Students embrace chamber internships

Nicolas Carrasquero, a December 2025 graduate with a degree in marketing, worked an internship with the Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce last summer, and his experience inspired him to apply to the University of Georgia's (UGA) Master of Marketing Research program.

"I had enjoyed marketing research, but I didn't see a career for myself in that field until I did data analysis with the Forsyth Chamber," Carrasquero said. "That sparked interest in grad school. Everything came together because of the internship I had. I am thankful for the number of valuable connections and opportunities the chamber provided for me outside of school and in the professional world."

His internship came about after Dr. Ken Crowe, retired executive director of UNG's Cumming Campus, and Dr. Mohan Menon, department head of Marketing & Logistics, met with Amber Gaddis, Forsyth Chamber director of workforce development, about partnering to use Qualtrics surveys with UNG's assistance. Menon encouraged Gaddis to hire a UNG student as an intern who could be the liaison between the university and the chamber, and Carrasquero was selected from eight applicants.

Gaddis said it was a natural decision to hire Carrasquero as intern because he "was going to be a go-getter in whatever role we put him in." Carrasquero, a Lawrenceville, Georgia, resident, focused on encouraging Forsyth businesses to complete the chamber's workforce development survey.

"He helped us tell the story of why the survey was so crucial," Gaddis said.

One of the most difficult moments of the internship turned into a growth moment. Gaddis and Carrasquero quickly received hundreds of responses and were excited until they realized their survey had been hacked by bots.

"Nick wasn't frazzled by that. He reached out to his professor to figure out what went wrong and immediately went into troubleshooting," Gaddis said. "To see him turn that into an opportunity to learn how to get better information was very impressive."

Gaddis enjoyed seeing Carrasquero's connections with his professors and classmates, including Dr. Waros Ngamsiriudom, an associate professor of marketing who is mentoring Carrasquero.

"He felt very supported by UNG," Gaddis said. "That's setting him up for success in the future."

Bobbi Larson, associate vice president for community engagement, is hopeful other students will see the possibilities of internships or full-time jobs with local chambers.

"Chambers hire for positions that need expertise in a variety of disciplines, and UNG students and graduates can leverage what they have learned here to excel in these roles and make great connections for their future careers," Larson said.