NICE seeking NCC 'students ambassadors'

NICE Bus officials are recruiting Nassau Community College students to help spread the word on the Garden City campus about their services.

The Nassau County-owned bus system is partnering with the college to designate “student ambassadors” who will help provide transportation information to students and answer their questions about bus routes and schedules, officials from NICE and the college said yesterday Monday.

NICE Chief Executive Officer Michael Setzer said the program is still being developed, but he expects to sign up about a half dozen students as ambassadors who will likely be compensated with free bus rides.

Setzer and Chuck Cutolo, head of government affairs for Nassau Community College, said the plan is the latest development from a strong working relationship between NICE and the college.

NICE plans to send representatives to the school to provide information during student orientation sessions. Setzer has also met in person with student government representatives to hear their suggestions on improving service to the campus.

“They felt that they had really been listened to,” Cutolo said of the students.

In addition to helping hundreds of Nassau Community College students get to school and back, Setzer said he hopes the student ambassador program will achieve a second goal of getting future NICE Bus employees in the pipeline.

“We're always looking for young people who want to join our industry, and this is one way to introduce them to it,” Setzer said.