WPY UPDATES

 Partner Celebration, Spring Program Updates, & More

One Month Until WPY's 2026 Partner Celebration

We welcome everyone to our Partner Celebration Fundraiser! Whether you are a current supporter, curious to learn more about our work, or currently work with or care about youth in Waltham, we invite you to join us for our Partner Celebration on Wednesday, May 27th from 5:00-7:00pm at Bentley University. 

This event brings together over 150 guests from the city's educational, municipal, and business sectors to showcase the WPY partnerships that create powerful opportunities for Waltham youth. We will feature a concise, exciting speaking program, including a student speaker and keynote speaker. Funds raised at our Partner Celebration enable WPY to run programs for over 800 local students per year.

Questions? Email Olivia Spelman at olivia@walthampartnershipforyouth.org

Career Exploration & Training (CET)

Connecting students to life-altering career development opportunities through meaningful paid internship experiences.

WPY Mental Health and Healthcare Professionals of Tomorrow Coordinator, Monica Manna, pictured with some of this year's Teen Mental Health Alliance Peer Leaders at Sparkshare's Storytelling Summit

2026 Summer Internship Program applications are officially closed! With the incredible support of the WPY staff and Bentley University Career Success Institute (CSI) mentors, we have been conducting interviews to place our students this summer. We'd like to extend a huge shoutout to the CSI mentors for their dedication this semester. From helping students to create professional resumes and cover letters to facilitating interviews, their support has been invaluable to the Summer Internship Program process. 

The School-Year Internship Program is also nearing the finish line!

The Teen Mental Health Alliance Spring Peer Associates focused their year-end community project on student stress management. With MCAS, AP exams, and finals right around the corner, the Peer Associates were dedicated to providing their peers with the practical tools and resources needed to navigate testing with calm.

This year, we also welcomed four Bentley students from the Bentley Service Learning and Civic Engagement Center who hosted a weekly Civic Leadership Academy with the Teen Mental Health Alliance. Through this partnership, they have helped our students develop leadership skills, identify their innate strengths, improve public speaking skills, and solve problems. The Bentley leaders wrapped the year with vision boards and certificates of completion. Thank you to the Bentley leaders for supporting our students in their leadership journey. 

This month, the Teen Mental Health Alliance Peer Leaders also attended SparkShare's Storytelling Summit, where they learned effective ways to share their passion for community change through storytelling. They also collaborated on student-led projects in the Greater Boston area and left with new friendships and connections.

Our Bilingual Mentoring and ESL Teaching Assistants at McDevitt are still going strong as they enter the last weeks of their internships. It has been inspiring to watch these interns grow by stepping into significant leadership roles and taking more initiative in the classroom and with their mentees.

Wraparound Waltham

Collaborating to create a community of belonging and opportunity for newcomer immigrant students and their families.

WPY Wraparound Program Manager, Alexa Cuellar, attended Agencia ALPHA's 24th Annual Fundraising Event, alongside community partners, including Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy and Superintendent Dr. Marisa Mendonsa

The Wraparound team participated in two community resource fairs this month, continuing our efforts to connect with and support our newcomer families. We joined elementary families at the Kindergarten Resource Fair, where we shared information about the Welcome Center and the range of resources available to newcomer families in Waltham. We also attended the Stanley Elementary School Family Community Resource Fair. Both events served as valuable opportunities to engage with families and strengthen our presence within the elementary school community.



Alexa, our Wraparound Program Manager, also attended Agencia ALPHA’s 24th Annual Fundraising Event, hosted at the Waltham Boys & Girls Club. Agencia ALPHA has been an essential partner in providing direct legal services to our families and students. We were especially proud to join in celebrating our community partner, the Waltham Family School, as they were honored with the Community Champion Award.

Alumni Q&A: Abbey Ngo

Every other month, we will share alumni Q&A interviews to celebrate the accomplishments of our former students and to educate readers about the long-term impacts of WPY programming

Introduce yourself!

My name is Abbey Ngo. I’m 21 years old, use she/her pronouns, and graduated from Waltham High School in 2023.

What WPY programming did you participate in while you were in high school?

As a high school student, I did three WPY summer internships and one school year internship. My summer internships were with the Boston Children’s Hospital COACH Program, the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University, and with WPY as a Communications Associate. I also had a school-year internship with WPY as a Communications Associate.

What have you been up to since you graduated from Waltham High School?

Since I graduated, I’ve been attending New York University (NYU). I’m majoring in Global Liberal Studies with a concentration in Politics, Rights, and Development. My second major is in Data Science.

I just spent my entire junior year studying abroad in Paris, France. It felt like a culture shock in a fun and exciting way. This semester, I’m interning for Children of Prisoners Europe, which is a pan-European non-profit network that works with children with incarcerated parents. They’re funded by the EU, so it’s cool to see how that impacts specific procedures. I’ve been working on updating data and fact sheets. I also review partner interviews and pull quantitative data for donors.

Do you have any favorite spots in Paris?

This is a really basic answer, but sitting by the Seine is the most amazing thing ever. Last semester, a friend of mine brought a guitar, and a bunch of us sat out there and had a picnic dinner. 

My friend and I also have a routine where we go to a different boulangerie (bakery) each week and rank them. La Maison D’Isabelle is the winner so far!

Are there any skills you developed via WPY programming that have served you well in your academic/professional pursuits?

Basically everything I learned at my WPY internships served me very well! I truly think that WPY really impacted how I act in workplaces and helped me feel comfortable being in more professional settings. I think that my current internship would have been very nerve wracking had I not had some professional experiences already. 

I also think that having four WPY internships on my resume really helped with college admissions. My experience with WPY was pretty unique and may have set me apart from other applicants in the college application process.

If you could tell your high school self one thing, what would it be?

Everything will fall into place. Especially junior and senior years of high school, it feels so scary to be applying to colleges. Even if you don’t get into the school you were thinking of, or you end up somewhere different, you can find your people anywhere.

Opportunities for Youth and

Community Members:

National Grid Customer Advocates at Welcome Center

National Grid Customer Advocates will be available to meet with community members at McDevitt Middle School on Tuesday, May 12th, from 3:30-5:30pm. Please email Family & Student Engagement Coordinator, Bebelin Galvez, with questions.

Get Involved in Clinical Research Studies at Boston Children's Hospital!

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Fund (DAF) on our website.

WPY's EIN is 04-3399437