Team Building
The interns and a few other members of the ICBA team joined in on some team building activities with teambuilding.com!
First, we attended an “Art of Storytelling” Workshop, where we spent time learning how to tell captivating stories and how to translate those skills into our everyday dialogues. We then divided up into teams and were challenged with creating our own story based on a topic and corresponding article.
To end the week on Friday, we made s'mores and earned our camping badges! Working as “cabins” to win at-home scavenger hunts and sharing stories around the campfire, we learned more about the travels and hobbies of our team. Congratulations to Bonfire Buddies for their victory!
Weekly Leader Lunch
For this week's leader lunch, we met with Senior Executive Vice President of Member Engagement, Peter Nelson and Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, Rob Birgfeld. The two shared their experiences and career journeys that brought them to ICBA.
Hearing how Mr. Nelson got his start as an accountant and then served as President of an ICBA member bank, and how Mr. Birgfeld worked in a number of communication roles in the private and nonprofit sectors before coming into community banking truly exemplified there is not one set path to a career.
Both of our speakers encouraged us to always take the opportunities presented to us and enjoy trying new things.
Career Advice
The interns this week also attended a “Job Interviews Do's and Don'ts” presentation by Human Resources. It was insightful to hear about the other side of the interview process from our specialists! We talked about how to prepare for interviews and even got to hear a few horror stories.
For each internship diary, our interns are asked one question:
What has been the most surprising/exciting thing you have learned or encountered so far during your time at ICBA?
Alexa: Beyond just the experience and learning about the community banking industry, I am getting to learn about the value of workplace culture. ICBA cultivates a workplace fostering employees that contribute to a positive, diverse, and collaborative environment. The people at ICBA genuinely value their work and have a passion for helping community banking.
Meeting different team members in the government relations department is my favorite part because I get to learn how each member contributes to an imperative yet unique part of ICBA. Throughout our weekly leader lunches, ICBA leaders share insights on their careers and stories of their own lives that inspire the interns.
Beyond just the work ICBA accomplishes, ICBA members exhibit a community and a commitment to interpersonal relationships, and I am so grateful to be a part of that community for the summer!
Vansh: One of the most surprising things I’ve learned at ICBA is how involved the organization is with fintechs and financial institutions. I didn’t realize how much strategy and innovation goes into helping community banks stay competitive.
It’s not just about policy or tradition, there’s a real effort to modernize and create tools that actually support small banks in today’s market. Being part of that, even on the intern level, has been exciting. I’ve also started recognizing some of the partner companies or banks I’ve seen in meetings or databases out in the real world, which makes the work feel way more connected.
Maia: As the membership intern, I spend the majority of my time in NetForum, making edits and cleaning up the database. The most surprising thing I have encountered is that I have started to recognize community banks everywhere I go. I was on a road trip last week, and I noticed banks that I made edits to in NetForum! From this, I have learned how important ICBA is to community banking and the large number of community banks that are positively impacted by ICBA.
Lydia: The most exciting thing I have encountered so far, as funny as it sounds, is being busy! By working in both events and education departments I get work from both sides, and I always have something to do. Personally, I love being able to have a full task list that keeps me busy while I work and helps the days go by.
Another thing I found most surprising that I learned was how long some of the staff have been employed here at ICBA. It shows that the company culture definitely follows the core values of caring, connected, and collaboration and it most certainly proves a bright future outlook possibility for me as an intern.
Mia: I think the most surprising thing I have noticed is how much collaboration goes on between certain departments. While I had the expectation that communications and marketing would often go hand and hand, it has been so interesting to also hold a relationship with teams like government relations. We work closely with them when discussing the issues, language, and expertise we want to promote from the ICBA perspective.
Hope you enjoyed our updates, until next time!
