Mack Nicholls

Liberty Mutual, Boston

Tell us a bit about your background...


I am from a small town, 20 minutes outside of Glasgow called Lochwinnoch and I have lived there all my life. I am currently in my honours year studying International Marketing at the University of the West of Scotland at their Paisley campus.

Tell us a bit about your internship...


My internship was at Liberty Mutual, an insurance firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. I was working within their Group Markets department doing marketing and product development. Group Markets and Insurance were completely new fields to me and it required me to do a lot of quick learning the first week I was there. My main project for the time I was there was taking existing marketing collateral and using it to update the department's external web pages so that all the materials were consistent with one another. I had to come up with a strategy on how I was going to complete this project, as well as looking collaborating and sharing ideas with others to make sure I was on the right track. I was able to get this completed and my work even went live a few days before I left which I felt incredibly proud of. Highlights included taking part in marketing brainstorming sessions in the department to think up ideas to pursue in the coming year and also taking part in the Senior Forum. This is where all the senior year student interns from across America came to Boston for a few days and we got to learn about Liberty and meet lots of other like-minded people.


What did your Saltire Foundation experience mean to you?

The Saltire experience is one I will never forget. When I first applied, there was no way I thought I would be able to reach the final internship placement. I don't consider myself a straight-A student, but I felt my experiences in other areas could help me. The actual internship was incredible and I felt very lucky to have the opportunity to do it as I worked with some amazing individuals. I also got to live in Boston for 8 weeks, which I would have to say is like my second home now. I completely fell in love with the place. Outside of the internship, it is an honour to be a part of a network of people who have had similar experiences to mine and who inspire you to push forward and do great things. It has made me want to go out in the world and succeed, knowing that the Saltire Foundation have invested a lot in me. The Saltire Foundation is like a movement, everyone in it strives to do better and reach their goals, and once they do that, look for new goals and new achievements to pursue. Being surrounded by this is exciting and inspirational.

So what are your plans for the future?

At the moment, I am still in university so my plan is to complete my dissertation and gain the best degree that I possibly can. After that, I am applying for jobs all the time, especially graduate schemes, because they allow you to experience the job in many different areas before you narrow down your choice of where you want to try and work within the company. Looking further ahead, I would like to work in America for a few years, gain more experience and bring it back with me to Scotland. By doing this I would hope to pick up more inspiration and gain a competitive advantage.

What do you see as the main benefit of completing your internship?

I believe the main benefit of the internship, was seeing myself grow as a person in such a short space of time. In a business sense, I was able to view and be a part of a completely different working culture, which has definitely shaped my views on how things should be done in a business setting. My goal now would be to relate these experiences and integrate them into a Scottish business. The hardworking and positive nature of everyone on my internship had a massive impact on me too and I feel that I became a much more confident individual. This was aided by the fact I was living and working in a new city, with new people and new challenges. A few years ago I would probably have backed away from this, but now I feel I could thrive on it. The self-development, for me, was the biggest benefit of the internship.