The RIMS Apprentice: My experiences at RIMS

Editor's note: Another Temple University student volunteered to guest post for us here at RIMS. His name: Jonathan Leather. But let's not keep you waiting. Here's Jonathan ...

The first thing that I have to say is that as a student, RIMS is what you make of it. Physical presence is not enough; in order to get the most out of it you have to be outgoing and social.

Many of my felow students took the approach that they have already accepted an nternship or full-time position and therefore don't need to network. I took a different approach; I already had accepted an internship, but still wanted to meet as many people, do as many things, and learn as much as I could for the time I was there.

I must say that it was the people I met that made this one of the best experiences of my life.
I can't provide any names at the moment, since my luggage containing business cards was lost at the airport.

What I was most impressed by was the caliber of the people and events that contributed to my experience. I accumulated a stack of business cards about two inches thick, and I can honestly say that I held a great conversation with every person I met.

There were three things that impressed me most with both RIMS and the risk management and insurnace industry.

First was how friendly everyone was. I took every opprotunity to speak to anyone I could meet, and was surprised to find that most of them remembered me when I ran into them at various events. I was under the impression that I was only a student, and would be forgotten as soon as the conversation ended. The fact that more often than not people remembered who I was is incredible. As a student, it is the most amazing feeling to have any industry professional, especially executives such as CEO's and Senior Vice Presidents remember you and greet you by name. On top of that, everybody was willing to take the time to speak to me, a student, no matter how buisy their schedules or how many important clients they had to meet.

Second was the size of the event. I have never been in so many nice buildings and I have never attended an event of such caliber. The RIMS conference its self is impressive; I managed to visit many of the booths and events, but what was most impressive to me was the parties hosted by different companies. It seemed as though each party outdid the last. The food and drink was exceptional; I can honestly say I had the best desserts at the AIG party, the best Chinese food at the Willis party, and the best time at all of them. The places where the events were held and entertainment (Hootie & the Blowfish) was incredible. This was my first experience at an event like this, and it was overwhelming. I cannot fathom how much time and money went into the parties, and it is hard for me to imagine getting a large enough return on investment by hosting a party.

Third was how much I learned. In class we learn concepts and theories, but at RIMS, I started to learn how they are applied. The knowledge I gained by atending sessions, visiting booths, and meeting people gave me a glimpse of the actual complexity of insurnace, opening my eyes to how much there is that I don't know.

As well as meeting industry professionals, I had the opprontunity to meet Risk Management students from other Universities and Gamma Iota Sigma Chapters. It was interesting to see the differences in our approaches to learning; for everything that I knew that they didn't, they knew something that I didn't. I had a great time meeting my peers and forsee a long relationship with more than a few of them.

It seemed as though each booth had something both unique and cutting edge to offer, much of what I learned was by having people explain what their company does, and how it differentiates its self.

Overall I was very impressed with the program, having only a few regrets.

First was the location of our hotel. We (Temple University Students) stayed at the Best Western Hacienca Old Town, which was about six or seven miles away from the event. I would have preferred staying closer, since it was a hassle to deal with the trolley, or figuring out a ride incase we wanted to stay out after the trolley stopped running.

Although the vast majority of attendees were professional, there were a few, including students, that had too much of a good time. Occasionally I would meet a professional, and more often I would meet students who seemed more concerned with indulging in drink than they were in meeting people, socializing, and having a good time. There were a few students who occasionally lapsed in their professionalism; I hope that they did not influence the opinions of people they met. I feel as though we were guests at this event, leaving us no room for unprofessional behavior.

Lastly, I was dissapointed with the conflict of school and RIMS. RIMS is always held a week before our finals, meaning that I came later, and left earlier than I would have liked, and had to worry about schoolwork as well. If finals were two weeks earlier or RIMS two weeks later, I (and my classmates) would have been able to relax a bit more, stay a bit longer, and hopefully gain a bit more knowledge and a few more friends.

Overall, I had the best time of my life. I fully intend to attend next year's RIMS event (Orlando?) and I plan on staying the whole time. I believe that I made friends and contacts that I will have for a very long time, and that knowledge I gained will influence my career positively.

Thanks for Reading,
Jonathan Leather
Jonathan.Leather@temple.edu