Student Worker Pipeline

Student workers in the IT Department receive intensive on-the-job training, and this—along with their familiarity with UMass Boston and proven track records—makes them especially strong candidates when full-time jobs become available. For these reasons, there is a long list of IT personnel who began as student employees, including Shawn Reardon (AV Office & Classroom Instructional Support Supervisor), Paula Thorsland (Director of Learning Design Services), Marla Filoso (Director of Systems), Theresa Miller (Technology Services Adoption Specialist), Rocky Haggard (Senior IT Service & Support Services), John Mazzarella (Assistant Vice Chancellor of IT Client Services)  and many others. This past year, the IT Department hired two former student workers as full-time employees, who we want to recognize for exemplifying what it means to be a Star Performer.  

Sayeed Chowdhury

Sayeed Chowdhury began working as a network engineer apprentice under the PACE program in 2020, and he excelled in this role up until his Spring 2024 graduation from UMass Boston. For his excellence, Chowdhury earned a number of recognitions—including an April 2024 Award of Excellence for Outstanding Student Leadership, an IT Student Appreciation Badge in April 2022, and IT Services Certificates of Appreciation in April 2019 and April 2024—as a student worker. “Sayeed has been heavily involved in the design, planning and implementation of all facets of the new campus network to include Edge, Core, distribution, server farm and Wi-Fi deployments. All while maintaining his full-time studies and classwork,” says Director of Network Services Jamie Soule. 

According to Soule, UMass Boston received over 100 applications for the junior network engineer position Chowdhury now occupies—and he was demonstrably the finest candidate. “Sayeed has been a valued member of the network services team, and we are very happy he rejoined the IT department after his graduation and is continuing his contributions to the UMB IT department and the users we service on a daily basis,” Soule says. “His best qualities include his extremely patient attitude, ability to work with everyone he has met so far and his overall calmness in situations that may otherwise stress others out.” 

For Chowdhury, being a student worker was integral in preparing him for this next step. “My apprentice program was designed to prepare me for professional roles, with the required skills and readiness to contribute immediately to the team,” he says. “Such experience benefits both the students and university by providing job opportunities and candidates who have already proven to be valuable and trusted resources for the team and university.”  

Adam Sylvestre

Adam Sylvestre began working at the IT Service Desk in his junior year at UMass Boston. He then became part of the PACE program in his senior year, which saw him working as an information security analyst in the Network Security Operations Center. When a job opened up in his direct area around the time of his Fall 2024 graduation, colleagues suggested that Sylvestre apply for the position. “When we opened his position, I had close to 75 applications and his stood out because he knew more than all of those 75 professionals who came in for that position. He stood out from the crowd,” says Wil Khouri, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Information Security Officer. “Our interviews are brutal – like, really brutal. He really did very well.”  

To beat out the competition, Sylvestre utilized his knowledge of technological language and procedures, as well as the softer skills he developed as a PACE worker—such as emotional intelligence, critical thinking, patience, and resilience. He started as an Information Security Operations Analyst in January 2024 and is now responsible for the cybersecurity program. Sylvestre’s responsibilities include managing abuse e-mail, looking for at-risk users, and dealing with e-mail-related incident response. The transition has gone very smoothly, but not simply because Sylvestre was a student worker. “He’s very punctual, he’s very thorough, he never leaves any stone unturned. He’s very accurate. Usually, if I see a security breach and I can reach him, he is very responsive no matter when it is. His communication skills are incredible,” Khouri says. 

In addition to his other duties, Sylvestre also helps train students in the security office, which he finds especially rewarding having himself been a student worker. “I feel like my work here is a lot more impactful and helpful than it would be somewhere private,” he says. “I went here as a student—I am still a student, working on my master’s degree—and I feel a connection to the community.”