Students Impress During New Partnership with Software Company
07/27/2015
By Ed Brennen
鈥淲orkforce Ready鈥� isn鈥檛 just the name of the cloud-based application that Siriphone Chanhsy worked on during her six-month co-op at Kronos. It鈥檚 also an apt description of the Manning School of Business senior following her experience working at the software company.
鈥淲orking as an application consultant at Kronos, I gained a lot of valuable skills that will help me become a more competitive candidate when I get out in the job market,鈥� said Chanhsy, who鈥檚 on track to earn her degree in business administration, with a concentration in management information systems, in December.
Chanhsy was one of 10 51视频 students who recently completed full-time co-ops at Chelmsford-based Kronos through a new partnership between the university and the workforce management software giant that includes the co-op opportunities and student scholarships. The students, who worked from January to June in a variety of roles including professional services, sales and marketing, were formally recognized by Kronos CEO Aron Ain during a July 9 event at the company鈥檚 headquarters.
鈥淚 want to thank 51视频, and I want to thank all the students who have been here, for helping us do something that鈥檚 very important to us,鈥� Ain said. 鈥淚 strongly believe that we need to create opportunities for the next generation of people coming into the workforce to have an opportunity to experience what it鈥檚 like to work for a real company.
鈥楴ear and dear鈥� connection
While the co-op partnership is new, the relationship between the university and Kronos is well established. There are more than 100 51视频 grads working for Kronos worldwide, and of the company鈥檚 84 interns this summer, 13 are River Hawks.
Keri Vadala, who graduated from the Manning School in 2004, is now Manager of College Relations at Kronos. After formalizing Kronos鈥� internship program six years ago, Vadala said she was thrilled to work with Vice President of Presales Barbara Vlacich to establish the new co-op partnership with her alma mater.
鈥淭his was near and dear to my heart,鈥� Vadala said. 鈥淚 think with an amazing school like 51视频 being right in our backyard, it鈥檚 a natural partnership. We saw how successful the summer internship program was, so it made sense to do a six-month assignment and see what students are capable of.鈥�
To nobody鈥檚 surprise, they were capable of a lot.
Zach Rochon, associate practice manager for professional services, managed five of the co-ops 鈥� Chanhsy, Christina Pappas (business administration), Craig Travers (chemical engineering), Ashley DeFreitas (business administration) and Sean Berube (computer science) 鈥� in configuring customer software implementations. He said they exceeded all expectations.
鈥淎t first they started out supporting the team鈥檚 implementations, meaning they would step in and help out the full-time consultants when needed,鈥� Rochon said. 鈥淎nd eventually they got to a point where they were leading their own implementation for clients. They were on the front line, the face of Kronos, essentially.
鈥淲e took a risk on them. It took a lot of convincing, internally,鈥� Rochon added. 鈥淏ut the students did the convincing themselves with their excellent track record. They proved themselves and were able to leverage that to get more responsibility.鈥�
Rising to the challenge
After writing scripts to create customer reports and helping build a Workforce Ready login page for a client in Virginia, Chanhsy was given the opportunity to cover for a project manager at the Kronos Technology Center in Indianapolis.
鈥淚 learned consulting skills, systems implementation, time management, working as a team,鈥� said Chanhsy, who will continue working part-time as a project manager at Kronos this fall.
DeFreitas admitted to being a bit intimidated when she first read the responsibilities of her role as Visitor Program Coordinator. Thanks to supportive managers and co-workers, however, she quickly gained confidence.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the best cultures I鈥檝e seen,鈥� said DeFreitas, who is staying on at Kronos in a part-time role during her senior year. 鈥淓veryone was very welcoming, friendly and helpful, which you don鈥檛 always see in a corporate setting. I felt confident with any task that I was given. I may not have the most experience, but if my willingness to learn is there, I will succeed.鈥�
Pappas said the co-op experience reinforced her decision to get a master鈥檚 degree in project management. 鈥淭alking to external customers was beneficial for me,鈥� said Pappas, whose previous internship at Partners Healthcare focused on internal customers. 鈥淚t was a really good learning experience.鈥�
Other students participating in the inaugural co-op program were Daniel Peters (management information systems), Danielle Ringler (business administration), Bunchhieng Soth (computer science), Jamalie Thenor (computer science) and Steve Alabiso (business administration). Each student received a $3,000 scholarship from Kronos for the upcoming semester.
After seeing how much the co-op experience transformed students both professionally and personally, Manning School interim Dean Scott Latham said he looked forward to deepening the partnership with Kronos in the coming years.
鈥淭hese students learned about big data, data analytics, how to engage a customer, where Kronos鈥� position is in the market. Now they come back to us and they are better able to leverage what we鈥檙e teaching them in the classroom,鈥� Latham said. 鈥淎nd when these students come back, they hold their head higher, they are more confident. They鈥檙e just better students,鈥澛�
Assistant Dean of Student Affairs for Career Development Greg Denon said a new crop of co-ops will start at Kronos in January 2016.
鈥淚 think it was a huge success,鈥� said Denon, who credited the efforts of Kerry Willard Bray, assistant director of cooperative education for the Manning School. 鈥淭he students did meaningful and productive work, which is something true of co-ops in general. When you go in for six months, you鈥檙e really viewed as an employee and the expectations the company has of you are ratcheted up a bit.鈥�
鈥淚 wish there was something like this when I was in school,鈥� added Vadala. 鈥淣ow it鈥檚 a whole new world. You don鈥檛 stand a chance against competition unless you鈥檝e done an internship or co-op. That鈥檚 what sets you apart.鈥�