Having hired 15 PBA students or alumni as team members, Entrusted, a water, fire and mold restoration company, has reinvested in PBA’s career preparation program.
Entrusted, a small, Christian-owned business that services South Florida and select counties in Texas, recently made a $2,500 gift to a University program that encourages students to pursue internships as a means of discerning vocation and gaining highly sought-after interpersonal skills.
Entrusted’s donation will support the Discovering Internships as Vocational Exploration (DIVE) initiative spearheaded by the Office of Career Development. DIVE includes career exploration trips to employers such as the Palm Beach International Airport, Port of Palm Beach, CEMEX and the most popular — the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Miami, said Jennifer Fonseca, assistant director of career development.
On DIVE trips, students visit employers who either already have interns, or who have a good potential for placement. Sixty-seven percent of students who complete internships are offered jobs, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
“People are looking to build internship pipelines that feed into these full-time positions,” Fonseca said.
The trips allow students to see what an employers’ work environment is like and what goes into their industries, said Dr. Kimberly Ladd, director of career development.
“We have recruiters come on campus all the time, but it’s not the same as going to them,” Ladd said.
Students often learn that majors don’t necessarily define careers, Ladd said. The more exposure students have to internships or jobs, the more they see how their gifts align with various opportunities.
Entrusted, for example, is in the construction/insurance industry. Yet the company has team members in sales, marketing, operations, administration, accounting and project management, said Chief Operating Officer Dallas Trahern.
Two years ago, Entrusted participated in a job fair, where Trahern met Fonseca and became a mentor for students in the Marshall E. Rinker Sr. School of Business.
Trahern encourages students to think about their gifts first and the industry second.
Many of the team members choose to work at Entrusted for the same reasons they chose to attend PBA: a culture of high ethical standards and leadership that cares for them. Job candidates from PBA are a great fit because they have integrity, he said.
Fifteen current students or alumni work on their team in various capacities.
“We have directly benefited from the gifts and abilities of those team members,” Trahern said. “We want to see that continue.”
