Nicholas Carswell ’24 Hits the Road

When Nicholas Carswell ’24 watched the class ahead of his reflect on their internships during their final presentations, he realized he wanted to try something a little different.

His friends, Jake Paquette ’23, ’24 MBA and Arizon Tobyne ’23, ’24 MBA, had both worked for Enterprise Rent-A-Car in the New England area, so Nicholas said he already knew their management trainee internship program might be an option, but he wondered if he might use this opportunity to explore somewhere truly different. So, for his own Enterprise internship, he decided to head down to Ocala, Florida, for the summer.

“I’m from Richford, Vermont, which is a really small town, so I wanted to get out and see something new,” said Nicholas, adding that one of the most interesting aspects of living in Florida is the opportunity to experience more diversity. “I want to learn everybody’s stories. Everybody has knowledge and wisdom to share. You’ve got to talk to everybody.”

Jake and Arizon, who graduated in May, are entering Colby-Sawyer’s fifth-year MBA program this fall, and Nicholas is considering doing the same when he finishes his senior year.

In the meantime, Nicholas is spending his summer connecting people with the right vehicles, and learning how to help every customer — even the challenging ones — with a smile.

“I’m learning how much actually goes into a business — the statistics and metrics that make a business successful, and how much of that depends on individual employees,” Nicholas said.

Every week, Nicholas said his manager sits down with him and goes over a plan (which they call a “roadmap”) that reveals all the factors being taken into account to maximize their product.

“It’s really opened my eyes,” Nicholas said.

Like Nicholas, 100% of Colby-Sawyer students complete an internship in their major, and 61% are offered a full-time position by their internship site after graduating.