After 14 weeks of learning, contributing, exploring, and becoming part of the Rathbun Insurance team, we are saying goodbye to our summer intern, Rayon Sanders, as he wraps up his internship with us this Friday, August 27.
Rayon came to Rathbun as a recent graduate of Everett High School and is leaving us ready to begin an exciting new chapter at Davenport University this fall. Over the course of the summer, we had the opportunity to watch Rayon grow professionally, take on meaningful projects, explore different career paths, and leave his own mark on our agency.
Throughout the summer, Rayon worked his way through our Rathbun Insurance Internship Passport, an immersive program designed to give students exposure to every part of operating an independent insurance agency.
Inside Rathbun, Rayon rotated through all areas of our business. He spent time with our Personal Lines and Commercial Lines teams learning how we serve clients throughout the insurance lifecycle, worked alongside our producers to better understand sales and business development, and gained exposure to agency operations, marketing, finance, technology, and leadership. He also learned about the systems and processes that keep an independent insurance agency moving every day and had opportunities to sit down with members of our team to learn about their individual career paths and responsibilities.
We also believe that a meaningful internship should extend beyond the four walls of Rathbun Insurance.
Throughout his 14 weeks, Rayon participated in external learning and job-shadowing experiences with organizations including Auto-Owners Insurance, Accident Fund, the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS), Plante Moran, the Lansing Economic Development Corporation, Capital Area Michigan Works, and our Insurance Agency Accounting and Bookkeeping firm. He attended Lansing and Mason rotary and played a key role in photographing our 70th anniversary party. These experiences allowed him to see different sides of the insurance industry while also exploring careers in finance, economic development, government, and professional services.
Rayon also completed three signature projects during his internship.
Working alongside our other summer intern, Jessica Hua, Rayon helped develop a presentation celebrating Rathbun Insurance’s 70th anniversary. The summer-long project gave our interns an opportunity to dig into our agency’s history and help us tell the story of seven decades of serving the Greater Lansing community.
Independently, Rayon also upgraded the student presentation we use when speaking with young people about insurance and careers in our industry and developed a new interactive game that our team can use when we are out at community events. He also provided improvements to the workbook that accompanies our Internship Passport, helping us make the experience even stronger for the students who will come after him.
One of our goals with the Rathbun Internship Passport is to make sure students leave with more than something to add to a résumé. We want them to leave having done meaningful work, met professionals throughout our community, explored different career paths, developed new skills, and gained a better understanding of what the working world can look like.
Rayon certainly made the most of those opportunities, and he made Rathbun better along the way.
We are going to miss having Rayon in the office, but we couldn't be more excited to see what comes next for him. As he heads to Davenport University this fall, we wish him the very best of luck in this next chapter.
Thank you, Rayon, for an amazing 14 weeks. We are proud to have been a small part of your journey, and remember, you’ll always have friends at Rathbun Insurance.