7th Graders from the Dearborn STEM Academy pose with worksite partner Kelsey Munger, owner of Monumental Market as they show off their cupcake frosting work.
On June 14, 2023, a historic event took place at Dearborn STEM Academy—the first-ever 7th Grade Apprentice Learning Expo. This event was a way to introduce the 7th graders to Apprentice Learning and provided students with invaluable hands-on experiences and insights into potential careers.
We extend our deepest gratitude to Annetta Dingle of “Girlfriend Hooked Me Up Hair Salon” and Tara Jones, whose expertise and guidance made the hair stylist track an enriching experience for the young apprentices. Their dedication to mentoring and teaching the students valuable skills in hairstyling is truly commendable. Similarly, we express our sincere thanks to Kelsey Munger from Monumental Market for her efforts in the bakery decoration track, allowing the students to explore the creative world of pastry design and cake decoration.
A special mention goes to Darlene Marcano, the Headmaster of Dearborn STEM Academy, for her unwavering support and commitment to providing innovative educational opportunities for students. We also express our gratitude to David Moreno, Tania Baez, and Josh Fidalgo, who played instrumental roles in coordinating and facilitating the Apprentice Learning Expo. Their dedication to the students’ growth and development is truly inspiring.
Furthermore, our sincere appreciation goes to Nos Casa Cafe for generously providing breakfast to the participants, ensuring they started the day with nourishment and energy. Their support and contribution to this event are deeply valued.
We cannot overlook the tremendous contribution of EdVestors, an organization dedicated to improving urban education, whose support made this inaugural event possible. Their commitment to fostering innovative and experiential learning opportunities for students is invaluable. We extend our heartfelt thanks to EdVestors for their belief in the transformative power of hands-on education.
As we celebrate the success of the first-ever 7th Grade Apprentice Learning Expo, we eagerly anticipate expanding this opportunity for more 7th graders in the coming years. With the invaluable lessons learned from this event, we can refine and enhance the program to reach a broader audience. By providing young students with early exposure to different career paths, we empower them to make informed decisions about their future and instill a passion for lifelong learning.
Boston, MA (June 15, 2023) – Boston-based nonprofit organization Apprentice Learning has announced that Letta Neely has been appointed its new Executive Director. Beginning July 1, 2023 Neely will lead the nonprofit dedicated to providing real world work experiences for middle-school students in Boston Public Schools.
Ms. Neely is Apprentice Learning’s current Vice President of Programs, having joined the organization in 2019, following a decade of experience working in community-based education programs within the Boston Public Schools and social justice youth-based organizations in and around Boston. She is also an acclaimed playwright, poet, and performer and has taught creative writing in community settings to both youth and adults.
“Letta’s experience and vision is perfectly in sync with Apprentice Learning’s mission and programs,” stated incoming Board President Brenda Kirouac. “We’re thrilled to welcome her into this role, knowing she is an excellent leader and champion to move the organization forward as we enter our second decade.” Darlene Marcano, Head of School at Dearborn STEM Academy, shared “Under Letta’s leadership, Apprentice Learning has afforded our students the opportunity to extend the learning that they engage in at the Dearborn by providing them real world application through their apprenticeships. We look forward to further collaboration with Apprentice Learning and congratulate Letta on her new role.”
Neely was unanimously selected by the Apprentice Learning Board of Directors after a six month hiring process. She succeeds Apprentice Learning’s Founder and Executive Director Helen Russell, who is stepping down at the end of this month after 10 years of successful leadership.
About her appointment, Neely noted “I am honored and delighted to be moving into this role at Apprentice Learning.
With Helen’s leadership and with the support of Apprentice Learning’s passionate and committed staff, we’ve built a thriving organization. I am ready to take the helm and explore new partnerships to propel us into our next chapter of growth. I believe deeply in the importance of opening doors, windows and highways; in seeding imaginations of young people so that they can be deft orchestrators of their own paths. Their futures are limitless when we expand their now. And I can’t wait to get started.”
Apprentice Learning serves over 400 middle grade students each year through school day apprenticeships and learn-to-earn career readiness internships. Through partnerships with schools and employers, they leverage career exploration to teach skills and nurture dreams for youth in the greater Boston area. Together with their partners, Apprentice Learning strives to demystify career opportunities for youth, to create a diverse talent pipeline and to encourage welcoming, equitable workplaces.
Hear from honoree Darlene Marcano, Head of School, Dearborn STEM Academy. Dearborn STEM Academy has been and will continue to be an important and valued partner of Apprentice Learning. Darlene sat down with us to talk about what the partnership with Apprentice Learning means to them.
Apprentice Learning is celebrating 10 years of providing real-world work experiences for eighth graders. At such a critical period in a young person’s life, these are the opportunities that ignite growth and change and spark passions and interests. We work alongside community members, schools and business partners who support us in exposing young people to as many careers as possible in the hope of sparking an interest in careers that have the potential to shape their own future workforce.
As we celebrate our 10th anniversary, we are highlighting the incredible partners and champions we’ve had. Dearborn STEM Academy has been a longstanding partner of Apprentice Learning and under Darlene Marcano’s leadership, the partnership has thrived. Darlene shares her perspective on the partnership.
Tell me how you came to be connected with Apprentice Learning.
I’ve been at the Dearborn for four years. Initially I was co-principal, and, when I first started, I sat down to talk to our middle school guidance counselor about all the different partnerships that we had at the school. She highlighted Apprentice Learning as something that was really positive for our students. As a new person coming in, part of what I wanted to do was to figure out what was best for our students – what’s working, what’s not working. I met Letta Neely, head of programs at Apprentice Learning at the time, but now the incoming executive director. Letta initiated the process. She literally laid out the program from start to finish for me. I asked some questions and I wondered a lot about structure and organization like where are our kids going? You take our eighth graders out? Have you met those eighth graders? You’re taking them out of the building? She assured us that they had done this for years. And I said, okay, I have to see it happen.
That first year for me was during the 2019/2020 school year and I saw her take a set of students out of the building, and how proud those kids were. They learned a lot in the classroom. They worked on resumes, interviewing, and other skills that are called “soft skills” that are just as important as any academic skills that they could get. I saw them flourish and it was incredible. I couldn’t wait for the next iteration of kids to go through that exact same process. Unfortunately, the pandemic hit. And, as you know, the pandemic forced everyone to make some really difficult decisions fairly quickly. But Letta and the team came up with strategies of working with kids online. They did that for at least another year, but they were still able to provide kids with access, information, opportunities that weren’t necessarily things that we were doing in school. I know for me, it’s really important that kids work on those soft skills and have the opportunity to go out into their own community. A lot of kids hadn’t seen Boston before. I remember there was one student that asked, okay how do I leave Roxbury? They never had that experience before. I was moved by Letta’s passion and the results for our kids.
Do you have any stories or anecdotes to share about your partnership with Apprentice Learning?
There was a student who I would say had a challenging time in the classroom environment. They had an apprenticeship at either a garden or community farm, and I saw pictures of this student holding flowers and just smiling. The child brought the flowers into the school and gave them to the teachers. I thought to myself, this is the same kid that runs around the school? I just remember thinking that if they hadn’t had that opportunity, then we wouldn’t have been able to see that there is this other side to them because all we saw were the things that were happening in the halls and the difficulty that they were having through no fault of their own. They were just having a difficult time being in this environment for such a long time. I was astounded by it. I think Letta and the team do a great job of pulling out that information from our kids and really getting at some of their strengths and some of their areas of development. They do a great job of matching them up with businesses to really support them. Every time the students go out for their internships, we sit in the main office and we watch them walk out the door and they’ve got on their Apprentice Learning sweatshirts or t-shirts, and they’re so proud.
Do you have any recommendations for schools or school leaders who may want to partner with Apprentice Learning?
Honestly, I think the best thing to do is to always talk to other schools, and talk to students. The teachers are a major component in this because they’re very clear about the role that Apprentice Learning plays both at the school and for our kids. Talk to the families because our families are involved, too. We’ve done family nights in the past and it really does generate a lot of excitement. I think testimonials are the best. Reach out to me because I’d be happy to talk about it. I’ll say this. I don’t like wasting my time, and I don’t like wasting other people’s time. My job is to really assess whether or not a partnership is effective because I have to be the gatekeeper for the school. The fact that this partnership has been flourishing for so long shows that it is worthy of our students’ time and the community really has embraced it.
Any final thoughts?
I’ve seen so much growth in our kids, and I have always attributed that to the work that’s being done at home and to what we do at school as a community. But, I can never, ever dismiss the love and the care that Helen and all of the employees over at Apprentice Learning, especially Letta, put into our kids. Like I said, I came in not knowing what to expect. On a personal level, coming here from another school and transitioning in was difficult. It’s difficult for our kids transitioning from one grade level to the next or one school to the next. And for me, it was also difficult. Letta was a person who immediately said, “okay, let’s get you going. This is something you can be a part of. Here’s what we’re doing for the kids. Be a part of it.” I felt that she truly embraced me as well as the kids in the program.
Hear from honoree Rosalin Acosta, former Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development in Massachusetts and current Managing Director, Government and Public Sector at EY.
Apprentice Learning is celebrating 10 years of providing real-world work experiences for eighth graders. At such a critical period in a young person’s life, these are the opportunities that ignite growth and change and spark passions and interests. We work alongside community members and business partners who support us in exposing young people to as many careers as possible in the hope of sparking an interest in careers that have the potential to shape their own future workforce.
As we celebrate our 10th anniversary, we are highlighting the incredible partners and champions we’ve had. Rosalin Acosta has championed Apprentice Learning since its founding. Former Secretary Acosta leveraged her passion to make the world a better place for the next generation to ensure that workers, employers, and the unemployed had the tools and training needed to succeed in the Massachusetts economy. In this blog, she shares why she believes in the work of Apprentice Learning.
Tell me how you came to be connected with Apprentice Learning.
I met Helen Russell, current Executive Director of Apprentice Learning, and learned about the mission. When we talked, she mentioned that the kids she worked with have lived around these big, tall, glassy towers for their entire life, but had never been inside. Apprentice Learning takes them inside these buildings and helps them learn the basics. They learn how to walk into a corporate lobby, how to register, and show ID, all these things that we take for granted. It can be very intimidating the first time you walk into these buildings. To give kids that ice breaker and say, “you too can walk into these lobbies like everybody else, you too belong here”, is very powerful. The image of young people looking out the window from the 20th, 30th, 40th floors of these buildings, looking at their neighborhood from that perspective, is a pretty phenomenal visual.
At the Office of Labor and Workforce Development, we were always trying to connect more kids with the labor market. The idea of helping as many kids as we possibly could, in particular underserved kids, in order to have a level playing field has always been something that’s driven me. I think that it has a lot to do with the way I grew up. I was an immigrant, daughter of immigrants, and my family just did not have a broad professional network I could benefit from. There was never anyone saying to me, “this is what you should do”. There’s a lot of metaphor in what Apprentice Learning does – breaking through, breaking into the lobby, taking that elevator to the top floors and seeing yourself on top of the city – that gives young people the opportunity to see themselves in spaces and in careers they may not have considered.
Reflecting on their 10 year anniversary, what comes to mind?
My response is similar to what I said in the beginning. For me, it’s the ability to imagine, the ability to see yourself and hopefully see others doing what you might want to do or what you never thought you could do. Apprentice Learning is, to me, a little bit of the preamble to what I’m very passionate about, which is actual apprenticeship programs. When there’s a tight labor force, like we are experiencing now, and there’s high demand in industries like biotech and STEM fields, to be able to give young people pathways to those high demand and high paying occupations is vital. We need mechanisms to provide more exposure to career choices. Kids should see what lab technicians do or what health care providers do, for example. That’s what Apprentice Learning is doing. They are creating the ability for kids to imagine, and opening a lens to a world that they may never have had an opportunity to see.
Do you have any final thoughts on Apprentice Learning?
I think it’s important to point out the diversity of the kids that Apprentice Learning serves. Making sure that Black and Latino kids can see themselves in biotech, cybersecurity, finance or banking careers, which are not as diverse as the communities they serve. Creating this exposure to these important industries will begin to lay the ground for an equitable and prosperous workforce. To me, that is the important work that Apprentice Learning is doing and that we all have to keep doing.
Hear from honoree Eva Herndon, one of the first financial supporters of Apprentice Learning, on why she and her husband Terry Ogden Herndon chose to support and invest in our mission.
Apprentice Learning is celebrating 10 years of providing real-world work experiences for eighth graders. At such a critical period in a young person’s life, these are the opportunities that ignite growth and change and spark passions and interests. We work alongside community members and business partners who support us in exposing young people to as many careers as possible in the hope of sparking an interest in careers that have the potential to shape their own future workforce.
As we celebrate our 10th anniversary, we are highlighting the incredible partners and champions we’ve had. Eva and Terry Herndon have supported Apprentice Learning since its founding. In August 2022, Terry passed away leaving behind an incredible legacy of service including an unwavering commitment to Apprentice Learning. Eva shares wonderful memories with us and discusses why they chose to donate to Apprentice Learning over the last 10 years.
Tell me how you came to be connected with Apprentice Learning.
I met Helen Russell, current Executive Director of Apprentice Learning, at the Mission Hill K-8 School. Terry and I volunteered and invested in their work study program. We wanted to give back, help others, so we connected with Mission Hill K-8 School because of their partnership with Brigham and Women’s hospital. It wasn’t called Apprentice Learning at the time. It was called the School to Community Initiative, but they had decided to discontinue it. We kept in touch with Helen who would check in with us periodically. Helen approached us in 2012 about an idea she had to bring work study type programs for middle schoolers to more schools in Boston. We loved the idea and we made the first donation to Apprentice Learning in 2012.
Reflecting on their 10 year anniversary, what comes to mind?
Terry and I had the opportunity to join during an apprenticeship at WGBH. I was impressed by how elegant all their offices and equipment were. I remember we went to a big room and we were all looking at the different machinery and the different tools that they used to broadcast their shows. I remember we were in the radio studio and we saw the Jim and Margery show. They weren’t quite on air yet. Terry was pitching them to talk about Apprentice Learning.
Then the kids had an opportunity to go into one of the nearby radio studios and listen to their voice reading a piece of news they made up. The young people recorded it, and then the other apprentices had to give the kids feedback on how it sounded. Then the kids also got to use the television cameras. Thatwas a nice experience.
For us, it’s been a good collaboration. It’s been fun to see it grow and keep growing. It would be nice if the Boston Public Schools offered it for all 8th graders. That would be a wonderful thing.
When you think about why apprentice learning versus the many other things you could have funded, what about the program really made you a believer?
We believed in work study from our school days at Antioch College. Terry grew up working while he was in school and just believed that it was a good idea to study and work. He thought maybe it would help kids get real experience that would help them get real jobs after graduating. He enjoyed helping people. That was one of his great gifts. He helped people in so many different ways and not just with money.
He was an avid car enthusiast and people still remember him fixing their cars. He was involved in the politics of Carlisle, MA. Terry served on Carlisle’s Planning Board, Board of Assessors and Board of Appeals, so he served the town a lot. He was always interested in helping out. And it’s a satisfying thing to think that you maybe have made a difference. And he liked that. And it helped him have a good life.
Brainely, Rafael Hernández School helps put away treats at her apprenticeship with Polkadog Bakery
Hear from honoree and long time worksite partner Rob Van Sickle, owner and founder of Polkadog Bakery
Apprentice Learning is celebrating 10 years of providing real-world work experiences for eighth graders. At such a critical period in a young person’s life, these are the opportunities that ignite growth and change and spark passions and interests. We work alongside business partners who support us in exposing young people to as many careers as possible in the hope of sparking an interest in careers that have the potential to shape their own future workforce.
As we celebrate our 10th anniversary, we are highlighting the incredible partners we’ve had. Polkadog Bakery in Jamaica Plain was one of our first worksite partners and, over the years, hosted 17 Apprentices! We talked with Robert Van Sickle, founder and owner of Polkadog Bakery, and learned more about his experience hosting Apprentices. Photo (left): Rob poses with his dog Velcro
Tell me about Polkadog Bakery and your connection to Apprentice Learning?
We started our business in 2002 in the South End of Boston. We moved to Jamaica Plain and opened a store there too. We were connected to Apprentice Learning through Helen Russell. Helen approached us ten years ago or so, right at the beginning of Apprentice Learning, and wanted to know if we would be interested in hosting some students, showing them the ropes of a business, what it looks like to run a retail store, helping customers, stocking shelves and just the day-to-day of an employee of a retail business. For me, I was just coming into parenthood, thinking about the value of my experience as a younger person in the world and being able to have a place that would be willing to not only take me in but also teach me some of the skills that were necessary. So, it was like a no brainer. It made sense for us to jump in with both feet.
The Polkadog Bakery JP location proudly displays their AL worksite partner sticker. Photo by Stefanie Belnavis of The Diahann Project (@thediahannproject)
Describe your experience with Apprentice Learning reflecting on their 10 year anniversary.
I would be telling a lie if I said I wasn’t nervous about how it was going to go. Because to be totally honest, a lot of the people that work for us are young, just out of college. Some are even in college. So you’re asking a person that hasn’t maybe even figured out what they want to do with their life to bring these kids along, right? I was nervous about asking our staff to not only do their daily chores, keep the store running and provide customer service, but also have these other folks in their charge. I think that was an important growing process for all the managers who worked with us over the 10 years that we’ve been doing this.
I would say some managers have been better at it than others, and that’s just the nature of how it goes. Then, recently, we had a store manager, Kevin, who was very important in developing our internal program. Apprentice Learning has a great program, and they bring the Apprentices to us, but Kevin has taken that internal role and owned it in terms of developing almost like a curriculum for the things that we want to impart. That it’s not just stocking shelves and doing busy work. That there are other skills involved in operating a retail store, and I think a lot of people go through life and probably don’t really imagine what those skills are. But, primarily for us, it’s people skills. That is a really important life skill that we teach at the store because it’s fundamental to everything that we do. Yes, stocking the shelves is important, and, yes, keeping the store clean is important, but the interpersonal relationships – the connections that we make with our customers and with each other as staff members – that’s hard to quantify. It’s probably our most important skill that we try to impart on people, both employees and Apprentice Learning students when they come through the door.
Do you have any recommendations for other business owners or leaders who may want to partner with Apprentice Learning?
I think I would say that it’s natural to be worried about the value because you might think I’m going to have to work more. My staff is going to get asked to do even more. I think that’s a natural feeling, right? I think a lot of people are like, “Oh, boy” especially for people who are running their own business. So, my advice is don’t be afraid and steer into the program. Really make it what you need it to be as a business owner, and that will then help the people that are there tenfold. We went into it like if we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it. I think that was really where we started to see the program become something valuable for all.
GMO Apprentices pose in the famous arch at Rowes Wharf outside the GMO offices. Photo by Stefanie Belnavis of The Diahann Project (@thediahannproject)
Apprentice Learning provides real-world work experiences for eighth graders, exposing them to a myriad of fulfilling careers. At such a critical period in a young person’s life, these are the opportunities that ignite growth and change and spark passions and interests. We work alongside business partners who support us in exposing young people to as many careers as possible in the hope of sparking an interest in careers that have the potential to shape their own future workforce.
Apprentice Learning sat down recently with Maguire Dalporto, Quantitative Trading Strategist at GMO, to talk about their experience as a worksite partner not only during our City Summer Internship, but also with our Workplace Apprenticeship program.
Tell me about GMO, and what GMO does.
GMO is a global investment manager committed to delivering superior performance and advice to our clients. We partner with a broad range of sophisticated institutions, financial intermediaries, and family offices, providing the investment expertise they need to meet their goals and fulfill their missions.
How long have you been a partner of Apprentice Learning?
Our relationship with Apprentice Learning first began in 2019 as part of our community outreach program. Since then, we have partnered with the organization in multiple capacities, including both the City Summer Internship Program and the Workplace Apprenticeship program.
What prompted GMO to work with Apprentice Learning in this way?
GMO places considerable value upon individual ideas and contributions. Our culture is open, inclusive, and encouraging of collaboration and debate. We believe that good ideas come from everyone within our firm, and that a diverse team and an inclusive environment create the best results. Different backgrounds, experiences, and ideas all come together to produce a firm-wide diversity of thought and better solutions for our clients.
GMO has a very engaged employee base that wants to make a positive impact on society. Our formal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Group advances our efforts in an employee-led manner across three areas of focus: Outreach, Inclusion, and Communications, and our work with Apprentice Learning falls within our broader outreach initiatives. We also recognize that the investment industry has historically not been particularly diverse. We are committed to doing our part to ensure our industry and communities experience diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Maguire Dalporto talks to Melisa, a GMO Apprentice from Boston Teachers Union School. Photo by Stefanie Belnavis of The Diahann Project (@thediahannproject)
What has your experience with the program been like?
I am currently the point person for GMO’s partnership with Apprentice Learning. My involvement began with our first workshop over zoom during the Spring of 2021. For me it was the first tangible opportunity to re-engage with our DEI initiatives as we were experimenting with what return to work would look like as the pandemic progressed. I became very engaged and enthusiastic about Apprentice Learning while working with the students during that initial experience and then again during our involvement with the City Summer Internship program, and was encouraged by colleagues to take a leadership role in GMO’s partnership with Apprentice Learning. For a program like this to be successful, you need someone who can take the lead and make sure milestones are being met, and it is also necessary to have allies from within the firm that have a broad network that can ask people to contribute. Fortunately, at GMO we have been oversubscribed with volunteers who can pitch in at multiple levels. This has been a very rewarding personal and professional growth opportunity for me.
What do you appreciate about getting to work with Apprentice Learning and its apprentices?
Ultimately, I hope I’m taking this opportunity to give back to the community. I want to provide access to an initial formative experience in investing just as so many others have provided to me. I grew up in West Virginia, a place I love, but also there isn’t much in the way of trading or asset management there either. It was very difficult for me to break into this industry. I think it took a lot of effort for most of us who work in it to get that first foot in the door. Many of us accept that this is a difficult industry and we made it here through hard work and effort. While that is probably a correct assumption, it is also true that as difficult as it was for me to break into this industry, I can imagine there are many individuals for whom it would be a much greater challenge. Working with Apprentice Learning students gives me the opportunity to encourage these children to consider a career in the investment industry, and introduce them to roles they might not otherwise have had exposure to. Exercises like practicing interview questions and guiding the students on how to answer in a way that conveys intelligence and confidence without being arrogant or scripted, are very rewarding as a mentor. I can’t change the entire system, but what I can do is provide some exposure to an interesting career path to young people who wouldn’t normally get it. I believe Apprentice Learning is making much larger strides towards that goal.
What are the benefits to GMO to work with Apprentice Learning?
There are studies that show having a real multifaceted DEI program helps improve both job satisfaction and employee retention. We certainly believe in that at GMO and have an engaged employee-led DEI program. For me, the most obvious tangible benefit I get within the organization is exposure to other areas of our firm. Suddenly that email request I get once a quarter now has a face behind the name, and along with that a sudden willingness to talk about how we might improve a process. This program has given me the platform to connect in a meaningful way with over 30 people whom I did not know previously. With stronger relationships, people are less afraid to ask the hard questions and are more likely to engage in open dialogue. At the end of the day, partnering with an organization like Apprentice Learning enhances the sense of community both within our place of work and strengthens the bonds in the neighborhoods where we live.
Apprentices participated in a networking scavenger hunt with employees from several departments including Dana Smith, Head of Communications at GMO. Photo by Stefanie Belnavis of The Diahann Project (@thediahannproject)
What surprised you about working with 8th graders?
With the apprentices being of middle-school age, I was surprised by how much I had underestimated their capacity to grasp sophisticated concepts. The first day of our program, one of the students engaged one of our Fixed Income Portfolio Managers in a discussion of the fundamentals of the yield curve. While I was expecting giggles (and even boredom!) during our sessions with the students (they are still kids, after all!) I certainly wasn’t expecting a 14/15-year-old student with no background in finance to be able to explain that there was more risk involved in a long dated bond than a near-term bond! It was very impressive.
Do you have any advice to other companies who might be thinking about being worksite partners?
Participating in AL can be as easy or as challenging as you want to make it. The students come in fresh and happy as well as nervous and excited to be at your worksite. It’s easy to start off on a good note, after all they aren’t in school when normally they would be! This is also likely a new and different world for them; a building tour can be exciting. Try interacting with them in different ways. Ask them questions and wait for their responses. Once you set up the expectation that they are here to participate, and you are interested in what they have to say, everyone’s guard starts to drop and it becomes fun. If you are interested in getting involved at your worksite please reach out, we would love to share our lessons learned and help increase the opportunities for these young apprentices.
On Thursday, October 13, Apprentice Learning (AL) had the honor of presenting Redefining Success: Preparing Youth and Transforming Employers for Tomorrow’s Workforce – a panel discussion hosted at Foley Hoag, LLP in Boston. Panelists included (featured above from left to right) Juan Fernando Lopera, Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer, Beth Israel Lahey, Trinh Nguyen, Chief of Worker Empowerment and Director of the Office for Workforce Development (OWD), City of Boston, Helen Russell, Executive Director of Apprentice Learning, Eva Mitchell, Chief Program Officer, Coalition for Career Development Center, and moderated by Shirley Leung, Columnist and Associate Editor at the Boston Globe.
Panelists were joined by two AL alums, Ben Perez and Edgar Santana Baez, 11th graders from Dearborn STEM Academy. The multiple perspectives offered from city government, private industry, public-private partnerships, and youth gave audience members inspiration and innovative solutions for strengthening Boston’s career pipeline, especially those whose access has been limited.
Important questions that panelists tackled included: how do we prepare young people for the changing workforce? What skills are needed to access and succeed in our region’s leading industries? And, how should employers evolve to become the inclusive workplaces that will attract the next—and more diverse—generation?
In response to the question of how employers should evolve, Juan Fernando Lopera from Beth Israel Lahey noted, “We need to rethink how we hire and retain, rethink the traditional path and the pipeline for younger workers to come into the workforce. Rethink the credentials needed for an entry-level job.”
Panelists agreed that while young people are more and more opting to forego college in favor of credentials that lead to high-paying jobs, it’s important to encourage young workers to continue on their path to postsecondary education. Trinh Nguyen of the Office of Workforce Development shared, “When we are working with young people, we need to make sure there is a ramp to postsecondary education because when we looked at the career life trajectory of a young person and we looked at the economic loss of that young person if they didn’t have a postsecondary education, you’re looking at at least a 1.1 million dollar loss for that young person over the career trajectory when they retire at 60 or 65 and that’s a lot.”
Panelists not only discussed the changing workforce, but also described the changing needs of young workers seeking to enter into the workplace. Eva Mitchell from the Coalition of Career Development Center out of the City of Boston, said, “Many, especially the younger workforce, don’t only want a paycheck, they want to feel like they are working for an organization that has a sense of purpose. That’s values based, that is standing up on issues of racial justice and social justice. The younger workforce more so wants to see that we are doing more to address those issues.”
Ms. Mitchell went on to share, “You have many changes during your career. Every single year it seems we have to learn new skills. Let’s start now. Let’s start it in middle school. Thank you Apprentice Learning for recognizing that because middle school is when one shapes their identity. That means a career identity as well. It’s hard when you become an adult and you haven’t explored that. You have just been looking for a job. A job is not sustainable. A career, a purpose, a mission, what gives you joy and energy, that’s what’s sustainable.”
Watch the full panel here:
Photo Credits: Stefanie Belnavis of The Diahann Project (@thediahannproject)
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Apprentice Learning provides real-world work experiences for eighth graders, exposing them to a myriad of fulfilling careers. At such a critical period in a young person’s life, these are the opportunities that ignite growth and change and spark passions and interests. We work alongside business partners who support us in exposing young people to as many careers as possible in the hope of sparking an interest in careers that have the potential to shape their own future workforce.
Apprentice Learning sat down recently with Tyler Cosma from Stantec to talk about their experience as a worksite partner during our City Summer Internship, a program for girls focused on careers in STEAM.
Tell us about Stantec and your role.
Stantec is a global consulting firm. We are designers, engineers, scientists, and project managers. I work out of the Burlington, Massachusetts office where we have a bunch of different teams that mostly focus on water, roadways, bridges, or buildings. Our Boston office has the same groups, plus architecture and community development. I am a civil engineer in training, and I work in the water group. I work on drinking water conveyance and sewer separation projects in the Boston area.
What prompted Stantec to work with Apprentice Learning as a worksite partner?
This is our second year participating, but the first year I became involved. In terms of how we got started, we have an Inclusion and Diversity Committee that’s part of the water team. It was formed a few years ago at the start of the pandemic in response to all the social justice movements that were going on at the time. A lot of employees were frustrated and distracted about all the things going on in the world, so we really wanted to do something about it. We formed this committee and focused on a bunch of different topics and issues. But the goal, ultimately, is to foster a culture of inclusion at the office. So, partnering with Apprentice Learning was this perfect opportunity to take action and give back to the communities that we work with. We wanted to work with Apprentice Learning to increase exposure and show how fun and rewarding engineering can be. Apprentice Learning was perfect in providing that framework for us.
Describe your experience with the program?
First of all, working with Apprentice Learning was absolutely amazing! And again, this is my first time planning something like this, so I didn’t really know what to expect. There was an orientation that Apprentice Learning did and that was really great because it refocused us a bit. We were just worried about getting the content to the students, but there’s some other stuff that you don’t really think about unless someone says it to you. Like, remember, these are 8th graders and try to think about how you were when you were that age. And all of that stuff was really helpful in fine tuning our event.
I planned for a 3-hour event, so I separated the day into 30 minutes blocks. It started with an office tour, then we did a couple of slides introducing Stantec and engineering, then we did an architecture activity, then a structural engineering activity, then a transportation activity, and, finally, we did a small water presentation.
I had a bunch of [Stantec employee] volunteers help me out with these activities, and I got so much positive feedback from them!
Tell us what you heard?
There were two main things that I heard and that was that everybody loved working with the student apprentices. They felt like it was incredibly rewarding because it provided the students with experiences that they’d be able to bring with them into their future careers. Another thing was that after working with the students that day, everyone really felt a renewed sense of importance and appreciation for the work that we do everyday. It really puts everything into perspective when you take what you do and try to teach it to someone younger. And it was also great just to be able to learn what each of us do. Sometimes we’re kind of siloed into our own teams and we got to kind of just listen in on each other’s presentations, and I think it just brought us together.
Doyou haveanyadvicetoothercompanieswhomightbethinking about being worksite partners?
I think that you can’t deny how rewarding it is to give back. If you just spend a few hours with these students, you’re just going to feel so much better and you’re probably going to make a difference in someone’s life. That’s invaluable.
Anythingelsebefore weclose?
I loved working with Apprentice Learning, and I definitely want to work with them in the future. I think encouraging more women into the STEAM fields is really important, and I look forward to doing more!
