Want to work at a non-profit? Then the Ferrera Fellowship is interested in YOU!

Looking to work at a non-profit this summer and receive a stipend of $2,500, and have a chance to present your experience to the Bentley Community? If so, the Ferrera Fellowship is perfect for you. Apply on BentleyLink by searching “Ferrera Fellowship.” Students in any grade or major are encouraged to apply!

But first, read Kyla Reslock’s testimony about her summer at Keysteps, Inc.!


 

Working on the Ferrera Fellowship is extremely rewarding. For the past three years, I’ve used the term “work joy” to describe this part of my job.  My work joy comes from helping students engage with non-profits that offer leadership responsibilities.  Professor Ferrera, who’s actively involved in the fellowship and whose name the fellowship is named after, is always supporting non-profit work. Besides being an active volunteer, he has mentored many business students and helped them grow their skill set, knowledge, and find their passion for non-profit work through the Ferrera Fellowship program.

Selecting the fellowship projects can be challenging.  Professor Ferrera and I meet with exceptional non-profit organizations and leaders to decide which projects results in making a positive impact for others and the organization. We assess which projects will provide the fellows with healthy challenges so our fellows will grow personally and professionally. Our hope is that the fellows leave their summer project feeling confident from this experience.

Non-profit organizations value Bentley’s talented business students who are dedicated to making a difference for their organization. In 2014, Bette Bohlke-O’Gara Executive Director of Keysteps, Inc., offered a summer project to the Ferrera Fellowship program. Keysteps Inc, supports at risk school age youths in planning for healthy futures through educational programs and providing a multitude of counseling services.  This summer, Keysteps, Inc., offered the 2015 Fellow Kyla Reslock a challenging project; to be a teaching assistant. Throughout this fellowship, Bette Bohlke-O’Gara has been a supportive mentor to Kyla.

On August 24th, Professor Ferrera and I had the privilege of seeing Bentley student Kyla Reslock in action assisting in a classroom at the Madison Park Vocational High School located in Roxbury, MA. Kyla is a teaching assistant helping young women become certified nurse’s assistants.

Ferrera Fellow Kyla

Kyla Reslock, Ferrera Fellow, is acting like a patient!  She has been instrumental in helping soon to be Certified Nursing Aids  prepare for their patient care portion of their examination.

When we observed the class, we noticed Kyla was diligently reviewing quizzes and jumping in to assist the instructor whenever needed. We recognized immediately that Kayla has played an important role (a strong role model) in the classroom for many young women who are working to overcome challenges of their own.  In addition to serving as a teaching assistant, Kyla was responsible for implementing the many logistical functions of the nurse’s assistant certification program. Her business skills acquired at Bentley were useful in accomplishing these objectives.

Throughout this experience, Kyla took time out for self-reflection and realized she grew a great deal during this summer. She feels confident that she’s equipped to calmly overcome challenges when they arise; she’s proud of how she has managed crisis situations, and values her ability to stay organized. Kyla shared that she found this experience so rewarding because she sees first hand young women working hard to succeed, and she’s helping them achieve a goal to launch the beginning of a career.

Kyla’s background includes volunteering for a hospital; therefore, she had a point of reference to a medical setting. Through this fellowship she learned more about the healthcare profession and even learned some medical terms and what symptoms to look for in a health crisis. She learned quite a bit, outside of her business knowledge.

Hope, the supportive, motivational instructor for the CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) certification shared that Kyla was instrumental in keeping the class moving along and pitching in to help her whenever needed.

The young women in the certification program have enjoyed this program, but were a little nervous for their upcoming test scheduled for the next day. I know Kyla helped the women prepare for the test and also shared tips on how to deal with test anxiety. She was instrumental in helping these women build up their confidence to do well on their test.

 

By Colleen Murphy
Colleen Murphy Senior Associate Director, Pulsifer Undergraduate Career Development Center