I'm a proud Southern belle; I'll tell you that any day. Most of my life has been spent in and around Richmond, Va. However, in less than one year, I have moved six times.

Here's the tally: from Penn State to home (1), to and from my grandmother's house in South Carolina (2), to and from Washington, D.C. (2), and from my parents' place back to Penn State (1) last week.

I also plan to move back home from Penn State in May, bringing the grand total to seven for the calendar year.

Although I consider my home in the South and my heart with the Nittany Lions, I'm really just a transient. I haven't even lived in the same dorm room from year to year.

It's a state of being that many college students face as they seize opportunities away from home, and, as I have learned, something that requires a measure of coping. I have my suspicions that this lack of roots is why we don't see a lot of Penn State students voting in local elections.

We know we will only be here for a few years, because very few of us intend to stay in State College after graduation.We'd like to come back and visit, perhaps for football games, but living here is part of the educational process, not a major commitment.

Now, shorten that time commitment to being in one place for three months, and then imagine how much more difficult it is to be locally involved.

Yes, the multiple moves were my own fault. I opted for an out-of-state university which means a bigger transition when going to and from college.

I chose an away job instead of working at home over the summer, and I entered an internship program for the fall that sent me to the nation's capital. Each time I moved into a different town for an internship, I arrived knowing that I would leave the friends I would meet within a short time.

My decision to take these internships has meant that I pack up and relocate about once every three months, interspersed with stays with my parents as a transitional arrangement. Basically, I take everything to their house, do all my laundry there, and switch around what is packed into boxes depending on where I am off to next. I won't say it's easy, because it isn't. But it's definitely worthwhile. When you get to a new place, you have the option to live it up or live it in.

Living it up means introducing yourself to as many people as possible, having engaging conversations with your co-workers, and becoming involved in the community where you are staying.

Living it in is not meeting people because you know the friendship will be short-lived, holding back, and going away to visit friends or family more often than you stay in town.

This summer, I chose to live it up. I made appearances at office parties and meetings and made it clear that I wanted to be a part of the company family, not a temporary guest. I also started attending a local church and joined the choir. I also took a few weekend trips to spend time with family members I hadn't seen in years.

This fall, I took an unpaid internship that put me into a very professional environment that goes way beyond the 9 to 5 mentality. In Washington, D.C., many people stay at work until the job is done, then get back up the next morning and do it again. Needless to say, readjusting to college life, where instead of taking the Metro, I walk, and instead of suits, everyone wears jeans, is a little bit jarring.

My advice is this: before you leave Penn State for good as an alum, get out of here for a while. Taking a semester or summer for an internship or co-op away from both home and State College is a valuable experience that may confirm or change your goals for your own future.

And live it up. Your fellow employees (and even your fellow college interns) are the people you will be interacting with as you enter your chosen field post-graduation. Get to know them now and keep in touch. If it doesn't shed light on a job opening, it will at least gain you professional colleagues and some really great friends.