MEET PEOPLE

Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com

By Melinda Lavine mlavine@duluthnews.com

Jane Pederson’s no stranger to Duluth. She was born here, and while she moved away for many years, she returned to the University of Minnesota Duluth as a student.

Pederson, 28, took time out of her schedule as the marketing manager at Glensheen to share her words of wisdom as a young adult in the Northland.

Get out(doors)

One of the reasons Pederson chose Duluth is the city offers a lot in education, nature and more. As a UMD student, she was focused on school and immersed in college culture; her outside go-tos were Burrito Union and Bagley Nature Center. She started branching out after graduated, that’s one thing she would’ve liked to have done sooner. “There are far more things to do and see in Duluth than you think,” she said.

Find your educational niche

UMD was a great fit for her, but she knows others who benefitted from a two-year college or going into a technical trade. “Ten or so years ago, when I was making the decision to go to college, I didn’t feel like there were other options than to go to a four-year university. It’s OK, if your course is a little different,” she said. Ask for help

Figuring out what to do with the rest of your life was something Pederson faced, like many students. Before switching majors from business to communication and psychology, she leaned into faculty and family. They’re there to be supportive, and they want to help students succeed, she said. “Looking to people who have been on this earth longer that you, as much as it doesn’t feel like a good idea at the time, it usually is.”

Duluth job market

Connect with as many people as possible, with those you admire or who are in a similar industry, she said. Consider different ways in which to talk with them and learn from them. “Always in life you want to be genuine,” she added. It was her connections at school that led her to her job at Glensheen. “I still kept in contact with them after graduation. Moved to the Twin Cities, realized Duluth was where I thought I belonged.”

Get involved

Many councils are looking for passionate and willing members who have time. “It may seem daunting for students to get in there, but really they just want students who are excited,” she said. Build relationships and connect with people who have similar areas of passion. “ I was a little girl who was obsessed with dogs and huskies instead of Barbies,” she said. Today she’s on the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon Marketing Committee — along with the Duluth Chamber of Commerce Fuse Council and the NORTHFORCE Advisory Council.

Keep it manageable

It’s important to keep it manageable. Pederson started on one council, then joined five. She figured out quickly her threshold. “I failed. I had overcommitted myself,” she said. “I started not being organized or not feeling like I was giving what I said I would give.

“When it starts to feel like you’re not sleeping, you’re not eating or you’re not exercising, or you’re not taking care of yourself, you need to motion things around.”

Check your values

“Getting involved in the community might not mean sitting on three different councils,” she said. Maybe it means you help keep the trails maintained. There are tons of different ways to get involved with the community. Focus on balance and how you value spending your time, which differs for everyone.

What she’s into right now

Reading “Pet Sematary” by Stephen King; listening to classic rock, Fleetwood Mac, “Crosby Still Nash has a pretty regular rotation on my Spotify”; podcast TED Radio Hour.