WPY UPDATES

Fall Programming, Community Opportunities, and More

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Career Exploration & Training

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

WPY is piloting School-Year Career Talks, a new monthly professional development series of interactive workshops that help high school students build practical, career-ready skills

The Career Exploration & Training team has been busy recruiting and conducting outreach for the 2026-2027 School-Year Internship Program. We're excited to share that we have hired 39 School-Year Interns so far. The Teen Mental Health Alliance hired 4 Peer Leaders and 24 Peer Associates, while our new STEM Forward Program hired 1 Peer Leader and 10 Peer Associates. We look forward to seeing the meaningful work these interns will accomplish!

CET is also partnering with McDevitt Middle School and WPY's Wraparound team to hire 6 high school mentors for the McDevitt Bilingual Mentoring Program.

Wish you had applied for a school-year internship? We are still hiring! With the return of Waltham Public Schools' Adult ESL evening classes at McDevitt Middle School, we are hiring two Teaching Assistant interns. These interns will support adult learners by leading conversation practice, assisting with classroom activities, and translating when needed. The classes will meet two times per week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 5:00-6:30 pm. We are seeking high school students who are at least 15 years old and/or sophomores who speak Spanish, Portuguese, or Haitian Creole. Must be authorized to work in the U.S. 

School-Year Career Talks Series

We are excited to introduce School-Year Career Talks, a professional development workshop series designed to help high school students build practical, career-ready skills.

Previously offered through our summer internship program, Career Talks is expanding into the school year. Students can attend individual workshops based on their interests, with no application or long-term commitment required.

Workshops will be held from 2:15-3:20pm in the Waltham Room at Waltham High School. 

Upcoming Workshops:

• Monday, November 16, 2026: Public Speaking Made Simple
• Tuesday, December 14, 2026: Financial Literacy Workshop
• Monday, January 11, 2027: Interview Skills
• Monday, February 8, 2027: Building Your Elevator Pitch
• Monday, March 8, 2027: Networking 101
• Thursday, March 25, 2027: Summer Employer Speed Networking

We will close out the series in March with the Summer Employer Speed Networking event, where students can apply the skills they have developed throughout the year.

We look forward to helping students build confidence and prepare for future academic and career opportunities. For more information, check out the flyer below.

Wraparound Waltham

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

WPY Wraparound Program Manager, Alexa Cuellar, leading the Teen Mental Health First Aid training for Waltham Valor High School students

We are so excited to share that our Wraparound team is partnering with Waltham Valor High School (WVHS) to offer Teen Mental Health First Aid training to WVHS students. WPY's Wraparound Manager, Alexa Cuellar, is leading the training with support of WVHS's Guidance Counselor, Berta Padilla. In this training, taught completely in Spanish, students learn about symptoms of mental health challenges, how to support themselves or a peer, and how to access trusted adults.

Earlier in October, Wraparound held their first-ever Office Hours at Stanley Elementary School! Our staff made this support highly accessible for families and Stanley staff by hosting office hours during school drop-off and pick-up hours. The next Stanley Elementary office hours will occur on November 18th from 1:30-4:30pm.

It was a joy to table back-to-school nights at McDevitt Middle School and Whittemore and Plympton Elementary Schools. The team loved meeting families and students and sharing information about community supports. A big thank you to the staff at each school for making space for us!

Alumni Q&A: Mattison Crain

Every other month, we 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 Mattison Crain (she/her). I’m 20 years old and I graduated from Waltham High School in 2025. 

What do you like to do for fun?

When I have free time on my hands, I either hang out with friends or do spontaneous things in Boston. I also love to watch movies and go to the movie theaters. I get a great student discount!

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

I’ve been studying at Boston University (BU). I’m majoring in Education & Human Development and Minoring in Deaf Studies. I’ve been everywhere here; I even joined student government, which I didn’t expect. I’m also in a community service sorority called Omega Phi Alpha. We’re involved in fundraising and volunteering at soup kitchens, women's shelters, and more. We also lead campus clean-ups and gratitude activities.

Lastly, I’m serving as a Teaching Assistant for a first-year education class. In this role I mentor first-year students and teach them about resources on campus. I have 1:1 meetings with each student. I’ve talked to each student in my class for at least an hour! 

Tell us more about your education studies.

Education studies at BU take place within Wheelock College of Human Education and Human Development. I’m pursuing the Teaching & Learning for Elementary Education path specifically. During my freshman year, there were a lot of opportunities to hear from education professionals and faculty members. This helped to inform my decision.

One of these education professionals gave me the advice that being bilingual in schools sets you apart as an educator, which is what motivated me to learn American Sign Language (ASL) and minor in Deaf Studies. I’m taking ASL1 and a Deaf History and Culture class this semester.

What WPY programming did you participate in while you were at WHS?

I was part of the Teen Mental Health Alliance internship. I was both a Peer Associate and Peer Leader. As a Peer Associate, I was so interested in the research and the community project. For our community project, we led a week of mental health-oriented events. Branching out and joining a group, working on a team with other people, figuring out the scale…it was a learning curve for me, but a lot of fun. I had never planned events for people, and now I do that every day at BU.

As a Peer Leader the following year, I learned to conduct interviews. It took a lot of time and taught me a lot about evaluation. We were building different teams based on the candidates’ strengths. Each cohort was so different because they each brought different perspectives and very different conversations.

How did WPY programs impact your trajectory after high school?

My work with the Teen Mental Health Alliance has been super relevant. I’m actually taking a child policy class right now, and we look at different policies that impact youth. Within the education policy, specifically, I found a lot of the research looked similar to Youth Risk Behavior Survey results that we studied in TMHA. Having seen some of this data before and having an understanding about what’s happening in my community and in Massachusetts has helped me to conceptualize and talk about policy on a bigger scale. 

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

Don’t be so scared of college. You’re learning things from the time you arrive until the time you leave. You’re always in this state of growth. Stop feeling nervous about change–you’ll build a whole community at school!

Opportunities for Youth and

Community Members:

National Grid at the Welcome Center

National Grid Customer Advocates will be available to meet with community members at McDevitt Middle School the second Tuesday of each month this fall from 3:30-5:30pm.

Please reach out to Marlen or Bebelin with questions.

Paid Professional Training: Patient Access

Recruitment is now open for the Patient Access Professional Training January 2027 cohort!

Program Highlights

• Training Dates: January 20-April 27, 2027
• Schedule: 40 hours per week, Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5:00pm (fully in person)
• Locations: Boston Children's Hospital or Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
• Pay: $16/hour during training, with a higher rate if hired after completion

Who Should Apply

Candidates with at least one year of customer service experience, a high school diploma or equivalent, strong English communication and computer skills, and authorization to work in the U.S.

Interested? Complete the pre-screening form. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis; applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

Massachusetts Community Health Equity Survey

Click the link below to take the Massachusetts Community Equity Survey! This survey is an anonymous, state-wide questionnaire from the Department of Public Health. It is an opportunity for community members to give feedback on local health programs and help decide where state funding is allocated.

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WPY's EIN is 04-3399437