My Virtual Internship Experience

By Anne Bowen, Insurance and Risk Management Major, Scott College of Business, Indiana State University

On May 11, 2020, I began my journey as the summer 2020 Virtual Healthcare & Human Services Intern at Arlington/Roe location in Indianapolis, IN. While a virtual internship experience was not an opportunity that I ever imagined occurring throughout my collegiate career, Arlington/Roe took a dynamic approach to make feel connected, even from a distance. I am a current junior at Indiana State University studying Insurance and Risk Management as well as Financial Services and I worked from my house in my hometown, Terre Haute, IN.

My work from home location was just ninety-four miles south of Arlington/Roe, and while that distance felt cumbersome during a pandemic, Arlington/Roe welcomed me in with surprises in the mail, company apparel, and the opportunity to speak with leaders on my first day.

Learning in this new, remote environment was unique to say the least as I worked out of my childhood bedroom, but during the first few weeks working alongside my fellow team members, I was able to gain a sense of Arlington/Roe’s values and business model. I was able to engage in phone calls, learn about Microsoft Teams, and figure out how to share screens.

From day one, I was presented with a broad scope of various projects that I had the ability to dedicate my time to throughout my internship experience. As my discussions continued with various individuals, I was introduced to the Healthcare and Human Services Appetite Guide. The Appetite Guide ran through the application OneNote, which holds a plethora of information about carriers, classes of business, tough risks, and much more intel. 

I was drawn to the broad scope of information that was being stored within the Appetite Guide as well as the capacity of the OneNote application. While I investigated this application in detail, my discussions with team members allowed me to see areas within the Appetite Guide that needed to be further developed and improved. With these values in mind, I began my development of the OneNote Internship Project. This project allowed me the opportunity to gain a better sense of the importance of constant connectivity, efficiency, and the importance of team consistency.

Through my findings in this project, I was able to better equip the team to become more efficient, resourceful, and solution-based within the application, OneNote. With every step of my experience, I learned intuitively and was even given the chance to participate in a virtual brokerage challenge with interns from all across the country.

Having a virtual internship pushed me to grow in ways I never would have and allowed me to show independence as well as dedication while having some fun. Reminiscing on the phone calls from Arlington/Roe’s top leaders and chatting with President Jim Roe about our lunchtime activities are just some of the highlights that will always stick with me. Having a virtual internship was an amazing experience and I cannot thank Arlington/Roe enough for the opportunity to learn, grow, and gain experience in this industry!

Stay tuned for the announcement of the RISE Elite 50 Internships!