Intern Spotlight: Zach Renken

Zach Renken is a marketing intern with Bank Midwest in Spirit Lake. Renken will be a sophomore at the University of South Dakota where he has a marketing major and a finance minor.

Advice from a mentor led him to apply for several positions with different banks. “I dropped my resume off at a few banks in the area, and it didn’t really get anywhere,” Renken said. “I reached out to a connection I had with Bank Midwest, and they helped me out."

Additionally, his position gave him a more thorough understanding of the marketing field. "I didn’t think that marketing was all brochures and mailings, but there is a lot more data involved,” he noted. “There is a small marketing team here, so I worked on substantial projects that will help the department in the future."

Throughout his time, Renken had the opportunity to work on a variety of different projects for the company, saying, “My first few weeks, I was looking through a lot of Excel spreadsheets and doing competitive analysis. Then I moved into using our data system. We’ve only had it for a few months, so I was able to make myself an asset by knowing how to use it to generate reports. Now I’m helping out with some product development tasks.”

“Bank Midwest doesn’t just give you a place to work for the summer,” he explained. “They also want to provide an educational experience. I had the opportunity to attend a networking event in Des Moines with the Iowa Bankers Association and met people from around the state.”

“Don’t think anything is below you,” Renken advised other interns. “Just being able to get in the door is really important.”

About the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation

The Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation is the regional economic development agency for Buena Vista, Clay, Dickinson and Emmet counties. The Iowa Lakes Corridor’s mission is to foster, encourage, promote, aid or otherwise assist in the economic development growth and development of the four-county region.