“I learned so much more from working with people who are so different from me than I ever have from people just like me.”
– Lauren Wood
Co-op Term: Fall 2024
Position: Bosto Refugee Services Co-op
Employer: JVS Boston
JVS Boston is a nonprofit organization that provides employment and career services, including job coaching, training, and support, to immigrants, refugees, and other job seekers in the Boston area. As a childcare coach, Lauren helped immigrant and refugee clients find and enroll in childcare so they could pursue employment. She valued the relationships she built with clients, which deepened her interest in working with immigrant and refugee communities.
Through her time at JVS Boston, Lauren learned how to navigate the real barriers immigrant and refugee clients face, including language and childcare needs, and applied that understanding by connecting families with childcare so they could pursue employment. She strengthened her communication and relationship-building skills by working across language and cultural differences.
Her work with immigrant and refugee clients deepened her existing passion for helping others and showed her the joy of serving this community, shaping how she thinks about her future career. Although she is not yet sure what career path she will pursue, Lauren knows that working with immigrant and refugee communities will remain an important part of her future.
