Hi my name is Mariel Heyboer and the one word to describe me would probably be restless. Anyone who knows me knows I can’t stay in one place for very long because there are always new places I want to go. Ironically, I come from a very, very small town in upstate New York. My town is called New Hartford and it is probably the polar opposite to living in the middle of Manhattan. To put it in perspective my house growing up was in the middle of the woods and it was a 40-minute drive to get to McDonalds. But when I think of the word ‘home’ I don’t think of that house, or even of America in general. My father is a Dutch immigrant and when I was younger I spent most of my summers in the Netherlands.  My family comes from the village of Rietmolen; a small grouping of houses and bars in the Eastern Netherlands which is home to a population of 952. So you could say I’m the product of two very small town cultures.

Even though I’ve lived most of my life in places that don’t even show up on a map I’ve always had a passion for traveling and exploring new places. Before coming to Baruch I spent the last 11 months living in the south of France and traveling around southern Europe.

At Baruch I’m majoring in Economics and I would love to find an internship on Wall Street at some point. My eventual plan is to move to Washington D.C. and start a career in legislative work and public policy. I’ve always loved to participate in our democracy and spent last summer interning for my Congressman.

Coming to the city was a big change for me but it was definitely the right choice. I already feel comfortable living here and taking the subways everyday, even if I still get lost sometimes. But everyone I’ve met so far has helped welcome me to the city and they make sure I don’t wander off alone into Brooklyn. Hopefully by the end of the year I’ll stop being known as the small town girl and just be another New Yorker.