Alumnus Alex DeFronzo hires recent UML Sociology graduates at NFI!

Whats the best way to give back to the department that helped shape you for your career?

Money?

Not exactly.  Alex DeFronzo represents the ultimate form of a community builder. Along with having a direct care giving role in his career, he helps recent UML sociology graduates find jobs at his place of work, NFI Massachusetts, Inc. Not only does he want to help recent graduates find their calling in terms of a human services career, but he also needs our Sociology graduates. He knows the type of work ethic and critical thinking the department produces and he views that as a real asset to his company.

The type of work Alex does can be quite challenging, but extremely helpful to local communities. NFI is a nonprofit that works with youth and families in the North Shore and in the Merrimack Valley. Alex manages a program that assists families in staying together and keeping their children at home and safe. A lot of the staff, including Alex, work directly with children and their caretakers. However challenging the work can get, Alex and all of his staff find the work rewarding and worth it. Sociology helps shape workers for the challenges that arise on the job, "having the ability to peel back the layers of an issue to discover its core, the point it originates, makes UML Sociology graduates a very big asset to us" said Alex.

Alex's advice to current students: I would advise undergraduate students to get some real work experience before beginning graduate school - the field of human services is a great place to do that because you are exposed to almost all public and nonprofit systems that exist in the commonwealth from healthcare to the courts.  It is a good way to discover what your passion in the workforce is, and can be helpful in pursuing your educational goals later.


If any Sociology majors are graduating this spring and are looking for work in a human services field, NFI might be a great place for you. NFI is a big agency - over 600 employees in Massachusetts and they are always hiring; Alex is always looking for UML Sociology graduates to work in the programs that he is familiar with.  Information is available on nfima.org and he welcomes any Sociology students or alums to email him with questions or with a resume and he will do his best to find an appropriate program and position for them to apply to - alexdefronzo@nafi.com.