Written by Morgan Baynard

Before I started my internship with the Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce, I honestly did not know exactly what to expect. From the outside, I thought CLGBTCC might feel like a very corporate organization. Structured, formal, and maybe a little robotic. The kind of place where you are handed a list of tasks, expected to figure it out, and not really invited into the human side of the work.

That was my assumption going in. I knew CLGBTCC hosted events, and from what I saw on social media, those events seemed more personal and community-centered than I expected. But I was still unsure. I did not know whether the culture behind the scenes would match the energy being shown publicly.

That started to change during my interview with Abby Mederos , the Director of Operations. She described CLGBTCC as a family, but not in the way companies sometimes use that phrase as a corporate talking point. She meant it in a real way. People genuinely want what is best for each other. People support one another. People care about the work, but they also care about the people doing the work.

That stood out to me because it felt honest. It was not the polished interview answer I expected. It felt like someone telling me what the culture actually was, not just what it was supposed to sound like.

Finding Calm in a New Place

My first day was still overwhelming, because first days usually are. There was a lot of information to take in, a lot of new people, and a lot of uncertainty around what my work would look like. I remember feeling nervous and thinking, “Okay, this is a lot.”

However, pretty quickly, that nervousness started to turn into calm. That surprised me. I have had jobs where I woke up already dreading the day, not because I did not want to work, but because I did not know what kind of energy I was walking into. Would someone be upset? Would expectations be unclear? Would I feel like I was already behind before I even got started?

At CLGBTCC, I did not feel that. I felt supported. I felt trusted. I felt like I could learn without being judged for not already knowing everything. Instead of feeling like I had to prove myself immediately, I felt like I was being given space to grow into the work.

For me, that made a big difference.

Walking Into My First Chamber Event

Then I attended my first Chamber networking event, and honestly, I was nervous all over again.

I expected a lot of people, a lot of noise, and a lot of awkward conversations. I worried about not knowing how to network the “right” way. I worried I would not know how to carry a conversation. I even worried that because I look young, people might not take me seriously.

But once I started talking to people, the room began to feel different. After the first couple of conversations, I got more comfortable. The event felt less intimidating. I realized people were not there to judge me or quiz me on how well I could network. They were there to connect.

No one dismissed me. No one made me feel like I did not belong there. People treated me like a young professional. They asked about my thoughts, my experience, and my perspective. There was genuine interest, and that made the room feel completely different from what I expected.

The Moment It Clicked

One of the most meaningful parts of the night was watching my fiancé experience the same thing. He is more introverted, and I could tell he was nervous at first too. But throughout the evening, I saw him start to relax. I watched him go from shy and unsure to more comfortable and engaged. People were genuinely interested in what he had to say, and seeing that made me feel even more comfortable. That was the moment I really understood what makes CLGBTCC different.

It is not just that the events are welcoming. It is that the people in the room make them welcoming. There is a difference between being invited somewhere and feeling included once you arrive. CLGBTCC does both.

For someone new, that matters. For a young professional, that matters. For someone who is introverted, nervous, unsure, or walking into a room for the first time, that matters. Networking can be intimidating. New environments can be intimidating. Walking into a room where everyone else seems like they already know each other can be intimidating but the right room can change that.

What Belonging Actually Feels Like

What I have learned, so far, is that you do not have to walk into a Chamber of Commerce event already feeling confident to belong there. You can show up nervous. You can show up unsure. You can show up still figuring it out. The right community does not make you feel bad for that. It makes space for you anyway. That is what I have experienced at CLGBTCC.

I came in expecting something more corporate and distant. What I found was something much more human. A workplace where support is real. A room where people want to know each other. A community where people are not just networking to exchange business cards, but connecting because they genuinely want to see each other succeed.

This is what has made me feel like I belong and I think that is what makes CLGBTCC so important. It creates the kind of space where people can walk in nervous and leave feeling like maybe they can do this after all.

I am only 2 weeks in. Excited to share more.