Gillian Franks was recognized as a top performing intern in Arizona during her summer internship with Enterprise.
How did you get your internship?
I got my internship by attending an internship-oriented UArizona career fair at Bear Down Gym. I looked ahead of time to see what companies were going to be there and I saw that Enterprise was listed and my interest was piqued immediately. I went to the fair, saw their booth, and went up and introduced myself to them. I had a really good conversation with them and told them information about my major and my past job experience. They told me that they thought I would be a good fit and they asked me to apply, so I did. My application got accepted and then I did two interviews in order to officially be offered the internship position at Enterprise.
What type of work did you do at your internship?
The work I did throughout my internship at Enterprise was focused on customer service along with learning the back-end administrative processes of the business. My tasks included providing customer service as well as doing customer follow-up to make sure their payments would be processed on time. I also learned how to navigate through inventory and make sure that everything was being managed properly so that we were accurately tracking all of our fleet. My role as an intern was to do everything I could to observe what was happening at the back-end of sales processes, along with making sure I was excelling in providing an excellent overall customer service experience.
What skills did you improve during this experience?
Throughout this internship, I really improved on my communication skills. I realized very quickly that it was extremely important to learn how to communicate with both customers and other employees in the company. I also developed my situational communication skills; every situation requires a unique communication style to adapt to the way the customer understands the terms of a transaction, while also maintaining a sense of professionalism and helpfulness.
What was the most satisfying part of this internship?
The most satisfying part of my internship was that interns were treated as if they were regular permanent employees at the company. I worked really hard and I ended up becoming the #2 intern in the state of Arizona at Enterprise. I won some prize money for that achievement as well as getting the opportunity to get dinner with the other top-performers in the city as a sign of appreciation from Enterprise. It definitely made me feel super valued and accomplished.
What was a significant contribution that you made to your internship site?
I feel that one of the most significant contributions that I made was my overall tenacity to learn and be a team player, because that attitude can be contagious. There were times throughout this internship where my branch underwent some staff changes, which left us understaffed and in a bit of a bind for a couple weeks. I kept up a good positive attitude and continued to work hard to prove myself even during the times of stress. This was significant because in times when the branch was going through a time of struggle, it made the biggest difference in team morale to be able to maintain a positive attitude.
How is your Applied Humanities degree related to your experience?
My major is Applied Humanities with an emphasis on Business Administration. This internship is related to my major because I learned all of the key aspects of running a business while also understanding the importance of maintaining relationships and being cognizant of others. The overlap of those areas is aligned with the interdisciplinarity of the degree. This internship was the perfect opportunity for me to actually apply my major and knowledge to the workplace in a real-life setting.