My Internship Experience at The Right Place

Written by: Lauren Brasher, 2025 Marketing & Communications Intern

Over the past 11 months, I’ve had the privilege of being The Right Place’s Marketing and Communications Intern. This role has been a defining part of my career, as the experience I was given has made me a better communications professional, prepared me for the workforce, and given me some of the greatest connections of my life.

When I first applied, economic development was a field I was completely unaware of, but having experience in non-profit, I knew my passion was to do impactful work. In my final interview, I told the team that I didn’t know much about economic development but that I genuinely felt drawn to the passion with which they served the area, and I meant it.

During my first few weeks on the job, I was able to meet with every member of the team and see just how much that passion ran through their roles as they help to shape the regional economy, from business development to talent and everything in between. Each aspect of the organization intentionally targets a part of the region and works as partners alongside businesses to help them grow on a personal level. Even as I approach a year on the job, I’m surprised daily by how we reach into every corner of the community, oftentimes acting under the radar as motivators to push others toward success.

My Role at RPI
The biggest surprise for me in this role was how much freedom I was given to take on projects, exercise creative freedom, and work with everyone on the team as if I were a full-fledged member of The Right Place. In this role, I was able to create video content, write blogs, help with events, make graphics, run the social media pages, create email campaigns, and much more. I learned that there are skills that are important to any young professional that I wasn’t necessarily taught in school, and as an intern, there were so many talented people who wanted to help me with projects, skills, and advice.

One project that stood out to me this year was working on the inaugural Tech Week Grand Rapids social media channels. The team takes so much pride in Tech Week, as a primarily four-person marketing team is taking on a 16,000-person event, and being a part of the work was an honor every day. I loved being behind the scenes for everything, helping the team work tirelessly for seven months to set up, promote, and execute a week-long gathering of all things tech.

In addition to The Right Place and Tech Week channels, I also worked with HelloWestMichigan as their “fill-in” intern, an opportunity that allowed me to take a new approach with more talent-based promotion and regional attraction. Here, I was able to dive into events like Intern Connect, put my spin on the social media channels, and work to reconstruct their newsletters. This opportunity was unique because I was able to target and work with other interns across West Michigan, as well as promote a region that I feel so much love for.

Allyssa was an amazing mentor, both guiding me through tasks that were given to interns and allowing me to take on different projects that I saw fit. Her faith in my ability to learn and take on responsibility helped me gain new skills and grow the ones that I already had into points on my resume that I could confidently say I feel proficient in. Working with the rest of the team was also amazing, as they took me in as their own intern and taught me how events, PR, and graphic design roll into marketing. Even Emma, whom I only had the privilege of working with for about a month, brought invaluable advice for a young professional like myself and became a valuable resource and fast friend.

Final Takeaways
When I think about all the ways that this internship changed me both personally and professionally, three things stand out to me. First, this role has given me the opportunity to look at the Greater Grand Rapids region with a brand-new appreciation for the businesses, the leaders, and the community that make the region such an amazing place to live and work. I also feel prepared now more than ever to enter the workforce as a well-rounded professional who can handle whatever my career has in store (and with the genuine connections to businesses in the area to go along with it).

However, possibly my favorite thing about my internship at The Right Place is how every individual who works there has become a mentor, a peer, and a friend. The support I felt to try anything, the encouragement as I finished up my college career, and the way that they all truly cared about me as a person outside of the 9–5 was genuine and has permanently shaped how I perceive a positive workplace culture.