45 Stories of Inspiration: Sun Life Financial

For more than 20 years, SunLife has employed three former NECC students as office administrative assistants. Additionally, the company also employs a current student who is tasked with maintaining multi-functional devices (scanners, copier, fax machines) in the building. 

SunLife’s involvement in NECC’s vocational education program is noteworthy not just for its longevity, but for the degree to which they include NECC students in their company. The former students are truly members of the SunLife team, receiving full benefits including health insurance, vacation time, and a pension.   

“As Sunlife has changed and evolved, they have kept [the three former students] employed,” says Julie Weiss, MSEd, BCBA, LABA, Director of Vocational Services. “They were the first corporation we partnered with 20 years ago; they were the one company that said, ‘come on in.’ They have been so good about working with people with disabilities, and having our students be members of their team.”