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 On this day, he along with his parents Chris and Phyllis Graue
are heading to New York City. His folks will help him get settled
into a dormitory at Columbia University where he will live for the
next two months. While he is in New York he will be serving an
internship with the nationally prominent Time Magazine.
Graue said Tuesday he is very excited about the opportunity he has
to experience working with such a stellar publication, and looks
forward to living in New York. He said the opportunity to intern in
New York is due in no small part to his parents, especially his mom.
Early this year, Chris Graue, owner of Graue Chevrolet, was named as
a Time Dealer of the Year. He and Phyllis made a trip to New Orleans
as part of that recognition. While there they met and spent time
with Moritz Lowe, the vice-president of Sales and Marketing for
Time.
In one of their conversations, Phyllis told Lowe about Ethan and
said he would be needing to serve an internship this summer as part
of his education at Millikin University in Decatur. She asked if
Time ever did internships, and Lowe said that they did.
That started the ball rolling for Ethan, who later contacted Lowe
through email, then had phone conversations with him. He submitted a
resume to Time, and talked with other executives in the company as
well. The end result, he was selected to serve.
Graue said his resume also played a big part in his getting the job.
He said Lowe and others with Time were impressed with his service in
Boy Scouts, the fact that he had done volunteer work with the
Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce, and that he had spent a
summer in Colorado at Estes Park volunteering with the YMCA.
Graue said he doesn’t know exactly how many interns Time uses each
year, but he does know that among the roster of interns staying at
Columbia this summer there is only one other who will be working for
Time. Based on that, he feels like this is probably a pretty elite
opportunity.
Graue has just completed his junior year at Millikin and is majoring
in Communications and Public Relations. He said in speaking with the
people at Time, he learned he will be working in a department that
will allow him to gain real-life experience in his field of study.
He’s especially excited about this because he’s been told the work
will not just be busy-work; he will have opportunities to work for
Time staff on specific promotion projects and will get to interact
with not only staff but also with clientele.
Graue said he’s also excited about being in New York. He noted that
he has been there before, once, but that it was several years ago.
He said now that he is older, he feels like he will have a greater
appreciation for the city and what it offers.
He has a list of places he wants to go including visiting the
Statue of Liberty and Ground Zero. He’s also looking forward to
taking in some of the other New York experiences, such as shopping
in the unique shops and delis. He noted that while he doesn’t really
spend much time shopping, he thinks that it is part of the
life-style there and he wants to experience as much of that as he
can.
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 Another point of interest for Graue is the ethnic cultures in
the city. New York and its Burroughs are filled with regions
such as Little Italy and Chinatown, along with Irish, German,
and other foreign culture regions. Graue said visiting those
places, seeing the sites, and eating authentic foods are
definitely on his ‘to-do’ list.
And of course, you can’t go to New York without visiting
Broadway. Graue said his family is planning to come to New York
in July for a visit. He hopes then they will be able to go
together to one Broadway play, again as part of the experience
of the Big Apple.
When asked if there was any aspect of his adventure that he
finds intimidating, he was quick to reply, “The sub-way system.”
He noted that it is a mode of transportation one doesn’t find in
central Illinois. In addition, it is a massive system, and
complicated. He laughed and said, “I’m always going to worry
that I’m going to be late getting to work.”
Graue is quick to realize that he’s going to be living in a
different world than he is accustomed to, “Coming from a
community of 25[000] to 30,000 to a city with millions, is going
to be a big change,” he said, but he’s still very excited.
Graue said the opportunity he has in the internship may open
doors for him after he graduates college, and that is a very
important aspect of going to New York in the first place.
Graue’s ambitions are to return to Time after graduation in
2015. If he does well during the internship he increases his
odds of getting that opportunity. But, he has other corporate
goals as well. While Time might be his first choice, close
runners up include Disney and Time Warner on the movie
production side. He said working for either one of those
companies would involve Public Relations, building promotional
programs for new releases and planning promotional events, all
of which would be right in his wheelhouse.
So, while today may be just another day for most of us, for
Graue it is a turning point for his future. While you read this,
he is preparing to wing his way to a new adventure. When asked
how his parents feel about it all, Graue said they too were
excited for him. He noted that his dad has done the typical “dad
thing” talking to him about being on his own. “He told me ‘you
have a good head on your shoulders’ and “just be careful.’”
There really is no end to this story, because for Graue the
adventure is just beginning. He did promise to check back in
with LDN when he returns this fall, and we look forward to
hearing from him then.
[By NILA SMITH]
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