by: Kimberly Woodcock and Brendan Goodlife
Allison Jasmin, also referred to by students as Ms. Jasmin, is an aspiring guidance counselor. Her involvement with the Jobs for Bay State Grads program aided many students to reveal a career path and direction that they were interested in pursuing. The platform of this program initially helped the sophomore, junior, and even senior students gain a comfortable feel with what they are interested in doing further in life. For underclassmen, career exploration is encouraged. This helps students’ gain familiarity with their options. By the time senior year rolls around, the students typically have an indication of a place where they want to intern. This unique internship program allowed participants to leave school and involve themselves with specialized jobs to improve their employment skills. According to Ms. Jasmin, this involvement gives students a feel of whether or not this is something they want to pursue.

Unfortunately, with the high demand for this program and non-profit-grants, Jobs for Bay State Grads slowly ran out of money. Instead of finding a way around this, the entire program was completely cut from Massachusetts curriculum. This is the effect of the cuts made in 2009; Jobs for Bay State was targeted for a loss of $35,000, which took a huge toll on the program.

With high hopes, Ms. Jasmin is now looking to pursue a job within the guidance department. She is currently Mrs. Caira’s long term substitute while Mrs. Caira is on maternity leave. In contrast to Ms. Jasmin’s Sports Marketing degree that she received from Salve Regina University, she is now working to earn her Master’s from Assumption College. Ms. Jasmin states, “I’m helping people, and that’s what I realized I wanted to do.” She has now completely grasped the idea that helping kids, and relating to them on a deeper level is what she has a passion for.

Sources:
http://www.wickedlocal.com/westborough/news/x1056545970#axzz1uOdgc6hh