Information Security Conventions for beginners?

As Joshua answered, there are BSides conferences in many cities, and they are very accessible for people new to the field. It looks like you're in Ohio, so you may be interested in BSides Columbus: https://www.bsidescolumbus.com/

There are also several conferences that record and share many of their talks, such as CCC (https://media.ccc.de/) and DefCon (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9_QBPq2MmmThH9ftM_v5Fw). These videos can be a great way to gain insight into the field without having to pay for a ticket.

BSides conferences are a great way to meet people in the industry and many are free. What is nice about these conferences for beginners is that the topics are not typically as deep of a dive as you might find at the bigger conferences...ie DefCon. Most of the speakers would love to chat with you personally more about their presentation and it is a fantastic way to meet others in the industry. Many conferences also record their presentations online after the conference, which is a good way to "attend" the conference without the cost. Viewing these presentations is also a great way to explore the many paths of Information Security. Start by reviewing conferences you think might be interesting and then research past years to see if any recordings are available. Another option may to to check for local meetups or local hacker spaces. You will meet many people who share the same interests and have a lot to contribute to the industry, but who aren't giving presentations at conferences. This gives you the one on one time to ask questions and explore interests.

I would suggest smaller ones to start with. BSides events (securitybsides.com) are very good and typically $20 or less. I have been to NOLACon and DerbyCon a few times. Alot of it comes down to your location and whose funding the trip too. I've paid for all of mine so far and it's been worth the money. Other small ones are CircleCityCon, GRRCon, HouSecCon to name a few.