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University of Dayton
Riley Parker
Student Painters gave me the opportunity to run my own business for the summer and I’m so happy I took it. It has taught me so much about leadership and management and gave me real life experience that I will use for the rest of my life. I produced $75,000 and had a profit of $10,000. This was by no means easy and took a lot of hard work but it was 100% worth it. I met some of the best people and made some of my best friends. The best part is the competition with the other managers but everyone is still there to help each other. If you are presented with this and choose not to take it you are missing out on possibly the best opportunity you will receive.
Nathan Arno
Working with Student Painters in 2019 has been a life-changing experience. One year ago I would have never imagined running a $50,000 business after my freshman year of college. Student Painters is a great company because of the opportunities available. The opportunities to run your own successful business as a college student is something that cannot be found at other internships. This company puts an incredible amount of trust in its branch managers and encourages them to work hard and put in the effort because it will pay off in the end. This has been a life-altering experience that has paid dividends for my future.
Sadie Palmer-Wilcox
I have Sold and produced over $150,000 during the two years I have been with this company as a Branch/ Regional Manager. I was in charge of hiring, firing, training all employees, marketing, sales, painting, finances, providing all ladders, paint, materials, and dealing with all customers face to face. I was promoted to Regional Manager my second year. I have had a lot of fun during my time with Student painters and even made a few really close friends. I was happy with the experience.
Ryan Shepherd
I was inspired to be a Branch Manager for Student Painters for the opportunity and challenge to manage my own small business. It was also an opportunity for my first true life work experience where the “buck” stopped with me. In this job, I loved that every day was a different challenge, and that I had an opportunity to be creative and a problem solver. Being an entrepreneur is also a great resume builder. I was inspired to meet new people in my community, which was one of the most refreshing experiences of the job. This was also a great chance to make more money than the typical summer job, and I would highly recommend Student Painters to others.
Mitch Fowler
My name is Mitch Fowler and I just completed my first summer with YEAA. In just a little over 3 months I managed to produce $65,000 in revenue and profit around $13,000. Although the size of my business and money was great overall, just learning to believe in myself is the biggest thing that I have taken from this summer. It is truly crazy to look back and think I was nineteen years old when I decided to open a painting business (when I had never painted before in my life) and now I can go back to Dayton saying I was one of the most successful managers in the company. I was able to help my friends make money for college, and I have gained the respect of many people because I challenged myself. To anyone considering this internship, I would tell them to believe in themselves and embrace the fact that you are going to do something that not everyone can do. It takes hard work and there are many times that it is not easy, but the most rewarding part is when you push yourself that little extra mile and you can see the success that it brings. Student Painters is not a painting internship, it is an opportunity to prove to yourself that you can do what people think you can’t.
Paul Gutbrod
This summer with Student Painters has been at the same time the most difficult thing I have attempted and also the most rewarding. It was difficult due to the long hours and the problems which arose and needed solving. Yet the rewards utterly eclipsed the trials. I certainly made excellent money (about $14,000) and have gleaned a story ready for any job interview, an experience waiting to give wisdom and an outlook and comfort zone, satisfied in most situations. The story of the summer following my Freshman year at the University of Dayton shall ever remain one full of accomplishment and growth. For anyone desiring to push themselves, to test their abilities, to prove their prowess, this internship not only provides the medium in which one might gain such prestige, but this internship also rewards such people, setting them apart from their peers, setting them up for later success and a bright future.
Sam Tunnacliffe
My choice to run my own painting company through Student Painters is one that I will never regret. As a sophomore is college, I ran over a $65,000 dollar business and profited over $10,000. I’m not sure of any other internships that offer an opportunity like that. To me though, this wasn’t even the most important aspect of Student Painters. The experience is what really made the internship so incredible. As an engineering major at the University of Dayton, this unique experience is one that is setting me apart from others in my field. I’ve learned skills from management, to self-discipline, to estimating and this list is endless. With this internship you have the opportunity to make great money, learn valuable life-long skills, and build a resume that is going to set you apart from others. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity that I would highly recommend looking into as your internship for this next summer.
Zach Hoffman
My name is Zach Hoffman, and at the age of 19, I successfully ran a $60,000 business while profiting over $10,000 during the course of just one summer. My experience with Student Painters has been like nothing that I have experienced before. Whereas a typical job or internship may pay by the hour and/or limit your overall success, the sky is the limit while working as a branch manager. Having been a competitive runner all throughout high school, I've always had a competitive drive and the mindset that I can control the outcome of my success, whether that be in a race, school work, etc. Working as a branch manager with Student Painters kept that fire inside me alive. When you're the only one in charge of how successful you're going to be at the end of the day, you learn to sacrifice a little here and there. Throughout the process of setting myself up for success, I had to sacrifice some time...a lot of time. But it was during that time that I was able to develop a set of finely tuned professional skills that sets me apart from most young adults. Between hiring and managing 8 other college students, meeting with and producing work for over 30 clients, and planning my own work schedule for a period of 6 months, amongst many others, the experiences that I had with Student Painters left me feeling very well prepared for the next step in my life as a student, a professional, and as a person.
Brooke Larney
I have always had dreams of running a business one day, but I never thought I would have the opportunity to try it at only 19 years old. At the end of the year, I ran a $70,000 business and profited more than $15,000. There really is no better opportunity out there that allows you to master communication, responsibility, and time management skills (among many others). YEAA pushed me incredibly far out of my comfort zone, while giving me the mentorship and confidence to solve a lot of my business’ problems on my own. Running a business this year was the hardest yet most rewarding experience I have ever had, and I can’t wait to see what else I can accomplish in the future.
CJ Moellering
One day, last November, a young guy came to my dorm. He told me that he had ran his own $50k business, and the company he worked for was looking for other motivated college students to run similar businesses. Not wanting to pass up on any opportunity that potentially could drive me to the next level of success, I decided to get more information about the company; I attended meetings, called past managers, and made a pros and cons list. As I stared at my list, I noticed that the only con I wrote down was the fact that I was going to have to work harder than I ever had worked in my entire life. Right then and there, I recognized that if working hard scared me, my success in life would be limited. Period. There was no way around that. I understood that no matter what I did in the future, if I desired to get to the pinnacle of my field, I would have to do what others were not and still are not willing to do. If I made an excuse to skip out on an incredible opportunity back then, I knew I would be inclined to give excuses my entire life when opportunities arose. Ultimately, I craved the challenge, and I wanted to prove that nothing could stop me from success, especially myself. So after a season of being manager and a whole summer worth of production, I will testify to anyone that I was challenged more than any other time in my life. I had to sacrifice weekends at school to drive an hour to my territory to do estimates. I had to take on responsibility of my business when the customers were not happy. I had to start earlier, work harder, and leave later than all of my painters. I had to deal with behind the scenes paperwork and organize a schedule. I had to get back up when I was knocked down. I had to be successful, and being successful was and still is the most difficult task to undergo of them all. Looking back, I realize that this was definitely a once in a life time opportunity. Not only did I have to take responsibility, stay organized, remain level headed and persistent, but I had the opportunity to experience all of those challenges. No other internship allows you to fully experience what it is like to run a business. I have never been more proud of myself for not only choosing to be a part of Young Entrepreneurs Across America but for being bold enough to finish the internship. I did not have the most estimates, the most sales, or biggest profit, but even with that considered, as I type this testimony, I smile because I know I can tell any employer that I ran a $40k dollar business before the age of 20 and have developed necessary skills that translate to almost any career. The opportunity has been amazing, and I want to thank Young Entrepreneurs Across America for investing time and money into my success.
JT Yenney
Working as a branch manager for Student Painters has been one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. This internship has truly set me on a great path to be as successful as possible in my future endeavors. I learned a lot as a painter of course, but the more important skillsets that I have gained in management, marketing, leadership, organization, accountability, time management skills, and much more are all going to be very valuable for me moving forward in life. Going into this internship without any experience is definitely overwhelming at first, and there will also be many challenges that you will need to persevere through, but the great part of YEAA and Student Painters is that you will have your mentor as well as anyone involved or anyone who has ever been involved that will be more than willing to help out and give advice. It’s truly like a family where everyone wants you to be as successful as possible. The amount of work involved is no joke and it’s not easy, but in the end, it’s more than worth it with everything you will experience and learn. If you have the right work ethic and want to better yourself and set yourself up for success in the future, Student Painters is the right internship for you.
