Experience Matters - Grand Valley State University

Ottawa County Elections Internship

David
Major: Political Science I worked election night, on February 27th. I was a runner, who's duties include waiting at a local township/city to bring back the election results to our office. I was responsible for putting together precinct kits for all of the counties precincts, gathering supplies from various lists. I also took part in our testings for both the February election, and the May election. Testing is conducted the month before the election, and includes running ballots through our scans, as well as printing off ballots to be tested with our Voter Assist terminals, which are used for people who cannot read or write properly. I also helped organize our vault, moved various objects and things around to help make room. I helped bring new or returning equipment down to our vault. I did in house testing, where we ensure that our ballots are being read properly before we go out and do our public testings. I mailed voter registration forms out every week. I worked on making a list of our training certificates all in one spreadsheet.

Events Intern at West Michigan Sports Commission

Alyssa
Major: Sport Management I worked on a variety of projects throughout my time as an intern. A lot of my projects included looking up information and putting it into Excel for my supervisors to use. I also updated our events website and the PlayEasy website to make sure they had all of our current events on them. I worked on the budget for March Madness bids, called companies, answered emails, tracked hotel information, marketed events, and worked with event directors to meet their needs. I created flyers on Canva to share information about events and posted about them on PlayEasy. I also revamped their volunteer network by contacting different groups and sharing sign-up information.

Koops Automation Mechanical Engineer Co-op Experience

Carter
Major: Electrical Engineering Throughout my co-op at Koops Automation Systems, I primarily worked on CAD, designing custom automation solutions. From adding fasteners to creating parts, I designed automated machines to increase production and lessen the manufacturing costs of various products.

GVSU Athletics Internship

Kenleigh
Major: Sport Management In this role, my main responsibilities include organizing contracts and inventory, assisting in fulfillment of contracts, and documentation of contracts fulfillment. Organizing contracts is taking the agreed upon terms and inputting them into the database. We later access this information to identify fulfillment tasks to be completed. Fulfilling the contracts includes everything at an athletic event with a partner logo on it. This may include signage, T-shirts, promotions, video board, roster cards, etc. New fulfillment is not needed every year for some things, such as signage that can be reused every year. Things like T-shirts for a specific giveaway or marketing campaigns for a sponsored event are made for that specific occasion. Lastly, documentation of contracts is provided to sponsors as a proof of performance. This process is important in communicating our team's effort of fulfilling the contract to the sponsor. Documentation efforts are also essential to ensuring a positive experience and relationship with sponsors, leading to a better opportunity for renewal. Although these are the big three responsibilities, I like to always be willing to assist in any other areas. For example, this fall I learned how to operate broadcasts for athletic events. This included setting up and feeding the livestream to Flosports while managing the cameras and score board during the game. Along with broadcasting, I will frequently assist in tasks in the marketing department, administration, or merchandising.

Social Media and Marketing

McKenzie
Major: Advertising & Public Relations -Assist in managing social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter -Create, publish and distribute social media content -Monitor and engage with the community by responding to comments/messages -Contribute to the planning, and execution of marketing campaigns to promote upcoming events. -Work closely with the marketing team to brainstorm ideas, and contribute to campaign planning. -Assist with scheduling of volunteers and communicate the responsibilities and duties - Faciliate various administrative tasks related to marketing and communications

AmeriCorps Internship!

Victoria
Major: Criminal Justice My primary task in volunteer services is to provide additional support to all programs and clients. I work with community partners, individual donors/volunteers and case managers to secure services and material goods for clients. I also do other community engagement tasks, such as grant writing and event planning.

BI Internship at VanData Consulting

Grace
Major: Computer Science a)VanData Blog: Spearheaded the development of the VanData Blog, establishing it as a prominent platform for sharing industry insights, thought leadership, and innovative solutions in the field of data science and analytics. b)VanData Onboarding Platform: Led the initiative to develop a new platform for streamlining the onboarding process of new interns and employees. Implemented a user-friendly interface and comprehensive resources to facilitate smooth integration into the company culture and workflows, ensuring a positive and productive start for newcomers. c)Database Migration and Warehousing for clients of VanData Consulting specializing in cold chain packaging and industrial insulation. d)Business Intelligence Training: Conducted comprehensive training sessions to equip new interns and employees with essential skills and knowledge in business intelligence tools and methodologies. These sessions covered topics such as data analysis, report generation, and dashboard development, empowering interns to contribute effectively to projects and initiatives within the organization. e)Onboarding New Employees and Interns: Led the onboarding process for incoming employees and interns, overseeing orientation sessions and providing guidance on company policies, procedures, and culture. Implemented strategies to ensure seamless integration into teams and projects, fostering a supportive and inclusive environment conducive to professional growth and development.

Coopersville Rec 24

Jeffery
Major: Sport Management I oversaw practices, help set up, tear down practices and games along with reffing.

Professional Sports Experience

Ben
Major: Sport Management A game day intern can have several different tasks throughout the season. - Rebound and Mopping: Rebound for players during pre-game warmups/halftime. Mop the floor during the game (when players fall, something spills, etc.) -Bench Security/Bench Assist: Assure players are safe from fans, and escort players in and out of tunnels when ejected. Bench assist requires you to help the coaching staff/players with anything they need. (Towels, water, athletic training equipment, warmups, etc.) - Tunnels: Throw T-shirts to the crowd after every made 3-pointer, assist with giveaways, crowd engagement, etc.

Non-Profit Organization

Taylor
Major: Sport Management During my time thus far, I have edited on the TransplantNATION magazine, created social media content, and other tasks related to preparing for the Transplant Games of America, like registration, special event tickets, etc.

GVSU Internship

Brody
Major: Sport Management I helped execute promotions during games, along with assisting in giveaways and other types of promotions. I would help assist with setting up events, as well as making sure certain aspects of sponsors were fulfilled correctly. At other times, I would operate music or the video board during events in correlation to the game or promotions. Before certain events, I would assist in promoting them by passing out flyers or working on getting shirts and other items prepared.

Zeeland Natatorium Internship

Jamahl
Major: Sport Management My internship was located at the Zeeland Natatorium at Zeeland West High School. I was the intern for the pool director. This meant that I was not only helping maintain and run the natatorium, but I also assisted in running the multiple teams that ran out of the pool. I handled the scheduling and communications for the teams. I also was involved in marketing and various projects to grow the teams. I was primarily in charge of the Zeeland Age Group Team. I was in charge of organizing all of the team's practices and major events as well as submitting all of the team's entries as well.

Game Day Internship

Roman
Major: Sport Management I have done all of those positions and it has been a great experience.

Grand Rapids Griffins & Rise Internship

Brianna
Major: Sport Management On game days as a Corporate Sales Intern, I had to do the following duties: Pre-Game -Hang sponsorship banners -Set up Kids Club -Help set up concourse tables -Prepare T-shirts for giveaways -Place coupons with appropriate sponsors in the correct spots During Game -Escort guests to their table on the concourse -Help with set up for player entrance -Throw T-shirts -Hand out coupons -Work Kids Club Post-Game -Teardown all things necessary On days with no games, I would complete tasks such as completing donation requests, updating Kids Club, preparing game day schedules, & more.

Third Co-op Rotation at Marketlab

Stephanie
Major: Biomedical Engineering During my third rotation, I assisted my supervisor with completing some objectives for a recent business acquisition. I was responsible for creating a handful of work instructions and helping to transfer some of their BOMs into our system. I was also involved with a variety of miscellaneous projects, including product testing, 3D printing, designing a fixture for their screen printing process, creating technical drawings in SolidWorks, and more!

Co-op Rotation 3

Grant
Major: Mechanical Engineering I worked as a floor engineer for all 3 rotations. While assemblers would run into issues assembling facilities on the floor, I would meet with them to discuss and observe the issue firsthand. I would then consult with an appropriate project engineer regarding a potential solution and move forward from there. My job was to repeat this process for any assembly issues throughout the workday.

Tommy Car Wash Systems Product Engineering Co-op

Grant
Major: Mechanical Engineering For my first two rotations here at Tommy's, I worked in the product engineering department which focuses on updating and creating manufacturing prints for the major assemblies. This semester I worked with the research and development team. I have helped out in many ways but spent the majority of this last rotation working on designing and creating a manufacturing fixture for our water softener system. This will allow for much simple production and less mistakes.

Salem Athletics Intern

Ryan
Major: Sport Management One of the projects that I did was on a program called GoFan. This program allows you to track rosters, scheduling for teams, player eligibility etc. The main task that I did on here was update rosters transfer them onto the website. Another task that I did involved pay to play. All families must pay a couple hundred dollars to have a student athlete play a sport for the school. I checked, updated, and contacted the families who had not payed on time.

Mechanical Engineering third co-op rotation at Irwin Seating Company

Ben
Major: Mechanical Engineering Around 90% of my time was dedicated to helping the development of a new recliner. (see attached picture) I did a lot of CAD modeling for this project as well as being involved in the discussion and decisions on various design choices. The other 10% of my time was dedicated to a mix of helping problem solve other upcoming products, miscellaneous tasks, and upkeep of the engineering space.

Trane Technologies Co-op - Rotation 3

Skyler
Major: Mechanical Engineering During the third rotation, I was responsible for updating work standard documents for the production floor. I also was responsible for hosting a weekly quality log meeting in efforts to learn from engineering mistakes. Lastly, I worked through an A3 project in efforts to reduce warranty spendings caused by engineering.

CO-OP in Electrical building design

Joseph
Major: Electrical Engineering This semester I helped with a Red Arrow project that were apartments in Detroit Michigan. I work on some schools helping the K-12 group, most of my recent types has been working on Washtenaw Armory, Dearborn Inn, and Eden Park which is a park in Detroit Michigan. Most of our projects are in metro Detroit because the company is based in metro Detroit. However, there are some projects that are in Grand Rapids and Muskegon. As an electrical CO-OP, I placed outlets on plans, placed lighting equipment on plans, created circuits for the buildings to use and did lighting calculations which are calculation to do to make sure there is enough light in an area. A lot of our work is designing based on what is allowable by the code standards in Michigan.

3rd Co-op Rotation

Yougourthene
Major: Electrical Engineering I took charge of this exciting project involving the development of a new machine for producing Dodge Durango tail lights. Using AutoCAD, I crafted the electrical prints and organized the control panel layout. Following that, I handled the wiring of the control panel and created the PLC program, ensuring seamless machine operation by programming the HMI screen. As an additional measure, I incorporated Keyence vision systems into the project to elevate quality control and establish a secure work environment.

Final Co-Op

Trevor
Major: Mechanical Engineering I worked as a general manufacturing engineer interning. I supported a assembly and a fabrication area. I implemented various improvements to increase ergonomics and the production of the assembly line. I worked on new improved fixtures for products. I also worked on general improvements for the line.

Gentex - Co-Op III

Kelsey
Major: Computer Engineering I worked on testing programs that the customers wanted for rearview mirrors. I was given set detailed requirements and it was my responsibility to implement tests based on these requirements. I had to notify the team of any defects that arose from my test development, and I was in charge of running test iterations once the build was ready to be released.

Final Rotation of Co-op at Panduit

Nicholas
Major: Mechanical Engineering My primary project was to organize a team of engineers and lead meetings to develop a new product. The solution I was involved in will extend Panduit's current offering of cable cleats, which is a product that secures cables in the case of a short circuit event, or disaster. I was mainly involved in the brainstorming and iteration phase of the project, where I created concepts based on feedback and constraints, and assisted in financial estimations and planning for the project. Additionally, I assisted in 3D CAD modeling our other products based on engineering drawings, updated documentation, and managed a full testing and comparison of metal locking cable ties and strapping products.