Liberty Mutual Goes All In on Summer Jobs
This summer, Liberty Mutual went all in on summer jobs. During Mayor Michelle Wu’s 2024 State of the City address, she guaranteed a summer job to every BPS high school student who wanted one. To achieve this, she called on the city’s institutions and private sector employers to hire high school students for 6–8-week internships this summer. Liberty Mutual responded by expanding their support of summer jobs: not only would they hire interns to work in Liberty Mutual itself, but they also funded 100 community-based (CBO) jobs for students from Charlestown High School, their long-time school partner, as well as other BPS high schools.
Linda Pronjari, Senior Program Specialist, manages the Liberty Mutual early career internship program, which includes high schoolers. Says Linda, “Having the opportunity to watch students grow and develop during the internship has truly been a gift. While they are learning what it’s like to work in a corporate environment, we have the opportunity to learn from them in return —their perspectives and what’s important to them.”
Raymond Munoz in the Liberty Mutual office.
Jenny Dixon, Director of Audience Strategy in Global Brand and Communications, is enthusiastic about hosting interns. “I love the part about giving young people exposure to what could lie ahead. It’s just fabulous to see how our intern Ray is like a sponge looking at what’s possible. If I remember back to when I was in high school, I didn’t have any clue as to what it would look like if I went and tried an internship at a company like Liberty Mutual. I think being able to do this in high school is helping him make some decisions about his future as well about for college.”
Not only is Ray – Raymond Munoz, a rising senior at Charlestown – learning from Jenny, but Jenny – and her team – are learning from Ray and his cohort. For Dixon, Liberty Mutual’s high school interns represent the future, and their insights will shape the internship program and the way the company looks at prospective talent in the future. Jenny and her team are working on learning more about Liberty Mutual’s employee audience, and Raymond and his fellow interns are a window into Gen Z, which represents a growing number of employees.
“We know very little about them —we just know that they’re very different from the Millennials and they’re different from the Gen Xers,” says Dixon. “So, this is a real opportunity for us to see from Gen Z’s point of view. We’re asking Ray to do research about Gen Zers and get feedback from the cohort of interns here from a Gen Z perspective, with a goal of helping the team learn more about their generation within our employee audience.”
Raymond Munoz with supervisor Jenny Dixon, Director of Audience Strategy in Global Brand and Communications.
Professional development is an important part of the Liberty Mutual interns’ summer experience. This summer, in addition to their placements within departments, the interns had a chance to learn financial literacy, professional development in a corporate setting, and insurance basics. One highlight of the summer was a workshop on “Transition to Adulthood,” where Liberty Mutual’s college interns shared their experiences with their high school counterparts, including students with CBO placements.
Says Kaely Godinez, a rising junior at Charlestown, “One of the most interesting parts of working here is that we have classes about financial literacy, where we learn about investments and taking care of our money. That’s one of the main things I wanted to learn here, because it’s not something we learn about in school. And I’m taking this opportunity build my skill and prepare myself for life experiences, especially budgeting and saving as much money as I can while I’m young.”
Financial services companies interested in hosting high school interns can contact Nicole Jensen, Assistant Director, Employer Engagement, for more information.
More Spotlights