Here’s everything you need to know.

In an effort to recruit talented young people to the area, Intern Connect is a professional development conference designed to teach area interns about West Michigan’s lifestyle and abundant economic opportunities. Not your typical professional development conference, on Wednesday, June 25, 2025 Intern Connect will be an event focused on essential skills.

Intern Connect 2025 Session Topics

• • Authenticity at Work: Balancing Professionalism and Your True Self with former Grand Rapids Mayor, Rosalynn Bliss
  • Navigating Discomfort 101: Facing Failure with founder & principal consultant of the Human Solution, Anna Baeten
  • Networking Power Hour
  • Access the Executives: Career Insights from the Region’s Leaders

Bonus: with your intern’s registration, they will unlock access to additional resources so support their professional development all summer long.

• Intern Start Up Guide: Printable guide to give interns during onboarding, providing an overview of the region and summer events.
• Intern Inform Newsletter: Written by interns, for interns. This weekly e-newsletter is filled with additional insights form our conference speakers, professional events around the region, and more.
• Intern of the Summer Contest: Interns can self-nominate to be West Michigan’s Intern of the Summer. The winner will be recognized with a prize package on National Intern Day, July 25.
• Company Connect Series: Interns get to attend professional development sessions, networking events, or fun gatherings as a way to connect with other interns and local companies.

For many students, a summer internship might be the first time they work a 40 hour workweek. During this adjustment, interns might be new to communicating in the workplace, networking, and navigating their careers. Intern Connect is designed to help interns own their internship, grow as a professional, and discover West Michigan.

This event is open to ALL interns, regardless of company or geographic location. You just need to be a current intern to register.

There are several ways for employers to be involved in Intern Connect:

• Sponsor: Sponsor a session, or participate in the Networking Power Hour. This includes logo placement on our website and marketing materials. Intern Connect is a unique branding opportunity because all attendees are current interns, meaning they are a high caliber of students. This professional development conference is a chance to gain valuable exposure for your employment brand through interactions with students in a casual atmosphere. Take a look at the 2025 Sponsorship Opportunities for a unique branding and recruiting opportunity for your company.
• Pay for Intern Registration Fees: This is the best way to encourage your interns to attend and easiest for you. Contact us for group registration or to set up a discount code for individual registration.
• Promote: We provide marketing materials and you promote the event to your interns.

Interested in becoming a sponsor or having company representatives at Intern Connect? Email our Executive Director, Rachel Gray, at grayr@hellowestmichigan.com.