Meet Dana Gordon

Dana Gordon had a plan. She was a semester away from graduating from Southeast Missouri State University last December. She would then pack her bags for Washington, D.C., where an offer for her first full-time job awaited. Her college boyfriend, Nate Saverino, had another plan -- he surprised Gordon with a wedding proposal.

"And my fiancé brought me back to Cape," she said, laughing. (Saverino took a job with Southeast.) It seems Gordon wouldn't have it any other way, though. The 22-year-old has become the newest director of public relations and marketing at the Cape Girardeau Convention & Visitors Bureau, and she's found her home in this Southeast Missouri community. "I'm loving every minute of it," she said of her new job, which she began in January.

Gordon, who double-majored in PR and advertising, says she enjoys meeting new people and getting out in the community. She's responsible for updating the Convention & Visitors Bureau's websites and accounts on Facebook and Twitter. The Belleville, Ill., native fell in love with Cape Girardeau in high school, while on a campus visit to Southeast.

"I love the atmosphere. It feels bigger than it is, but at the same time you can walk around town and know the next five people walking down the street and the next time not know anyone," she said.

"Community is a big thing to me. I like to know that there are a lot of different activities going on and that there are so many families and friends I can hang out with."

While still new to life in the working world, Gordon says she's finding a happy balance between work and home.

"I have learned that when I'm at work, I devote my time to work," she said. "When I go home I try to just be at home and spend that time there." When Gordon's not working, she enjoys attending Southeast athletic events, taking walks near the Mississippi River with her fiancé (their favorite local spot) and planning her July wedding.