Haluk Can, 27

The story of why, when, how you decided to move here (or stay here): My father moved to Rochester from Turkey back in 1981. Upon completion of elementary school in Turkey, the rest of the family including my self 11 at the time, moved to Rochester as well. Reason for staying in Rochester would be friends and family.

Where you went to undergraduate college / graduate school: St. John Fisher College.

Degree(s) you earned: I received my Bachelor of Arts Degree in the field of Communication/Journalism and a minor in Marketing.

Where you work now and your job title: XPEDX (International Paper) as a Marketing Sales Associate

Where do you live? Rochester

What do you like about life in Rochester? Multicultural and publics’ interest in arts.

What do you do for fun? In addition to spending time with friends, photography and going out for a coffee or a beer in the Park and East Ave area.

What would you tell a college student (who is trying to decide where to live after graduation) about what life is like here post-college? Life in Rochester post-college is extremely rough. Don’t expect to land your dream job right away. I would recommend students to start researching about the companies in the area that they really want to work for after graduation and in junior year of college apply to work at those companies in any of the available position that they may have, regardless if the position has anything to do with your major of study. Reason for this is that by the time you graduate you would already have spent 1.5 to 2 years in that company and it would be much easier to move into the position that you really desire. If that plan fails, do an internship in the company you really want to work and treat the internship as a real job and not just as a three month internship where you just want to get the credit for.

What's the downside to living here? Job market in the area of communications (advertising, journalism, public relations) and also in the field of marketing seems to be very dry and extremely tough to get into in Rochester.

What's the best first step to making friends and finding your way around? From my personal experience, through out college years, I’ve spent more time at work and school than I did at home, so the best way to make acquaintances will be the people we see almost everyday at work and college. It will also help a great deal to join certain professional organizations as well.