Write it down in permanent ink: TECO loves students, and not just because so many of us are students too. When you’ve been serving the community for 120 years with safe, reliable power and natural gas, you’ve got to grow with the times – and we’re committed to that.
The generation right behind us is growing too, and when you factor in the needs of our customers today and in the years to come, we’re proud to be a conduit to help students learn business skills, industry knowledge and just the basic interpersonal workplace know-how that’s so very important.
With another school year underway, we thought we’d take this opportunity to say a special thanks to the students and employees at TECO who have worked together for the benefit of both – and for the benefit of the community every step of the way. Here are just a few.
Cristo Rey Tampa High School and the Young Professionals
This past school year, for the second time, TECO volunteered to host two students from the Cristo Rey Tampa High School Corporate Work Study Program. This innovative program enables students to gain real-world work experience. One hundred percent of the wages earned by the students is put towards their education costs.
The students from Cristo Rey each were partnered with a member from TECO’s Young Professionals (YP) group this year. (The YPs are yet another example of our belief in the younger members of our workforce who are working hard, with great results, to become the company leaders of tomorrow.)
“During their time with us, our goal is to help them develop their business acumen, critical thinking, teamwork, and technical skills,” said Amanda Mayros, documentation specialist with TECO and a member of the YPs. “The students are not the only ones with something to gain from this experience – the YPs are being provided a wonderful opportunity to develop their leadership and coaching skills.”
Added Barbara Leasure, administrator with Organizational Development at TECO (and facilitator of the YPs): “This is a great story of TECO partnering with the community – Cristo Rey is a private school that targets underprivileged students. The school has a fantastic record of graduating its students and sending them on to college, and we hope to see those we hosted perhaps joining our ranks one day!”
TECO’s Business Cooperative Education program welcomes high schoolers
Our Business Cooperative Education (BCE) program is another avenue for students to gain a foothold at TECO. Students like Khadir Freeney, who worked closely this past year with our Information Technology & Telecommunications (IT&T) department – earning a ton of praise in the process.
“Khadir was a pleasure to work with. We’ve seen him grow from his first day as a high school senior into a young man headed to college,” said Becky Maier, executive assistant with the IT&T Leadership Team. He is studying IT Marketing at USF. His time at TECO provided insight to several IT disciplines. Khadir learned skills at TECO that will serve him in his future endeavors.”
Typically, students in the BCE program work full-time during the summer, then after school for the remainder of the school year. Students are paid an hourly rate of $10.00, plus a $.39 differential if the student is employed at the Plaza. Requests for BCE students are processed during the months of April or May.
“We’ve had a great record of success with BCE students,” said Nadia Salcedo, recruiter who coordinates the program. “The four students who most recently completed their tenure at the company each contributed to our business in valuable, important ways – and one of them is actually going to stay with us as she transitions into an intern position while continuing her education at USF. I am sure this will be the beginning of a bright career with TECO!”
Customer Experience creates a better experience for students
Especially for young students, starting at school – or returning after summer break – can be a whirlwind.
Factor in economic hardships their families may be facing and what should be a great time for students can seem fraught.
That’s why TECO’s Customer Experience team stepped up to participate in a back-to-school carnival at Tampa’s Potter Elementary that generated more than 100 donated backpacks for the school, which has a Renaissance designation (with a majority of its students from households at or below the poverty level). It’s the kind of generosity toward students in need that you see at TECO time and again, and further proof that working hard to provide our customers with the best TECO experience we can goes beyond just helping you with account-related needs (though that’s super-important to us too, of course).
“Back to school is stressful on some parents in the Tampa Bay community,” said Rebecca Washington, business analyst at TECO and founder of Tampa-based nonprofit S.O.A.R. First, a mentoring and support group for youth in the Tampa Bay community – a connection that has helped make it possible for other students to get a close-up look at what a career at TECO could be. “Customer Experience Operations Leadership was proud to have the opportunity to help create a positive start for students at Potter – we would gladly do it again!”
And that’s not all, folks…
No, we have other students at TECO too, including those in INROADS, the nation’s largest non-profit source of paid internships for undergraduate, diverse youth. TECO has welcomed high-talent, industry-focused INROADS interns since 1988, longer than any other company in the Tampa Bay area. We have other interns and co-op students. Some of our co-op students have ended up going pretty far at this company.
And at the start of another school year, as the future starts to come into focus, students know they have a friend in TECO. The power to provide the community with safe, reliable electricity and natural gas is a big job – and we’ll need more than a few of you in the years to come to get it done.
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