It's not easy to be a young professional in a university town. Somehow we manage to get all of the stereotypes of the student population and none of the discounts. Let's face it, we're an endangered species in this town without a clearly defined habitat or watering hole. The time has come to stake out our territory and make our presence known in Ann Arbor.

As a contributor to AnnArbor.com, my goal is to help strengthen our network of young professionals by engaging in conversation about topics we can all relate to: success, failure, motivation, office culture, family, and dating to name a few.

Like a lot of us, I originally came to Ann Arbor to attend the university. I graduated with a degree in Organizational Studies in 2005, and decided to stay for reasons involving very little planning and a whole lot of luck. During my undergraduate years I competed for the title of Miss Michigan, placing second runner-up and first runner-up respectively. I had one more year of eligibility, which meant I had to find a job in Michigan. Enter, Google.

I was one of the fortunate few hired to start Google's Ann Arbor office in September 2006. The following June I competed for Miss Michigan one last time and despite an award-winning fiddle performance placed first runner-up to Kirsten Haglund. Six months later Haglund went on to win the title of Miss America, which gave me the opportunity to assume the Miss Michigan crown.

I started a blog called The Second Fiddle to document the amazing (and oftentimes ridiculous) experiences I had traveling around the state as Miss Michigan. Being a three time runner-up taught me a thing or two about losing gracefully and I learned to take myself less seriously, hence the title of the blog.

I hope to reach other young professionals in Ann Arbor (and anyone else for that matter) who can relate to these experiences and spark a conversation. Your comments, questions, feedback, insults, etc. are welcomed and appreciated. I'm looking forward to connecting with you!

Gina is a regular contributor to AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at (734) 743-1783 or SecondFiddleBlog@gmail.com.