Justin Raters ’19 Franciscan Alliance – This summer, I have been spending most of my time at Franciscan Health Crawfordsville, where I have been working on many projects as a marketing intern under Matt Oates. Many of these projects have been at a desk on a computer, but some of my favorite projects have been outside of the office. I’ll explain a few of these along with what I have enjoyed about my position this summer.
Before this summer, I had never really used InDesign, and for that matter I hadn’t planned on using it anytime soon, but in my position at the hospital I was required to learn how to use this tool quickly. Along with the many name changes that the hospital has undergone in recent years came name and logo changes on just about all of the brochures, pamphlets, flyers, and any other printed document a person could imagine. A lot of my time was spent fixing these documents so that they would have the correct logo and phrasing according to which department they would be distributed in. Some may think that this would be a boring job but I enjoyed learning the software and seeing how quickly I could get projects done.
However, working at a desk and on a laptop was not the only thing that I did this summer. I was also involved in many events that the hospital was a part of. The first event that I was able to work was the Montgomery County Health Fair. This is an event that many healthcare providers attend to give information and promotional items to community members. I also helped at the County Fair and National Night Out. Events like these were some of my favorite because I was able to engage with the community, as well as other hospital staff.
One of the last projects that I was able to be a part of was the new Emergency Department Dedication and Opening. Matt and I liked to call this event the “final exam” of my internship because it placed me into a more hectic and busy few weeks of preparing and then performing on the day of the event. This was a great event to end my internship with because I was able to see how an opening of a new facility is taken care of from the marketing side of things. This opportunity also gave me the chance to create new connections with those who were in attendance.
I am very thankful for the opportunity that was given to me by Matt Oates, Franciscan Alliance, Roland Morin, and especially the Lilly Endowment. This internship gave me the experience that I was looking for in a professional setting and helped me to develop skills that I may not have without it. I am certain that I will utilize these experiences, connections, and skills in my future endeavors, wherever they may take me.
