Students, drawn from MassMutual Academic Achievement and MassMutual Career Pathways programs, spend 10 weeks working on real-life information technology and computer -related projects at MassMutual’s headquarters. High school students in the program are paid $11 and hour and college students get $15 an hour.
07/24/12 Springfield- Republican Photo by Mark M.Murray- Students taking part in the MassMutual IT Interns program from left to right sitting, Benjamin Greaves, Ashley Greaves, Annie Salem and Jose Bautista, Behind them are MassMutual employees ,Shane Roitaile ,left and Pam Mathison, help to coordinate the program. SPRINGFIELD – Sixteen-year-old Jose D. Bautista grew up in Springfield wondering what exactly went on behind that long wrought-iron fence and those stately brick walls at MassMutual Financial Group’s imposing headquarters building at 1295 State St.
Now, he doesn’t have to wonder. Bautista, a student at the High School of Science and Technology,. is one of 44 Springfield high school and college students participating in MassMutual’s annual summer IT Academy. The program began in 1990 with a group of just six to 10 interns for the summer. This year’s class of 44 is the largest in the program’s history, said Shane C. Robitaille, co-manager of the IT Academy and an information technology training consultant.
Now Bautista knows what goes inside MassMutual, more importantly in his mind, how that work gets done.
“I have learned that the work here is very detailed,” Bautista said. “It is important that it is done right. but it is OK to ask a question. You work as a team.”
Students, drawn from MassMutual Academic Achievement and MassMutual Career Pathways programs, spend 10 weeks working on real-life information technology and computer -related projects at MassMutual’s headquarters. High school students in the program are paid $11 and hour and college students get $15 an hour.
College students in the program are eligible to get credit for the experience if they go through proper channels at their schools.
Robitaille said the goal is to attract the students to work at MassMutual after graduation.
But even without credit, Benjamin J. Woodman said the program is helpful. A Springfield resident, he’ll attend Worcester State University in the fall majoring in business. He’s spent the summer at MassMutual working , among other things, on helping MassMutual automate an accounting procedure that used to take 20 hours. Now it takes a half hour.
“I know that this will help me in my business classes.
Robatille said it’s a six-year-long program with students encouraged to re-apply yea after year and come back. Over time, the are assigned more and more responsibility.
Ashley G. Greaves, 17, will start the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston in the fall and said she relishes the responsibility.
“It’s up to me to help my team,” she said.