Catching up with Allison Brennan, the 2019 PCMA Capital Chapter Emerging Professionals Intern

The next rotation for the PCMA CC Emerging Professionals Internship was at Interel. Interel is an association management company with locations around the globe ranging from Washington DC, Brussels, and Beijing.

Interel is responsible for managing the Capital Chapter’s events and finances, so it was great to see firsthand all of the support that they provide our chapter with. Throughout the week I had the pleasure of working on certain projects and products leading up to Spark, our July education program, and with the Interel Meetings team.

Monday, I had the opportunity to aid Lindsay, our program manager, with a Chapter news update and a reminder for our members to register for Spark. I appreciated her willingness to include me on projects and to allow me to input my opinion where I saw fit. I loved watching our registration list grow throughout the week directly following the news blast registration reminder!

My second day at Interel, I sat in on the Capital Chapter’s Executive Committee phone call and on our Chapter’s group call regarding Spark with Vicki, our Chapter President, and Bea, our Managing Director, at the office. This was a great learning experience for me to gauge the overall communication between our chapter board and staff, as well as, the opportunities that Interel provides to our chapter. Following the Spark call I was given the chance to work directly on a project that impacted continued registration of the program.

On Wednesday, I switched gears and worked with the meetings department at Interel. They allowed me the chance to compose a product for their upcoming client show and research possible exhibits. I appreciated the originality they granted me when working on the MS Excel platform and had a great time looking into possible exhibitors for their client. This experience gave me a look into what they do when prepping for an upcoming show and also gathering research to present to a client regarding a different conference. I enjoyed knowing that I was able to have an impact on their client decision and assist the team along the way.

My second day with the events group (Thursday) I was able to work on a project in Cvent. I assisted with the client contacts and ensured the information was up to date. It was a great opportunity for me to work in Cvent again, because I was able to build upon my previous knowledge of the software. Following my time with the meetings team, I was back working on Spark. I was given the role to sort the registered attendees and to organize the names that were already registered for the program.

Friday, my last day at Interel, I continued to assist with the Spark program. I helped with the generation of badges that will be given to the registered attendees prior to the program. I loved and was able to appreciate the attention to detail that went into each portion of the Spark program. Whether it was directly checking each attendee’s name to make sure their credentials were properly listed, overseeing a newsletter, or designing a product that would benefit registration, it was an excellent time to see the tireless impact that Interel positively has on our chapter.