"You never know who you might meet. It's not so much who's going to be able to help you one day, but you don't burn bridges." she said. "You treat everybody with respect. That's something I've tried to live by, even before I came to work in state government."

"There's no better place, in my opinion, to learn how to give really great service, and to learn about business," she said. "I had some really great mentors there who took me under their wings and taught me things I really wouldn't have learned anywhere else."

"The turning point, not just for Gov. [Jennifer Granholm], but for me, was working the night of the election," [Jessica McCall] said. "I had the opportunity to meet some really great people."

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