When Miller Johnson PLC offered Cheyne Scott a clerkship last summer, she wanted the opportunity, but wasn't sure she'd like living in Grand Rapids. Scott, a 24-year-old African American, had grown up in Ann Arbor and was living in Lansing attending Cooley Law School. She had visited Grand Rapids a few times and didn't see it as a good fit for her – at least, not at first.
High gas prices convinced her to get a temporary apartment rather than commute, and her job at Miller Johnson inspired her. When they offered her a part-time position during the school year, Scott decided to transfer to Cooley's Grand Rapids campus.
"There's something about Grand Rapids that you don't get in a big city, and that's that you get to have a life here," Scott says. "In a big city, you don't get as much time to yourself."
Bike trails, the Riverwalk, Festival of the Arts and the nightlife are some of the things that attracted Scott, she says. Lansing students are younger, Scott says, and she's found that Grand Rapids has more people her age. She meets other young minority professionals through BLEND and through the Chamber of Commerce Multiracial Association of Professionals (MAP).
On June 4, MAP welcomed 32 minority interns to the city with an annual dinner. MAP has over 340 members and a section just for minority interns with a web site featuring videos, chat and an interactive event calendar. There is also a Facebook page.
This year, Miller Johnson has nine interns; three of them are minorities.
"Miller Johnson's purpose is to recruit and retain. We're looking at people who can come in and become productive associates and ultimately become our partners," says Tom Wurst, professional development. "We attract them to the lifestyle of West Michigan."
Source: Cheyne Scott, Miller Johnson and Cooley Law School; Tom Wurst, Miller Johnson; Sonya Hughes, Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce
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Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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