At Summer Search, we are fortunate to have several corporate partners that generously support us and our students.
One such company is the financial services giant State Street Corporation, which over the years has developed a rich and unique partnership with Summer Search Boston.

The partnership began in 2006, and since then State Street has contributed nearly $300,000 to Summer Search through event sponsorship, grants, and matching gifts!

State Street’s support goes well beyond financial investment, thanks to several Summer Search ambassadors within the company, led by Boston Board Member and State Street VP Jeff Dorigan.

Jeff has helped facilitate a great deal of connecting and collaborating, from hosting Summer Search events, to nominating students for State Street’s internship program, to recruiting Career Coaches from State Street to provide career mentoring for Summer Searchers.

Thanks to this mutually-beneficial pipeline, we now have a growing community of Summer Search alumni working at State Street!

Investing in Summer Searchers

We asked Jeff why he and State Street choose to mentor and invest in rising young leaders like our Summer Searchers.

“Effective mentoring relationships are two-way streets — something Summer Search understands incredibly well. I’ve had the good fortune of having numerous role models and informal mentors in my life. The lessons I learned from them have been incredibly impactful in my life and I am grateful to have the opportunity to return the favor any chance I get.”

Jeff went on to say that “State Street has been an incredible platform for me to step up as a mentor. We realized everyone gets more out of the relationship when we find ways to accelerate our employees’ development of both the social and emotional skills and the institutional knowledge required to be effective in our industry.”

Let’s meet a few of those young leaders…

Ron Germán

Ron has been at State Street for three years. He started as an intern while at Hamilton College (set up through our friends at the Posse Foundation).

Once he finished college, Ron started full time and eventually made his way onto Jeff’s team at State Street, where he currently works as an Alternative Sector Sales Consultant.

“I’ve been able to grow and expand my skill-set, and have had great mentors like Jeff who’ve invested in my professional development. Being first-generation, a good support system was critical in helping me navigate these new decisions.”

Jeff Dorigan (left) and Ron Germán.

In addition to the professional development, Ron really appreciates what he calls “the culture of inclusivity” at State Street. “This is definitely something that drew me to State Street. Having so many affinity groups make someone like me, a man of color, feel comfortable at a place like State Street, where I’m encouraged to go and spend time with people from many different backgrounds.”

Ron continues to give back to Summer Search as well, serving on the Boston Alumni Board and volunteering as a career coach.

Rocio Martinez

Rocio has been at State Street for two years, where she works as a Diversity Sourcing Consultant. Her role focuses on recruiting people from underrepresented communities — people of color, persons with disabilities, military, women, and the LGBT community — so that State Street continues to grow a diverse talent pool into higher-level positions.

She says this job is particularly meaningful for her as it parallels her experience at Summer Search.
“I’ve been given opportunities that many people who come from underrepresented communities simply don’t have access to. Summer Search was a place where I could meet other students who came from a background like mine, and were graduating from college, and succeeding in the types of jobs I wanted for myself. Having those role models and mentors through Summer Search and their Alumni Network has had a great impact in my life.”

She echoed these sentiments at Boston’s 2016 Leadership Dinner last week:

Rocio wants to continue her work in the area of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and hopes to have a greater impact by, as she says, “building strong communities of inclusion within the workplace.”

Sharhea Wade

Like Ron, Sharhea also started at State Street as an intern. In fact, she still works for the same Executive VP who hired her right out of college.

At Boston’s 2015 Leadership Dinner, Sharhea talked about her journey from Summer Search to State Street.

As she says in the video, “now it’s my turn to give back” to Summer Search, and the culture at State Street supports that.

“Giving back is really important to me, and it’s one of the key reasons I’ve stayed with State Street. They also have a big global inclusion and affinity group initiative, which has been really beneficial for me around networking and staying involved with community organizations like Summer Search and Posse that supported me during high school and college.”

State Street is also supporting Sharhea in her career, as she has been working on an MBA part-time, which is partially covered by the company.

Ronald Delorme

Ronald is a Fund Administrator and has been working at State Street for about a year.
Like Ron, he really enjoys State Street’s culture of inclusivity and that there is an “abundance of opportunity to grow professionally.” He says “there are so many affinity groups and people who want to network and support your development.”

One of those people is Ronald’s State Street mentor Shane Doyle. They met while Ronald was in college and have remained close. Ronald says that Shane has been “a real advocate for me, and always encourages me to set goals and think about my career trajectory.”

State Street, like Summer Search, believes in creating opportunity. Their investment in Summer Search creates opportunities for our students to become college-educated leaders who are prepared to take the workforce by storm. And companies like State Street have the opportunity to benefit from that diverse, skilled, and dedicated workforce, made up of Summer Searchers like these talented employees.