In my third year of college, I applied for an internship at a small business in Chicago called Citygirl Weddings & Events. At the time, I was sure I wanted to be a wedding planner. I was brought in for an interview with the owner of the company, Sharokina Pazand. At this point, I’d been on a handful of interviews and had been a bundle of nerves for every single one. Interviewing with Shar was the first time I’d felt at ease – or as at ease as you can be in that setting. I must have done something right, because I got the internship…and because of my background in communication/writing, I not only helped out with events but also managed Citygirl’s social media presence.

Shar is a Citygirl through and through! She majored in Marketing at the University of Illinois at Chicago and worked corporate for a while after graduating before pursuing her passion of event planning. She’s strong, smart, and resourceful; and her positive energy makes you want to give anyone and everyone a hug.

Just shadowing Shar gave me so much insight and real-world education on business. I feel like she’s the epitome of someone who collaborates with those she can learn from. Her networking skills are incredible, which has to be why finding talented vendors in her industry doesn’t seem to be a problem. Maybe she’s not the first to have done it, but collaborating with local vendors, hotels, and photographers to coordinate a photo shoot wasn’t something I’d seen before…and even if it is, she still did it flawlessly. Now that I’ve gained more experience, I can see just how valuable this is for all of the businesses involved.

Another thing I loved about working with Shar was that no matter what the situation was, she kept her cool. As an event coordinator, I’m sure you can only imagine how important it is to have this skill. No matter what the situation was, Shar never lost her head. Sure, the job can be stressful, but it never got the best of her. Adversity never deterred her from finding a solution to a problem.

Sharokina Pazand literally gave me my start. I didn’t even know that social media could be a profession but her entrepreneurial business-sense had me utilizing my skills in a way that maximized my value to her business. She gave me career advice when I was getting ready to graduate and even hired me to freelance for her, which is actually the reason why I have my Freelance Empire. There are probably a million great things I could say about this incredible woman, but this post would be way too long to be considered a “blog.” Instead, I’ll just say thank you.

Thank you, Shar, for the value you put into the business world and for touching my life as well as the lives of so many others.