Four Capital Community College students who are part of the Capital Crossroads to Careers (C3) program were recognized by Travelers, Capital Community College, the University of Connecticut, Central Connecticut State University and Morgan State University on May 16 at The Society Room in Hartford, for completing their associate degrees.

The students are part of Travelers signature education initiative, Travelers EDGE: Empowering Dreams for Graduation and Employment. The EDGE program focuses on increasing the number of underrepresented individuals who complete a bachelor’s degree and are prepared for a career at Travelers or in the Insurance and Financial Services industry.

Seven other students who were part of the C3 program at Capital were also honored for completing their bachelor’s degrees at UConn and CCSU as Travelers EDGE Scholars.

Lorena Martinez, a former C3 student and recent Economics graduate from CCSU, was the student speaker. She came to the U.S. from Peru six years ago and began the English as a Second Language (ESL) program at Capital Community College in 2007.

“I was very fortunate to have one of the best ESL teachers, Peggy Schuyler, who pushed me to not only learn English but to be more ambitious about my educational goals. She always reminded me I had the potential to succeed as long as I worked hard for it.”

Martinez took her teacher’s advice to heart and after only a year started taking credit classes, applied for the C3 program, and was selected. “The C3 program was my opportunity to start building the future I wanted,” she said.

Martinez graduated from Capital in 2009 and from CCSU in 2011. She is now working full-time at Travelers’ Baltimore office in the highly competitive Underwriting Professional Development Program as an Underwriter Trainee.

C3 is an innovative partnership between Capital Community College, Travelers and UnitedHealthcare designed to expose students to careers in insurance and financial services. This program and the paid internship are exclusive to Capital Community College.

Students in C3 receive financial support towards completing their associate degrees while participating in paid internships. In addition, they receive guidance from corporate and faculty mentors and attend professional development workshops with other Travelers EDGE scholars. The mix of real-world work experience, high academic achievement and close interaction with experienced professionals produces graduates who are uniquely trained for the demands of today’s workforce.

Since the program’s inception in 2008, 40 students have participated in C3. Approximately half have now finished their bachelor’s degrees, and over 90% of those graduates have remained in Hartford or with Hartford-based employers in full-time positions. Most are in leadership development programs and in other roles at Travelers. Companies who want to become part of the C3 program are invited to contact the C3 Program Manager at 860-906-5143 or czizka@ccc.commnet.edu.

— Jane Bronfman, Director of Information & Marketing