Community Corner

Berlin HS Seniors Shadow Comcast Workers For Junior Achievement Job Shadow Day

This was the second year that the high school students were partnered by employees of Comcast's Western New England region headquarters in Berlin.


Posted by Jessica Forrest.

For the second consecutive year, high school seniors participated in a Junior Achievement job-shadowing program at Comcast’s Western New England region headquarters in Berlin today.  Berlin Mayor Rachel Rochette, House Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz, and Representative Catherine Abercrombie joined representatives from Junior Achievement, Jr. Apprentice and Comcast to kick-off the event, which included 20 students from Berlin High School and three students from Hartford’s Jr. Apprentice. 

“Being someone who has worked closely with Berlin’s youth over many years, I know how much potential and enthusiasm the youth in our community have, and how important it is to help them channel that enthusiasm in the right direction,” said Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz (D-Berlin/Southington). “Comcast’s job-shadowing program is great because it allows students to explore their interests and helps them determine the path they may want to take in the future.”

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“I would like to thank Comcast for this outstanding program,” added State Representative Catherine Abercrombie (D-Berlin/Meriden). “It gives students an opportunity to explore careers that they may not normally be interested in.”

The goal of both Junior Achievement and Jr. Apprentice is to expose students to careers of interest and to demonstrate the connection between school and work.  As such, the two organizations forged a partnership by which Jr. Apprentice expands Junior Achievement's reach to include Bulkeley High School through the utilization of their career success and personal finance curricula. This day of job shadowing is another example of the two programs working together.

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"Once again we are extremely grateful for Comcast's efforts to promote work readiness among our local teens,” said Lauren A. Silverstein, Ph.D., Founder and Director Jr. Apprentice.  “Job Shadow day is a tremendous opportunity for our students to learn about the variety of careers available at a major corporation, and to meet people in these careers. It's a field trip that students will not only be raving about on the bus ride home, but will remember for years to come."  

The high-schoolers were paired up with Comcast volunteers who work in jobs matching student’s interests and they spent the morning talking about career goals and sharing real life experiences.  The program gave students the opportunity to see firsthand what it’s like to work in an office, practice interviewing, and get advice and tips for starting out in their own career and overcoming potential obstacles.

“Comcast is a big supporter of mentoring and helping today’s youth to develop into the next generation of leaders,” said Mary McLaughlin, Comcast Senior Vice President of the Western New England Region, which includes Connecticut.  “Whether we are mentoring “Littles” from the Lincoln Elementary School for our “Beyond School Walls” program, or the college students we hire as interns, our employees are dedicated to sharing their leadership and expertise with students as they prepare for the workforce, and possibly even a career here at Comcast.”

Another way Comcast helps students is through their Leaders and Achievers® Scholarship Program, providing one-time $1,000 scholarships to students who strive to achieve their potential, who are catalysts for positive change in their communities, who are involved in their schools, and who serve as models for their fellow students.  The philosophy behind the program is to give young people every opportunity to prepare for the future and to engage them in their communities. The program also demonstrates the importance of civic involvement, and the value placed on civic involvement by the business community.  43 high school seniors from Connecticut will be receiving these scholarships this year.

About Comcast in Connecticut

Comcast is committed to providing an unparalleled entertainment experience to residents and businesses in the 83 communities the company serves in Connecticut.  Comcast’s Western New England Region, which includes five states, is headquartered in Berlin, Connecticut, and customers are served by a team of over 1,200 Connecticut employees.  Comcast also boasts a call center in Enfield, Connecticut, service centers throughout the state, and three state-of-the-art Xfinity Service Centers where customers can experience Comcast’s Xfinity products and services firsthand. Comcast’s popular Xfinity brand is also featured on the Xfinity Theatre, one of Hartford’s premier music venues.  The company helps to strengthen the communities where its customers and employees live and work by supporting local nonprofit organizations.  In 2013, Comcast provided over $1.8 million to community partners in the state, in the form of Comcast Foundation grants, sponsorships, volunteer hours, courtesy services and in-kind donations.

About Junior Achievement

Since 1919, Junior Achievement's purpose has been to educate and inspire young people to value free enterprise and understand business and economics to improve the quality of their lives.  Junior Achievement of Southwest New England, Inc. is centrally located in downtown Hartford, CT with satellite offices in New Haven and Waterbury.  Our staff services 7 counties, including: Hartford, Litchfield, New Haven, Windham, Tolland, New London and Middlesex. Last year, more than 2,000 talented volunteers donated one of the most important things they have to offer...their time. Thanks to the dedication of business professionals, parents, retirees, and college students, more than 34,500 students received Junior Achievement programs.  These volunteers used their personal experiences to make the Junior Achievement curricula practical and realistic. Providing children with positive adult role models, who illustrate ways to build self-confidence, develop skills and find avenues of success in our free enterprise system, is a hallmark of Junior Achievement.

About Jr. Apprentice

Jr. Apprentice was founded in 2013 and is a program of the Hartford Consortium for Higher Education.  The program exposes its participants to career readiness classes and apprenticeship opportunities where they gain technical skills and knowledge, receive career mentorship and learn more about what career might be a good fit.   Jr. Apprentice pays the teens per hour of work, providing much-needed employment for Hartford teens at no financial burden to the Professional-Mentors. For more information, contact Lauren Silverstein, Director at lauren@jrapprentice.org or 860-840-7292 or visit our website at www.JrApprentice.org.


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