Destini Johnson has always been interested in working with people. She began as a barista, and over the summer moved into a new role thanks to an internship with Enterprise Mobility in Grand Island, Nebraska.
Johnson, a business administration major from Frederick, Colorado, attended a career fair hosted by Hastings College’s Career Services team in March and found herself face-to-face with a manager from Enterprise, a travel agency most known for their rental car access. The next day, the manager contacted Johnson and asked her to apply for the summer internship program, where she and 19 other interns learning the challenges of rental car services.
Johnson’s day to day tasks mostly consisted of inventory, keeping track of pricing and calling customers to locate rentals. Beyond that, she gained experience in how to contact customers in regards to insurance claims on those vehicles, and learned a lot about what happens behind the scenes experience, too.
“What’s fascinating is our advertisements show we have 150 cars to rent out, but they’re all actively being used by customers,” Johnson said. “Yet we have to keep up with marketing the vehicles, or there won’t be future reservations.”
Johnson’s biggest challenge has come from the longer work weeks, but because she is in such a social position it has balanced out quite well. The interactions with customers and fellow interns gave her something to look forward to during a day full of inventory spreadsheets and mathematics for insurance claims on damaged rental returns.
“Forty hours over the summer is a lot, especially when that feels like the minimum amount I’m working some days,” she said.
Johnson said she wants to stay within Hastings or Grand Island after her upcoming summer graduation, especially if she is able to return to Enterprise. For her, it’s a step in the right direction, as it allows her to apply the skills she has picked up in her business courses at Hastings College.
The classes have allowed her to learn how to work in a team, how to converse with customers and adjust spreadsheets to keep track of rentals and related numbers.
“I’ve really enjoyed the experience I’ve gotten at Enterprise,” Johnson said, “it’s allowed me to narrow down what I want to do as a career, especially if it involves face to face interaction or working to support other organizations.”
By Caspian Weeden, an English major from Pueblo, Colorado.
