The new administrative assistant at the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce is excited at the direction the business community is headed.

Noelle Hagen, 21, began working for the chamber in March.

“I get really excited learning about the community and how the local economy and business is changing in Albert Lea,” Hagen said. “The entrepreneurial spirit around here is alive.”

Hagen grew up in Glenville and graduated from Glenville-Emmons High School in 2012. She attend Bemidji State for a semester, before deciding to come back home and attend Riverland Community College for a year.

After Riverland, she signed up for classes online at Southwest Minnesota State Unversity and will graduate in the spring with a bachelor’s degree in business management.

She said this spring she started looking for an internship and found a unique opportunity at the chamber for not only an internship, but also a job.

“This position at the chamber is almost perfect for someone who is business-suited,” she said. “There are lots of connections to the the business community.”

She started the job in March and completed the internship over the summer.

Hagen said she has been able to provide input into the redesign of the chamber’s website, oversees the social media pages for the chamber and helped revamp Business Monthly, a monthly newsletter.

She said she has enjoyed her time thus far at the chamber and noted she likes getting the chance to use some of the knowledge she gained through her schooling and to apply what she has learned, based on what she’s seeing in the community.

She said in her spare time — which is little as she is working full time and taking 15 credits — she enjoys hunting with her boyfriend, Cody Viktora. They enjoy hunting for duck, geese, pheasant and deer.

She taught herself how to knit, and she also likes to cook.

At Hy-Vee in the floral department, she helps customers place orders and assists Floral Manager Cheryl Overland with inventory and designing arrangements. She has been at Hy-Vee since the beginning of 2013.

Hagen said she and her family like to watch the Vikings, and she is a member of Glenville Women of Today.

In high school she was active in 4-H and became a junior leader, which she said was a good leadership experience. She was also involved with FFA, was on the student council and was in cheerleading and basketball.

She is presently taking the community leadership course through the chamber and Riverland Community College.

Noelle Hagen

Age: 21

Address: 250 Third Ave. NW, Glenville

Family: father, Lonny; mother, Karen; two sisters, Rachel and Emma

Livelihood: administrative assistant at the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce, employee in the floral department at Hy-Vee, full-time student through Southwest Minnesota State University online.

Interesting fact: Hagen loves to make lefse in what she describes as “the old-fashioned way.”