Travelers EDGE

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Episode Transcript

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more at okhillct dot org. Nowhere's your host for Pulse of the Region,
Kate Bowman. Welcome back to anotherepisode of Pulse of the Region.
I am your host, Kate Bowman, with the pleasure today to highlight another
one of the incredible, longstanding partnershipprograms we have here in our Hartford community.
So very excited as always for theshow today. Today we are getting

(01:08):
the pulse about a program design toprovide a unique approach to college and career
readiness for underrepresented students. The partnershipbrings together colleges, universities, and community
based organizations. And today I'm luckyto be joined by three guests who are
all part of this program. Sofirst from Travelers And she is the Traveler's

(01:30):
Edge program manager. It is EvaliseMaldonado. So Evlise, welcome to Pulse
of the Region. Thank you,thank you so much, thank you for
having me. Of course, weare happy you are here and joining Also
joining us is our second guest whois a Traveler's Edge scholar and is currently
at the Central Connecticut State University CCSU. It is Bernardo Lowe. So Bernardo,

(01:56):
welcome to the show. Thanks,thank you for her, of course.
And our third guest today is withCapital Community College. He is a
program manager, John Thomas, SoJohn, welcome to Pulse of the Region.
Very excited to have you, veryexcited to be here. Thanks a
lot, of course. All right, so before we dive into all the
great stuff about the partnership program thatwe are going to be talking about today,

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Traveler's Edge EVILI So if you don'tmind, I would love to get
some introductions here and first off tellus about Traveler's Edge absolutely. So Traveler's
Edge and EDGE DOES stands for EmpoweringDreams for Graduation and Employment is a school
career pipe program that aims to increaseaccess to higher education for underrepresented students and

(02:43):
bring awareness to the many careers inthe IFS industry. Historically, this was
done through a series of partnerships withhigh schools, colleges, universities, and
community organizations. So once enrolled incollege, travelers that scholars benefit from financial
support, travelers mentors, internship andjob shadowing opportunities, as well as professional

(03:07):
development workshops. The program started inConnecticut, Minnesota, Maryland and then we
expanded to Georgia in twenty seventeen.The program does have three goals, which
is to increase the number of underrepresentedstudents attending college, help them graduate from

(03:29):
college through scholarship support and academic advising, and then build awareness of and preparation
of careers in the insurance and financialservices industry by providing a combination of professional
development, internship and mentorship opportunities.Very good and evils When did the program

(03:49):
start. It started in two thousandand seven, so we've been around for
fifteen years. Oh well, that'swhere I was going to say, a
very good testament of the success ofthe program. So excited to talk about
it more today. And but first, Bernardo, currently, I believe you're
a student at CCSU. Correct,Yes, I'm a senior. A senior,

(04:11):
Oh so you are, I wasgoing to say, on the verge
of graduation. Then actually next week, I'm so expected. I'm graduating my
bachelor's in accounting next week. Congratulations. That's wonderful. Thank you. So
now you've been participating in Traveler's Edge, so would love First off, how
did you find out about this program? It's been quite a journeys. I

(04:34):
was living in New Jersey days Icame to Connecticut, like trying to find
opportunities. I was going to atrade school, and this trade school allows
you to go to community college forfree. So I started going to UM
Capital Community College. When I wasat Capital, I saw a flyer in

(04:59):
the elevate for Sea Captium Capitized CareerAdvancement Program, and you know, I
was interested. That's how I endedup meeting John. So when I went
to John he was telling me aboutall the different opportunities in the peakcap program
and Traveler's Edge, like the Flagshipprogram. So that's how I got introduced

(05:25):
to the program. He told me. I made the requirements and I applied,
and that's how I ran into theprogram. Fantastic. Well that's great,
And John, you know, foryou is how long have you been
involved in this program? And whatyou know really kind of sparked your interest

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in getting involved. So kay,that's a good question, Um, for
what it's worth evolved a good question. Yeah, Well, thank you,
John, I greatly appreciate that.But in any event, I pick Capital
Community College in two thousand sixteen,so I'm in my seventh year here.
I actually came. I came onboard actually to work with our Continuing Education

(06:09):
department, and Capital's career Advancement programat the time was one of the programs
that was under the umbrella of continueEducation, and the previous program manager was
here when I got here, butshortly after my arrival, Um, she
left for other opportunities, and sothe you know, the department at the
time asked if I would be interestedin in storting the program. So that's

(06:33):
really how I found out about theprogram UM and and how I got involved.
And I think, you know,for me it was it was it
was really interesting and as I gotto know more and more about the program,
we really lined up with sort ofmy my personal values and philosophies.

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That's great, And really, canyou talk a little bit about kind of
what your role is within the programand you also too is how are you
kind of supporting that program then atCapital Community College, you know, in
addition to telling great students like Bernardoabout it. Yeah, So I think
for me, UM, it's thereare many roles that I play. I'm

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a jack of all trades with respectto to SEECAP in the Travelers Edge program.
UM, I do things like recruitstudents as I did with with Bernardo
UM, but we also prepare them. So we prepare them for their interview
processes. We make sure that theyunderstand UM things about the company. For

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one thing, right, so Burnardknow that stuff. We make sure that
they talk about their strength and boxthe skills and that they're going to bring
their roles. In addition to that, you know, I'm also collecting kind
of direct and I'm also hoping todevelop a program. UM exercise and specifics,

(08:00):
so for instics that our last Cowordmeeting will have a core meeting,
and I asked all the all theall the scholars to to help. If
you were if with me, howwould you make this program better? Because
many of them getting ready to exitthe program as UM graduating and so really
generated a lot of wool ideas abouthow to integrate some of their thoughts into

(08:24):
the program and making better for it'scoming from the pipeline great and I'm sure
such a huge impact not only individuals, but also really I think for our
our city of Hartford, the stateof Connecticut, and also the IFS industry.
So Evili's I'd love it if youdon't mind, I'm going to ask
you a big question. You cankind of take it in whichever way you'd

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like or direction you'd like to answer, but really, how have you seen
the program impact the city of Hartfordand also the state of Connecticut? Absolutely?
So wow, it's impact. I'msorry I really put you on the
spot there. It's okay, it'simpacted in a number of ways. Um.
Every scholar that is in the program, as soon as that we support,

(09:09):
are tomorrow's leaders. So providing themwith the resources and tools that they
need to succeed. Only benefits thecity of Hartford if they continue to work
at Travelers or other companies in thedowntown area, and their leadership also impacts
the state through universities, through theuniversities that they attend, and the communities
that they that they support. Otherways are you know, they're buying homes,

(09:33):
they're living within the Hartford region andwithin the state. They are sharing
their experience with friends, family members, their community, they're volunteering in the
community. So it impacts it's definitelyimpacting Hartford and Connecticut in many different ways.

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It's certainly and I would say you'reprobably even many many ways beyond on
that too. And you know,really, if you could talk a little
bit more about some of the benefitsof the program, would would love to
hear more there. Absolutely so.Once our scholars are enrolled in college,
but they all receive financial support,but not just that, they also receive

(10:18):
other resources, including Traveler's mentors,internship opportunities. They have the opportunity the
job shadow. They also experience professionaldevelopment workshops before college. The program provides
academic and career awareness to inspire andinform high school students on the past to

(10:39):
college and a career. Very niceAnd you know, Bernardo, for you,
I'd love if you don't mind toask kind of a little bit from
your perspective, is just how you'vepersonally benefited from this, and you know,
if you talk maybe about some ofyour favorite experiences thus far in the
program. So once you mentioned theprofessionality Development workshop, those have been one

(11:01):
of my favorites because they bring inspeakers who have so many experiences. Even
one time, the CEO, youknow, the CEO this big company showed
up to speak to us, youknow, aspiring professionals, and it was
like, really amazing. We getto learn so many things from people with

(11:22):
such varied backgrounds. And every professionaldevelopment workshop, I've absolutely loved it and
experiences so because I'm in the companyas I've experienced outside of the program.
So even last summer, you know, I was playing in the volleyball leagues.

(11:43):
I would getting to meet people inthe company and the volleyball you can
then listen, I didn't. Ididn't realize this, there's a volleyball team
too, exactly right. I wasshocked. So I was in a volleyball
league and it's like it's that oneof those things you don't think about when
you're going into the home, whenyou're going into the workforce, about these

(12:05):
kind of relationships actively. So thosehave been my favorite experiences. They've been
centered around the relationships and the thingsI've learned while in the program. That's
great and how do you really seeyou know, as you kind of enter
into the next step of you know, really the first step in your career
path is you know, how doyou think this program is really going to

(12:26):
benefit you in the short term andalso longer term? So a short term
m I did. I'm graduating andI did to cheer full time employment.
So I started in the Finance LeadershipDevelopment program in June. Fantastic is that
at Travelers? Yeah, that Travelersand wonderful. Yeah, I'm excited and

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in the long term, so theseI've been in the program since June twenty
twenty and I've been a year round. Interns I've been working in there are
yeah. So I've built quite adecent network and a lot of relationship and
these relationships are going to stay withme. So while I'm progressing in the

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company, I feel like I havea contact for anything you don't say I
need help with um a presentation.I feel like I have a contact that
can help me. Say I'm tryingto go to a different section of the
company, and I the preparing interview. I feel like I have a contact

(13:35):
that can help me. So theserelationships long term, I feel like they
are going to be quite a nestickfrom me going forward, certainly. Well,
and again, congratulations to Bernardo andEvil. Good call you got him.
I was ready to offer him ajob at the end of this.
Oh no, no, no,he's he's with us. You're like too

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late there, but no, it'sright wonderful to hear in just about the
intern experiences. And John, I'dlove to get your perspective in working with
many students like Bernardo in kind ofwhat have you know, some of the
benefits for your students and then alsowhat have been some of the benefits for
you as a program manager? Sureso there have been. There are extrinsic

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and intrinsict you know, sort ofrewards involved with the program on the extrinsic
side, on the on the externalside, I get to help students see
themselves in a future that they mightnot have otherwise considered. Right. And
so so as Ebili said, youknow, we're keeping the talent local,

(14:41):
right, It's it's it's going fromhere. We're building this bridge from the
classroom to a career and they're stayingright here in Hartford. So there's that
we're helping the students create networks,not you know, networks amongst their peers,
networks. We're helping them understand relationshipsin a different way. U.
And so I think that those arethose are two big things. We're giving
them the tools to succeed, rightwe are. We're um, you know,

(15:07):
it's important for for the students toknow that they can make this leap
of faith into an unknown and thatwe're going to We've built all the systems
to help them succeed, whether that'sacademically or professionally. Um, we're you
know, we're there, right anduh. And then we're also building those
personal relationships as well. UM.So those those are sort of some of

(15:28):
that the extrinsic you know, rewardsthat that I get to see, I
get to see the students grow,um. And it's really remarkable to see
what how they develop and mature ina short period of time. It's really
remarkable um, you know, onon a personal level, you know,
without going into too much detail becausethe show isn't about me, but uh,

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you know, I've had my ownset of challenges along the way.
I grew up in Hartford, umum, and I understand at least some
of the challenges that that confront thethe folks who live in Hartford, and
along the way, I've always hadpeople who've been there to help give me

(16:08):
an opportunity, you know, whatwas. I don't know if I was
fortunate or what, but all alongthe way there have been folks who helped
me. We're no person in itis an island and you know, on
proof of that, and I wantto help be that person for the students
here at Capital Community College. SoI think you know that's probably in a
nutshell that's wonderful. John. Youcan't see me, but I have a

(16:32):
big smile on my face. Sothat is just incredible to hear. And
I'm sure impacting in ways more waysthan you even know. And you know,
it seems like so many students arebeing touched by this program, even
least I don't know, if youcould touch a little bit on just kind
of the numbers of students that participateon a yearly basis within the program.
Sure, so in this current academicyear, we had eighty six scholars that

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will all be finished with their semesterwithin the next week or so. We
have hired to date one hundred andseventeen and that, you know, we
that number is forever changing because somethingthat's really neat about this whole experience is
some if a scholar doesn't come towork at Travelers once they graduate, they

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will find their way. If theydo start working at Travelers, and you
know, for whatever reason they theydon't continue and they leave, they're finding
their way back. So our numberis constantly changing, is constantly growing,
and we're excited. We're always excitedabout that. We're always excited. Of

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course, once our scholars graduate withthat bachelor's degree, I mean, that
is that's the whole goal, rightgetting them to college and then getting them
through it and attaining that bachelor's degree, and then if having them come work
at Travelers. So that's great andcertainly over you know, fifteen years,

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which again I mean there's not manyprograms that can you know, say that
that's their history. And we'd loveto get here a little bit more about
just how has the program kind ofevolved over those past fifteen years. Yes,
that's the beautiful thing too about Traveler'sEdge, this program, our partnerships,
It is always changing and we're alwaysevaluating the program and making adjustments and

(18:30):
improvements as needed because we need tocontinue being successful and we want to see
the next fifteen years, if notmore. But when the program began,
we had three locations. Each locationhad a different way of managing the program.
And then now fifteen years in,we've been able to see which components

(18:51):
of the program have worked best andcombine them to create a standard model or
like I like to call it oursecret sauce. I like that. Yeah,
that's that's that's that's it right there, the secret stoff. That's that's
what helps the program continue to besuccessful. Along with you know, feedback,
We get feedback from the students.The changes we've made have come from

(19:15):
UM, our community, the educationpartners, but also we've made it a
point to make adjustments based on thefeedback that we get from our scholars.
There they're the program, right,so we look at the scholars as the
primary stakeholders. The program is gearedto help the students achieve their educational goals
and move on to a career againin the insurance and financial services industry,

(19:40):
so looking at Traveler's Edge through thelens of our scholars has been amazingly important
to growing the program and making surethat it's successful. UM we've made changes
to Traveler's Edge based on changes tothe education system. So with the rising
cost of edge occasion, we startedto find that students could be faced with

(20:03):
a decision to drop out of schoolit's another expense or emergency came up.
So to help ease the financial hardshipand remove any obstacles that would keep them
from getting to school or going toclasses and graduating right, we created an
emergency funds to help them with unexpectedexpenses. Also, speaking about changes,

(20:27):
so when COVID nineteen hit us intwenty twenty, everybody remembers that, right,
I'm trying to forget. Yes,we address students changing needs during this
time or during that time, toinclude increased access to the emergency fund that
I just talked about, as wellas relaxing the program requirements such as the

(20:49):
GTA minimum internships and more. Wenothing changed for our scholars. We made
sure that the program continued. Weyou know, if anybody needed a laptop,
we tried to help with that.Um, we transitioned, and it
was super important for us that whilethe world around them was being impacted,

(21:12):
we were trying to keep everything smooth, um, so that you know,
they can continue because now they hadto get used to this different world of
online learning and being away from theirpeers and in a lot of cases family.
So um, you know, wewe it's important for us to continue

(21:36):
to get feedback from our academic partnerslike John, our scholars like Bernardo,
because for us, this program issuccessful and because we're so open to constantly
adjusting what we need to. That'sgreat. No, certainly it sounds like
you're building such a strong foundation forstudents. And you know, John,

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how do you can you see asas this program continues to evolve, how
do you see Capital Community College continuingto participate? So so, Kate,
I think Capital Community College is justgoing to keep participating for as long as
travels will say, keep coming backand participating. Very good answer, John,
You know, yeah, you know, but but you know, even

(22:19):
touched on a couple of things,and I just want to sort of expound
on them a little bit. Isthat, you know, with respect to
some of the changes that have takenplace in a program, even on at
a in a nuts and bolt level. Right when when this program started here
we were looking at students who werebusiness majors, accounting majors, and uh,

(22:40):
computer information system majors. That wasit, okay, and over as
the program has evolved over the yearsthrough feedback, right through feedback with its
with its partners and stakeholders, that'sexpanded. You know, Travelers has really
baked this this process into their DNAthe edge process. So everybody is learning
and growing from it, not justthe students who are the primary beneficiaries and

(23:03):
stakeholders, but also the educational partners. We have, you know, symposiums
a couple of times a year toget together and inform the program with with
Travelers. This isn't a pedantic,top down process. It's collaborative and so
that's really really cool. Um So, and then you know, I think

(23:25):
we haven't talked much about the folkswho who at least from my end,
I have partners right here in theHarvard community, over at CCSU, at
Central Connecticut and at Yukon. Andso you know, we are preparing our
students and working you know, uhseamlessly with with those partners to be able
to pass the baton, you know, with our students to the to the

(23:45):
next level so they can finish theirBouchelor's degrees. So you know, I
think, uh, I just wantto continue working on the process with with
Travelers because it's it's collaborative, it'siterative, and it keeps getting better.
That's wonderful. And John, I'mso glad you brought out the other partners
too, because there is a lotof partners involved with this and evil least

(24:06):
I know if you could touch youknow, John had mentioned some of the
other partnerships with the colleges and universities. Are there other community partners that have
really gotten involved with the program?Yes, so we partner with Hartford Promise,
Boys and Girls Club of Hartford,Hertford Scholars are high school partners,
right, can't forget about them,Weaver High School, Pathways, Academy of

(24:32):
Technology and Design, New Britain HighSchool. So we have a lot of
amazing partners in this program and Iam grateful to be able to be the
program manager, to be able towork with my partners like John and our
partners doctor Kate wall And at CentralConnecticut State University as well as Maya Vasque

(24:56):
as at Yukon. So and ofcourse you know we have other locations that
we partner with as well, butit is an amazing, an amazing collaborative
partnership that we have. It definitelysounds like that, and you know and
certainly want Bernardo, you've kind ofalready shared with us where your story I
think is a selling point in itselfon you know, why for why students

(25:18):
should get involved in the program.But if you were to be able to
give advice to a student who maybe considering participating in Traveler's Edge, what
would you say to them? Iwould say, this is like as good
as it's good at it as goodas it gets in terms of the I
start in your career because the EDGEprograms, it's a rotation. Our programs

(25:41):
are each year you're working in adifferent cetron at the quintin You're learning so
much that usually to get through toget experience in three different departments you would
have to you know, job shopkind of and this is like built into

(26:02):
the program. So you're getting you'reexperiencing three different management side, You're you're
learning three different sections as the company. You're building so many different skills.
And this is as a student,so when you're going into the workforce there
that extremely appeared compared to your competition. So that's that's really what I love

(26:26):
about it. And even though theFinance Leadership Development Program is another rotational program,
that's three years, three different sectionsas the company. Really so when
I finish, I'd have gone tosix different sections as the company in six

(26:47):
years. And and so exactly right, Yes, I feel really confident in
my abilities. And I noticed withnew people comming in there, they don't
have that confidence in their abilities.And I feel like this because I'm working

(27:08):
on real stuff, Like nobody's sendingme to the copy machine. When I'm
working, you feel like I reallyhave to do a lot of hard work
here. Yeah, so you're gettinga rework experience and it builds your confidence
in your abilities when you start infree time with this kind of experience.

(27:29):
That's great. Well, thank youso much, Bernardo for sharing your story
and that great advice and evil easIf there are students or people that know
of students that may be interested inparticipating in the program. Where can people
go to get more information? Yes, thank you. They can visit travelers
dot com, Flash Community fantastic andJohn. For those interested in learning more

(27:51):
about Capital Community College and all ofthe opportunities there, where is best for
listeners to go to, they cancome to Capital CC dot edu and you
know, specifically looking for Capital's curAdvancing program. Just pop bus skap or
Capital's Career Advancing Program into the searchbar. I'll take it to our page.
Fantastic. Well, thank you eachfor being on the show today.

(28:14):
Truly appreciated speaking with each of you, and Bernardo especially good luck as you
start on your next adventure. Yeah, thank you very much. I'm really
excited of course, of course,and I'm looking We have one minute left
in the show, so if youguys don't mind, if I could put
each of you on the spot reallyquickly, because I'd love to hear from
all of you. Is when wehave time, we love to ask what
do you love most about living,visiting or being here in Hartford and the

(28:38):
Hartford region. So if you don'tmind, I'll put you on the spot
each quickly. So why not first, John, I'll put you on the
hot seat first, Okay, quickly. I grew up in Hartford, have
always lived and worked in the Hartfordarea. I just love that there are
a bunch of folks in the trenchestrying to make Hartford as good as a

(29:00):
kidid fantastic. Oh I love thatanswer, Evelie. What about you?
I know you visit Harford a lot, you're here often. What would be
your answer? It's it's absolutely thepeople, the community. Um and as
they say, Hartford definitely has it. Oh another wow, I'm I'm glad
we're recording all these answers. Allright, Bernardo, how about from your

(29:22):
perspective for me? So, youknow, Hartford is like a really big
Jamaican population. So Hartford kind ofis like a home away from home.
So I love going into the city. That's where you get the Jamaican food,
the Cst Jamaican food, and sothat's that's I love going into into

(29:44):
Hertford, you know, and she'slike home away from home for you.
And Bernardo, if we had toask you, what would be the one
rest restaurant that you'd recommend? Whatdid you go with? My favorite right
now is done drivel. You know, I second that I just into arguments,
but it is well I support youon that answer. So thank you

(30:08):
all again so much for being onthe show today was truly a fantastic conversation
and thank you for all the workthat you're doing here in the region,
the thing that you're doing so muchfor this opportunity of course, of course,
and before we close out our showtoday, we would like to welcome
a new investor to the MHA.We refer to our members as investors because
they are investing in the work weare doing to help promote the region.

(30:30):
So today we welcome the National Conferencefor Community and Justice NCCJ is a human
relations organization that promotes inclusion and acceptanceby providing education and advocacy while building communities
that are respectful and just for all. For ninety five years, they have
served as a diversity, equity andinclusion anchor, institute, a catalyst for

(30:52):
change, and a community convenior.For more information, you can visit NCCJ
dot org. For all the detailsabout today's show, you can visit metro
Hartford dot com. Would like togive a big thank you to our partner
Oak Hill, and of course thanksto you for listening. I'm Kate Bowman,
go out and make today a goodday here in Connecticut.