Graduates Get Right Down to Work

A 51视频 graduate takes a selfie outside the Tsongas Center with his family

05/24/2019
By Ed Brennen

It鈥檚 a good time for 51视频 graduates to be entering the workforce.

The U.S. unemployment rate was at 3.6 percent in April, its lowest mark in 50 years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since peaking at an even 10 percent in October 2009 following the recession, unemployment has declined steadily over the past decade.

The jobs picture is even better in Massachusetts, where the unemployment rate in April was 2.9 percent, the ninth lowest of the 50 states.聽For River Hawks, the future looks especially bright. Within six months of last year鈥檚 graduation, 96 percent of the class of 2018 was either working or enrolled in graduate school.

As the university鈥檚 4,534 graduates prepared to march into the Tsongas Center at 51视频 for their Commencement exercises, we checked in with a handful of River Hawks to see where they were headed on their career paths.

Electrical engineering grad DAYER ACOSTA of Methuen starts work in June at Odin, Inc., a point-of-sale solutions provider for educational institutions. The company is based in Cambridge but Acosta will be working in Tewksbury. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a blessing,鈥� says Acosta, who鈥檚 the first in his family to graduate from college. 鈥淚t was hard work, but it was worth it.鈥� A commuter who held down a retail job while in school, Acosta wasn鈥檛 able to do a co-op. But he networked on his own and learned about the electrical engineering opportunity at Odin while talking to a customer at work. 鈥淚t was crazy. We exchanged contact info, and a few weeks ago he texted me asking if I鈥檇 had any job offers,鈥� Acosta says. 鈥淚 sent my r茅sum茅 and that鈥檚 all she wrote.鈥� 鈥淚鈥檓 just thankful that I got a job,鈥� he adds. 鈥淚 know it can be hard sometimes right out of college.鈥�

Well before she completed her bachelor鈥檚 degree in business administration, JEANINE BUONOPANE of Burlington was lining up her career options. Last summer, Buonopane landed an internship at Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, providing administrative assistance to military members and their families. Buonopane, who was born with cerebral palsy, got the internship through resources provided by the Career & Co-op Center for students with disabilities. When the internship ended last September, Buonopane was asked to stay on full-time as a career development technician, essentially serving as a passport agent for personnel going overseas. 鈥淚t was tough to balance with school work, but I figured it out,鈥� says Buonopane, whose concentration was in accounting. 鈥淚t feels nice not to worry about finding a job. I hope to be there for a long time.鈥�

IAN CONNELL of Norfolk didn鈥檛 need to look for a job while wrapping up a bachelor of science in through the ; he already had an IT position with the town of Franklin. 鈥淚 work full time and have a family, so I liked the flexibility of doing my degree online,鈥� says Connell, who found that UML was one of the only schools in the area to offer an online IT degree. 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 have been able to do it if wasn鈥檛 online.鈥� Connell, who got an associate degree in IT from Bunker Hill Community College, is confident his UML degree will enable future career advancement. 鈥淚t will help me at some point, I鈥檓 sure,鈥� he says.

LINDSAY BARRIOS of Lynn was hired as a social worker at HopeWell Inc., a foster care provider based in Dedham, after completing her bachelor鈥檚 degree in public health at UML in 2017. Through the accelerated bachelor鈥檚-to-master鈥檚 program, Barrios earned her master鈥檚 in public health this spring. 鈥淲hen I graduated two years ago, I found a job within two weeks,鈥� Barrios says. 鈥淭hey said there鈥檚 room for growth, so I鈥檓 hoping that will happen. I feel good. I feel prepared.鈥� And she may not be done with school just yet. 鈥淚 feel like I鈥檝e come this far,鈥� she says. 鈥淢aybe I should go for my doctorate.鈥�

Computer science graduate GEORGE LE of Methuen says he鈥檚 evaluating a few different job offers right now, but he鈥檚 going to give it a few weeks before deciding the best fit. 鈥淚鈥檓 taking a month off to decompress and sleep,鈥� says Le, who plans on working for a while before returning to school for his master鈥檚 degree. Le worked as an intern at Techstars Boston, a startup accelerator program, while in school. He鈥檚 confident the experience has prepared him for whatever path he takes. 鈥淭hat really helped me for the future,鈥� he says.

KENDRA CERVANTES of Whittier, Calif., started work as an optometry technician in Westford on May 2 鈥� two weeks before picking up her bachelor of science in聽public health. 鈥淚t feels great to have a very good job already,鈥� says Cervantes, who felt better prepared professionally thanks to an internship she had while in school. 鈥淚t was a great experience here,鈥� Cervantes says. 鈥淭he school prepared me well.鈥�

Originally a chemical engineering major, MATTHEW FERRIS of Norwood changed course and graduated with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in English. He鈥檚 now busy sifting through job options that combine his two interests: technical writing. 鈥淣ot a lot of people think of tech writing as a career choice, but there are a lot of startup job openings,鈥� Ferris says. 鈥淐ompanies are grabbing up all the college students that they can.鈥� Through his coursework, Ferris gained experience at several nonprofits in Lowell, including Girls Inc. and the Tsongas Industrial History Center. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always nice to help out a company that does good work, and it was a great r茅sum茅-builder,鈥� says Ferris, who chose 51视频 because of its affordability. While tech writing is his current goal, Ferris plans to eventually attend law school and go into patent law.

Business administration听驳谤补诲耻补迟别 SEAN FLAHERTY of Lowell landed his 鈥渄ream job鈥� in corporate finance with Xylem Inc., a water sustainability company based in Rye Brook, N.Y. Flaherty was accepted to the company鈥檚 new finance leadership development program. Of 180 applicants, he was one of four to be accepted. 鈥淚 wanted to work in environmental or green energy, and I wanted to do the development program to really learn what section of corporate finance I match with,鈥� says Flaherty, who hopes to transition into a full-time role with the company after the two-year development program is complete. 鈥淚鈥檓 super-excited.鈥� Flaherty was one of only two Manning School of Business students to graduate with a perfect 4.0 grade point average, earning a Chancellor鈥檚 Medal for Distinguished Academic Achievement.

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