Interview

Chelsea Finegan

by Joanna Silvestre

Lifestyle

LONG BEACH, Calif. (March 12, 2007)-----Although born and raised a California girl, 20-year-old Chelsey Finegan is setting her sights on more worldly destinations. Her recent trip to England, where she studied media in the city of Leicester, has gotten her thinking of differences between Europe and her hometown Downey, and just where her future belongs between the two.

“I want to live in London… the lifestyle is so beautiful,” she says. “The U.S. is such a young country, we have nothing like London. You go to Paris, it’s like nothing I can describe. It’s so beautiful.” Finegan’s face brightens when she talks about the city of lights.

A journalism student, Finegan is approaching her fourth year at Cal State Long Beach. She admits that studying abroad set her back in the journalism program, but adds that her experiences in Europe made it all the worthwhile. Finegan mentions a late night in Paris that resulted in her missing the train back to her house in Leicester, England; it taught her to appreciate the bubbly and friendly personality she gives off. “It was a disaster that night,” she laughs. “I slept in the station.” Finegan says the situation became more bearable when she later befriended a complete stranger at the station. They proceeded to go get dinner at two in the morning.

“Things like that teach you to meet people,” she says. “I’m the type of person who can adapt to any situation. I make myself comfortable.” When she isn’t busy taking impromptu naps at Parisian train stations, Finegan spends her time pursuing other favorite hobbies, like shopping, drinking Diet Coke, getting manicures and traveling around the country. Lately, she’s been enjoying taking weekend trips anywhere from Las Vegas to Colorado.

Finegan doesn’t spend all her time vacationing, however. She is focused and determined, an independent who wants to succeed. Her journalism career remains tentative, but the self-proclaimed editing afficianado (“I’m a stickler when it comes to spelling and grammar, I go crazy,” she says) hopes to use family ties in order to secure an internship with Channel 9 News. “I’ll probably have to start off serving coffee to people, but you gotta start somewhere,” she says. Finegan hopes that from there, she’ll be hired.

Whether she ends up choosing to work and live in Europe, as Finegan hints, or chooses to remain in America, one thing is for certain. Finegan possesses a certain joie de vivre and drive that will allow her to hoist herself onto the top of any situation—whether it’s behind a desk correcting typos and headlines, or at a train station in Paris at two in the morning.