important to me in my college search. I love to learn and, aside from my major classes, enjoy theology, ethics, and art. After I graduate, I hope to work for a nonprofit organization doing marketing, social media, and communications. Until then, I am the Social Media and Marketing Intern at a national nonprofit here in KC.

I enjoy learning through service.

As I mentioned, service was important to me when looking at colleges. Ever since I was in elementary school, I have been fascinated by the impact of giving back. Kansas City is the best place to have this passion because there are over 7,000 nonprofit organizations in the metro. Since most of these organizations have a low overhead budget, the need for volunteers is significant. When I found out that Rockhurst had a program in which I could get a degree in Nonprofit Management, I knew that was the path I wanted to go down. Volunteering at nonprofits is in my genes, and I am always looking for a new place to serve. Whether it be with my school, with family, or simply by myself, I always have a meaningful time when I am helping others. I hope to show you what serving means to me within my future posts.

Family is my number one value.

Like most, I love my family. I try to spend time with them as much as possible in between our busy schedules. Although my immediate family isn't huge, it is blended enough to always bring a funny or sincere memory with each outing. I have three brothers, two of which live with my mom and stepdad near me. On my dad's side, I have two aunts (pictured) that live near me as well. However, my dad (@energyaddict22) and my stepmom, Masha, (@sreybgm) live in St. Petersburg, Russia. The family dynamic is pretty entangled, but who's isn't nowadays? My dad convinced me to join Steemit, and he has been my guru for navigating the platform. Slowly but surely my aunts will join as well, and we'll be a clan of Steemians! Overall, I am with my family all the time and have a briefcase full of stories that would entertain even the dullest of people.

Travel is a major hobby of mine (if you didn't catch that by my name).

Maybe it's because of my dad living abroad or from moving schools a lot as a kid, but traveling and trying new things are my favorite things to do in my free time. I have had the opportunity to travel to St. Petersburg to visit my dad, stopping in Amsterdam and Paris along the way. I enjoy staying in hotels in the middle of the city, as well as camping on a back road near the lake. Since my college-student budget doesn't allow for extraordinary trips often, I tend to travel "backpacker style" by road tripping and doing free excursions. I tend to be impulsive with my travels, and am a last-minute pack-the-car-and-go kind of gal. I look forward to taking you through the ins and outs of my endeavors and showing you pictures of what nature and man have to offer. With travel comes new food, new people, and new experiences and I can't wait to show you just how exciting "new" can be.