Colleges routinely sing the praises of service–learning: the life-changing impact of joining academic study with hands-on work in community-based projects. Through our own Bentley Service–Learning Center (BSLC), some 1,200 students a year apply their business smarts for the greater good.

But what happens when service projects end and professional life begins? Here, we put the question to a handful of BSLC alumni who, among other commitments, built computer labs at Waltham elementary schools, taught English to non-speakers, and interned with NGOs in Ghana.

Lesson One: Live Your Values 

Camille Forde ’09, MSA ’10

Northeast Corporate Responsibility Leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers

BS in Corporate Finance and Accounting; MS in Accountancy

Contributions to society are often described as giving back. I like to think of it as giving forward. During my years at Bentley, I had opportunities to give forward through initiatives such as the English Language Learners program and local after-school programs. While I had engaged in civic and community programs during high school, this was different.

Service–learning is about making a deliberate choice to integrate work and community engagement. My career path mirrors this sentiment. I started my career in audit, and in 2013 I had the opportunity to transfer my passion for service and connectivity into a career. Currently, I lead the corporate responsibility (CR) efforts for the Northeast market at PwC. I contribute to the design and implementation of our CR strategy, connect colleagues to areas of service that they are passionate about, and drive participation and awareness of Earn Your Future, PwC’s five-year commitment to youth education and financial literacy. Since last July, partners and staff in the Northeast contributed over 20,000 hours to PwC’s Earn Your Future, through personal volunteering and firm-sponsored initiatives.

Much like service–learning, corporate responsibility is not a stand-alone, check-the-box initiative. Each of us has the opportunity to leverage our skills and live our values every day.

Lesson Two: Family Matters

Jay Garneau ’09

Environmental Scientist – Air Measurement Systems, TRC Environmental

BS in Corporate Finance and Accounting

Working in Ghana opened up a whole new spectrum on life for me, and what it meant to be living.

When I graduated and got back into the swing of things in the States, the economy was in the toilet. I tried really hard to get any respectable job back in the Boston area. But for some reason, I never got that job I assumed I would when I was just finishing school. This was a really confusing part of my life: Everything I strived for in college wasn’t happening. I really felt lost and, at times, wished I was back in Ghana where things were more simple.

After four or five months, I realized I wanted to be around my sisters, both of whom live in Denver. One thing I learned from the people I met in Ghana was that family is really important. They are the only ones that will be by your side when you need them — and at that point in life I needed them. I moved to Denver [about four years ago] and got a job as an environmental scientist at a group called TRC Environmental. I work in air measurement systems, primarily at refineries and power plants. We test smokestack emissions for our clients so they are within compliance with their various permits.

This job has brought me to many places I never thought I would see. I have been all over the United States, testing all kinds of things. I have even worked in Sweden on ice-breaking ships that were getting ready to go up to the Arctic. The work is hard, but really interesting.

Lesson Three: Apply Metrics

Matthew Simmonds ’96

President, Simtech Solutions

BS in Finance and Environmental Sciences

After graduating, I spent two years attempting to achieve happiness as a
cube farm dweller in corporate America. It wasn’t for me, so I hung out my own shingle and started Simtech Solutions. Initially we were a traditional tech company focused on building systems for banks and leasing institutions. That changed after several conversations with one of my best friends, John “Yaz” Yazwinski (Class of 1996 and fellow BSLC alumnus). He remarked on the sheer number of homeless clients showing up at Father Bill’s Place, a shelter in Quincy, Mass., where he is the executive director. Guests were sleeping on cots in the dining area and the building was regularly reaching its legal occupancy limits. The challenge was on. Could Simtech apply lessons learned from the world of finance, as well as our existing technical infrastructure, to help stem the tide?

After bootstrapping the development of a data warehouse, we ran the numbers and found that less than one-third of shelter guests were consuming half the shelter resources. Of these, several had disabling conditions that hindered their ability to maintain housing. Using real data to illustrate the high use of shelter and medical services by these “chronically homeless” individuals helped demonstrate the significant return on investment to be gained from providing them with more permanent housing. This research helped clear the way for the federal funding and local zoning approval needed to redevelop a 12-unit building near the Quincy shipyard. In 2005, 12 chronically homeless women received keys to their own units within the Claremont House.

The community saved an estimated $60,000 in medical costs alone in just the first year. This and other housing projects that followed contributed to a 76 percent drop in chronic homelessness in Quincy from 2004 to 2014. Today, our data management and reporting solutions are in use by cities such as Boston, San Francisco and Philadelphia to meet federal reporting requirements while helping them more effectively address the issue of homelessness. In addition, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development has licensed our Point in Time Counting Tool app. It can be downloaded for free and is being used to help quantify the extent of homelessness in the U.S.

Most recently, we were selected to develop the technical infrastructure to support the pledge by Mayor Marty Walsh to end veteran homelessness in Boston by 2015. The project involves working with community nonprofits such as Pine Street Inn to find more than 400 veterans a place to call their own.

Service–learning showed me how rewarding it can be to help others and taught me about project management in the process. My finance courses also provided critical background, as we developed the technical framework for a new approach to ending homelessness in the United States. The Bentley experience helped me craft a fulfilling career and I’m grateful for the opportunities that have resulted. 

Lesson Four: Lead from Strength

Jacky Yen ’13

Employment Specialist, Father Bill’s & MainSpring

BS in Management and Nonprofit Organizations

In college, I always told friends that I had the best job in the world: getting paid to design, execute and maintain supportive programs for my local community. My various roles as a project manager for BSLC gave me the opportunity to lead with my business mind, but to act with my conscience and heart. Upon my graduation, it was only natural that I was drawn to and accepted a full-time position at Father Bill’s & MainSpring. It is an innovative local nonprofit with a genuine mission, and a BSLC alumnus as CEO [John Yazwinski ’96].

Working for Father Bill’s & MainSpring has been just as rewarding as working for the BSLC. Every day, I get to utilize my business background to formulate sustainable solutions for the homeless of the South Shore area, a population I am truly passionate about. In June, I developed a 25-hour life-skills program for at-risk homeless individuals. The foundation of my programming was the curriculum of two very strong BSLC programs: America Clicks! and the Prism Project. 

To put it simply, I love my work — the people I work with, and the people I work for. Although my employer has changed, I still tell my friends that I have the best job in the world.

Lesson Five: Mind the Gap

Dominic Basile-Vaughan ’04

Founding Academic Dean, Achievement First Summit Middle School

BS in Computer Information Systems and Psychology

During my freshman year at Bentley, I became involved with BSLC through a friend who was a service–learning scholarship student, Abbey Flanagan. We partnered with the assistant principal at Waltham’s MacArthur Elementary School, Diane Fisher, to build a computer lab for students and staff, using computers that Bentley was phasing out. We staffed the lab and provided support to teachers and students who came to use it. Over the course of my four years at Bentley, we were able to provide computer labs and technical support to three other elementary schools. We also started America Clicks!, a technology-enrichment tutoring program that paired upper elementary students with a Bentley service–learning tutor. Together, these partnerships would work on enhancing students’ curriculum projects with technology.

The opportunity to serve in multiple Waltham public schools was integral to my decision to pursue a career in education. Upon graduating from Bentley, I served for two years in Chicago as part of the Inner-City Teaching Corps, where I taught sixth grade at St. Pius V school in the Pilsen neighborhood. I stayed in Chicago until 2007 and then moved to Connecticut to teach with Achievement First (AF), a charter school management organization whose mission is to provide all children with the academic and character skills they will need to graduate from top colleges, succeed in a competitive world, and serve as the next generation of leaders in our communities.

The achievement gap is one of the major civil rights issues of our time. The disparity in children’s skills based on socioeconomic level can be closed with dedicated people and innovative thinking. Achievement First and the education reform movement is seeking to do just that.

At AF, I have taught fifth and sixth grade (and named my advisory class Bentley College), helped found Achievement First Hartford Academy Middle School in 2008, and served as academic dean at both AFHA and Elm City College Prep Middle School. This fall, I am working to found another middle school in Hartford, AF Summit. None of this would have been possible if I had not had the opportunity to serve at MacArthur Elementary through Bentley’s Service–Learning Center. I am incredibly grateful that service–learning opened the door to such a rewarding career and the chance to work with so many amazing children and their families, teachers, and leaders.