Liberal Arts in Action

Throughout your journey at Rollins, you’ll have ample opportunity to put your education into action. From internships and study abroad to collaborative research and community service, you’ll expand your interests, deepen your knowledge, and hone your skills through an array of real-world endeavors. Along the way, you’ll develop the kind of experience that hiring managers and graduate schools demand.

For proof, look no further than Nicole Hall-Elser ’18. As a business design strategist for Duke Energy’s innovation technology group, Hall-Elser is using the design-thinking skills and business acumen that she acquired at Rollins to drive digital transformation at Duke with the goal of delivering cleaner energy systems.

As a student, the social entrepreneurship major took advantage of numerous opportunities to sharpen her skills outside the classroom. She was an ambassador in the Social Impact Hub, a creative space on campus that gives student entrepreneurs tools to address local and global issues. She was president of Net Impact, a student-run club focused on social and environmental change. And she co-founded BatterEASE, a startup that upcycled batteries to bring sustainable power to developing areas. Hall-Elser and her BatterEASE co-founders advanced to the finals of the Hult Prize, a global competition that challenges students to tackle the planet’s most pressing problems.

“More than anything, that experience taught me that I could change the world,” says Hall-Elser. “I had it within me to do the thing that I thought was impossible, and it was my responsibility as a young person to change the pace of things. It instilled a lot of creative and professional confidence in me—and led to a recruiter from Duke reaching out to me on LinkedIn encouraging me to apply for my current position.”

Major: Social entrepreneurship

Rollins Results

Find out how other Tars parlayed real-world experiences during college into real-world success after graduation.

“Through a series of internships at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab and Kennedy Space Center, I learned to work independently and was able to delve deeper into computer vision work, data visualization, and authentication services—areas that laid the foundation for grad school and my career.”

Michael Gutensohn ’18

AR/VR Software Engineer, Apple

Major: Computer science

“Doing undergraduate research with [English Professor] Paul Reich helped me develop the editorial experience and project management skills needed to thrive in my role as an editorial specialist. I loved what I did at Rollins, and it prepared me to find a job that lets me love what I do now.”

Emory O’Malley ’21

Editorial Specialist, Purple Carrot

Major: English

“Serving with local nonprofits through the Bonner Leaders Program, spearheading the nonpartisan Democracy Project, and researching the impact of electoral rules on voters’ behaviors all helped me demonstrate leadership, foster teamwork, and set goals that enabled me to secure a Presidential Management Fellowship, which is allowing me to positively change our government.”

Skylar Knight ’19

Management and Program Analyst, U.S. Department of the Treasury Majors: Political science and philosophy