Nick Drehs ’23 — First, I would like to thank the Dill Family Fund for allowing me to broaden my horizons this summer during my internship at Leonard-McDowell in Zionsville, IN. Also, I want to thank CEO Frank Leonard ’86 and Katy Copsey for providing an experience that has taught me more than I could ask. Because of this experience, I have found more interest in the world of technology.
This summer, I have been challenged to manage content and sales reach to five different technology companies in Indiana. Mainly working for Leonard-McDowell, my objective was to promote social media engagement and bring more awareness to the names of companies. CEO Frank Leonard ’86 is a venture capitalist, specifically in the technology industry. My work came from networking, researching, and creating relationships. I wrote around 15 blog posts covering the companies we were a vendor for and Leonard-McDowell itself. The goal of these posts was to spread awareness of what LM provides and how it is beneficial to our target audience. Also, I reached out to potential clients and set up meetings while growing my network. The best part of the internship was the meeting and presentation with fellow intern Nick Goode ’22, and I gave to the Secretary of State, Holli Sullivan, regarding our Wabash internship. By participating and asking questions, I found myself growing professionally.
Throughout my internship, I have learned and managed content for a different industry that I was not familiar with at first. Metaphorically speaking, CEO Frank Leonard ’86 repeatedly told us to drink from the fire hose. The tasks and obligations required of the interns were challenging and rewarding. This summer has provided me with both life and business skills. Our internship motto was, “Be bold, let’s go!” We had to be confident in networking, creating meetings, and ourselves when conversating with anyone. I was also fortunate enough to be mentored by Mike Ramirez from Clear Software. Mike Ramirez spent time once a week teaching the interns sales strategies. I learned sales from more of a confident and natural conversing realm. My summer internship was beneficial to me and my confidence in my skills in the business world.
All in all, it was an unbelievable experience, and I am grateful to everyone who made it possible!
