The marketing and communications internship at RGI has been a good learning opportunity for me this fall. One of my first projects for my internship was doing weekly social media for the Indiana Society for Healthcare Engineering‘s (ISHE) Midwest Healthcare Engineering Conference & Trade Show. Additionally, they asked me to do the signage for the conference, and while working on that I was asked if I would like to attend the conference itself.
The conference was two days long, the first day was speaker sessions and check-in, while the second day would be the trade show. I only attended the first day. On that day I was tasked with taking photos of the attendees and getting interviews of the speakers after they finished their sessions.
The coolest thing from the conference for me was, as I walked in, I was able to see two of the bigger signs that I had designed. The first being a big “WELCOME” entrance sign that was in front of the doors where the trade show would be the next day, including a list of all the sponsors. The second of the two bigger signs was a map kiosk, on which there was the full schedule for both days and a map with numbers where attendees could find the booths for all the vendors. I was also able to check out the rest of the smaller signage, consisting of more individual schedules and sponsorship signs I had worked on as well.
A big challenge for me was the interviews that I had to conduct, as I was not familiar with the topics of discussion. But luckily the speakers that I did get a chance to interview were all very polite and happy to talk about their work and passions. It was also nice because a few of the speakers were new to doing interviews as well, so it helped alleviate some of the stress of talking to a stranger. The sessions themselves were engaging and easy to sit in on while taking photos. From an outsiders perspective, I felt like most speakers did an excellent job of keeping the audience’s attention.
Another cool thing from the conference was that I got to go into the trade show hall while vendors were setting up their booths. This gave me a nice behind the scenes look as to what the conference was about and just how much goes into these events. While there, I was able to conduct some interviews with vendors about their booths to get a better idea of why they come to Midwest Healthcare Engineering Conference & Trade Show. Again, all very polite and happy to talk about their companies.
Attending Midwest Healthcare Engineering Conference & Trade Show was an invaluable experience. Witnessing my signage displayed gave me a sense of pride and accomplishment. This experience enriched my role as an intern at RGI and deepened my understanding of the impact that marketing and communications can have on an event.
Become the Next RGI Intern
The internship program offered numerous opportunities to enhance my graphic design skills, develop professionally, and contribute to my professional portfolio. I would encourage anyone interested in association management, graphic design, and communications to apply to the RGI internship program. The intern applications can be found on RGI’s career page.
Billy White
Billy White joined the RGI team for the fall of 2024 as Communications and Marketing intern. Billy has an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts from Ivy Tech Community College and a Bachelors in Graphic Design from the University of Indianapolis. He is an artist and expert in graphic design.