“I was leaning towards social work or therapy, wanting to directly help people in the community. I still have a part of me that’s drawn to that; HR has given me a nice balance where I combine skills and values.”
– Lydia Disla Ramos
Co-op Term: Spring 2024
Position: HR/Corporate Citizenship Co-op
Employer: MFS Investment Management
Lydia worked in Human Resources at Massachusetts Financial Services (MFS), splitting her time between talent acquisition and corporate citizenship. In talent acquisition, she reviewed resumes, scheduled and sat in on interviews, attended career panels, and helped run the executive speaker series. In corporate citizenship, she visited nonprofit partners to see how MFS’s financial support impacted their work, helped host nonprofit tours, and supported volunteer and co-op events.
Lydia grew in confidence and self-awareness throughout her co-op. Taking on a challenging pitch project, she pushed herself far outside her comfort zone to deliver it with her team cheering her on. Reviewing resumes and sitting in on interviews gave her a clear sense of what makes an applicant stand out, and she learned how to showcase her own strengths.
Lydia’s co-op reshaped her view of the corporate world and her place in it. She arrived expecting a strict, formal environment and found a supportive, inclusive workplace where she felt valued from day one. Seeing how MFS recruits diverse talent and invests in communities through corporate citizenship showed her that businesses can drive real social change. Human Resources gave her a fulfilling way to support people, and she now feels excited about a career that combines her skills, her values, and her desire to make a positive impact, with nonprofit work still a path she hopes to explore.
