Northeastern student Sofia Baiker gained experience and insight at Ellis Early Learning through a co-op rooted in years of partnership.
Looking for her first co-op, Sofia Baiker, a rising third-year student at Northeastern University, wanted to build on her skills and past experiences. She found the perfect opportunity through NUworks, the university’s online platform that connects students with co-ops, internships and jobs.
Baiker applied for a position on the development team at Ellis Early Learning, a private nonprofit in Boston that provides high-quality early childhood education.
“It just looked really interesting. I love kids,” Baiker says. “I loved it the first time I visited. I was so excited to be interviewing and have the chance to maybe work there.”
Founded in 1885, Ellis serves more than 300 children annually, ranging in age from 4 weeks to 5 years old. The organization operates across 22 classrooms and three locations.
The majority of the children come from income-constrained families who receive government subsidies to afford child care. About 11% of families are experiencing homelessness, and many children live in foster care, according to Lauren Cook, the organization’s chief executive officer. About a third of families pay full tuition.
“Research shows that children who attend high-quality, mixed-income programs have higher achievement gains than children in income-segregated programs,” Cook says. “And children who attend racially diverse schools like Ellis build more empathy and are less prejudiced. We believe that all of our children are thriving together.”
Cook says partnering with Northeastern’s co-op program has been transformative for Ellis.
“Early childhood education and care is such a leanly staffed field,” she says. “To have dedicated, passionate, hardworking college students commit to a co-op here has been transformative from a workforce standpoint.”
Ellis began hiring co-ops three years ago, though the organization has long hosted Northeastern students taking service-learning courses. Those students volunteer for a semester to earn academic credit.
The co-op positions have been especially popular.
“We really treat them as members of our team and give them a lot of opportunities to make an impact and do substantive work,” Cook says. “For us, it’s really meaningful.”
Ellis offers three primary co-op roles: nonprofit generalist, development and fundraising co-op, and program specialist. Cook looks for candidates who have a genuine love of children, strong writing skills and the ability to build relationships with both teachers and parents.
One more requirement? A strong immune system.
“Especially in the spring co-op, when they start in January, it’s cold and flu season, and the kids are just sick for months,” Cook says. “So if you’re squeamish about that or nervous or get sick often, Ellis is a tough place.”
Before joining Ellis, Baiker worked for The Dorrance Family Foundation on the West Coast during her gap year. At Ellis, she supported fundraising efforts — one of the organization’s three main revenue streams, alongside government funding and tuition.
“We have to raise a lot of money every year to do what we do,” Cook says.
Baiker’s responsibilities included writing letters, researching fundraising prospects, preparing for meetings, assisting with events and managing social media.
Although her co-op wasn’t directly tied to her history and political science majors, Baiker found the work meaningful and relevant.
“I did a lot of the communication on social media, through letters and other outreach while I was working here,” she says. “The skills that I get from my majors in terms of writing and reading have really helped that. And then my experience here will strengthen my skills at school.”
Baiker’s favorite assignment was helping plan the spring fundraising social.
“I really liked being involved in the event planning and just creating a vision for the event,” she says. “It was really rewarding to see it come together, and to have everyone enjoy it.”
But what she loved most was visiting classrooms and spending time with the children while gathering content for social media.
“It’s always just fun to hang out with them and ask them questions,” she says. “I always end up staying longer than I probably should because they won’t let me leave.”
Cook describes Baiker as bright, hands-on and sophisticated.
“Our co-ops have been awesome because they’re just very much willing to do what needs to get done,” she says. “They come in with a ‘can-do attitude,’ which is really helpful.”
And Cook says students walk away with more than just job experience. At Ellis, they develop empathy for families facing hardship, respect for early educators and a strong work ethic.
“You have to be focused. You have to be present. You have to be engaged, and it’s exhausting,” she says. “Working with young children at various levels of development can be exhausting, because they require a lot of care and a lot of patience, and a lot of compassion. But they can also be very tricky, because we have so many children with trauma histories and trauma-driven needs. The behaviors can be really intense.”
Students also leave with a deeper appreciation for the importance of early childhood education.
“They leave really well-informed about the value of early childhood education for children, families, our society and our economy,” Cook says. “And that makes me really happy, because we need way more people to understand that. I think they’re going to be better parents if they choose to have children because of their experience.”
A year ago, Baiker says, she never imagined doing a co-op at an early childhood nonprofit.
“But I think that, like any co-op that you take, it’s going to be a learning experience, and you’re gonna get something out of it,” she says. “I would encourage people to try new things and be open to different kinds of co-ops.”