An ‘Enterprise’ of her own

Published 6:31 pm Monday, December 22, 2008

By By JESSICA SIEFF / Niles Daily Star
Upon graduation, college students are supposed to feel a relative lightening of the load with the cease in coursework. But they may be finding the end of their college careers a bit more worrisome, as job markets stall and opportunities become increasingly coveted.
One area business, however, is making the launch to a successful career a little bit easier – as one of Niles' own can attest.
Enterprise Rent-A-Car recently announced that the company was once again named as one of BusinessWeek's "Top 50 places to launch a career."
This is the third straight year for Enterprise to make the list.
Sara Whitfield, a class of 1999 Niles High School graduate, began working at the company's Niles office not long after she graduated from St. Mary's College.
"I grew up in Niles," Whitfield said. "It was really important to me to stay near my family."
Enterprise's Niles branch is about 10 years old, according to Whitfield and her Group Rental Manager, Mark Vaughters. The office employs three and has "been a good office for the area," Vaughters said. Good enough to lead to an additional location just across the state line.
According to the company's release, BusinessWeek used surveys of college career services directors and employers and a student survey conducted by Universum Communications, a market-research firm based in Philadelphia to compile its list.
The company estimates it hires one student from St. Mary's College, in Notre Dame, Ind., each year.
For Whitfield, the company "seems to be a place where my skill set seems to fit professionally," she said. And as the company only promotes from within, she's looking toward the future.
"At this point I do want to be an area manager," Whitfield said. "Once I get there and I do want to get there – there's lots of avenues to go to."