MASSMUTUAL AND WESTERN NEW ENGLAND COLLEGE TO CO-HOST 3RD ANNUAL ACADEMIC ACHIEVER CONFERENCE ON JANUARY 30

Keynote Speaker is Former BU Hockey Player, Quadriplegic Travis Roy

SPRINGFIELD, MA. - MassMutual Financial Group and Western New England College will team up to present the third annual MassMutual Academic Achiever Conference on Friday, January 30, from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at the Rivers Memorial Building on the College’s main campus.  More than 700 eligible Springfield students in grades 10 through 12 have been invited to attend.

The free conference, titled “Picture Your Future,” will provide MassMutual Academic Achievers with information and skills to help make important life choices – including college, career, and time- and money-management.  This year’s keynote speaker is Travis Roy, the former Boston University hockey player and author of Eleven Seconds, the book that chronicles his recovery from a 1995 on-ice injury.  Also featured at this year’s conference is “Dr. Moneywise,” Terry Guerrant, a national speaker who will give two workshops titled “What You Don’t Learn in School About the Financial Facts of Life,” and  “The Unwritten Code of Conduct of Successful People.”

Ron Copes, vice president of Community Relations at Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), said, “The Picture Your Future conference teaches students how to be successful in life - beyond the books.  This conference enables students to learn from role models and to avoid the school of hard knocks.”

Terri Forde, senior vice president at MassMutual, and Dr. Anthony Caprio, president of Western New England College, will welcome students to the conference.  Brenda Garton, Western New England College director of college relations and community outreach, says the conference is an important partnership for the College and MassMutual. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to have young students on campus and help lay some of the groundwork for their future academic careers.”

ADD ONE TO MASSMUTUAL AND WESTERN NEW ENGLAND COLLEGE

TO CO-HOST 3RD ANNUAL

ACADEMIC ACHIEVER CONFERENCE ON JANUARY 30

MassMutual Academic Achievers earn an invitation to the conference by maintaining a “B average or better” for four consecutive marking periods during grades 10 through 12. Academic Achievers also are eligible for $250,000 of MassMutual college scholarship money. 

Other conference workshops, facilitated by Western New England College professors and local community leaders, include: getting into college; leadership skills; 21^st Century career options; scholarship opportunities; public speaking; essay-writing fundamentals; and making the most of one’s athletic skills.

MassMutual Financial Group -- comprised of member companies with more than $240 billion in assets under management as of year-end 2002 -- is a global, growth-oriented diversified financial services organization providing life insurance, annuities, disability income insurance, long-term care insurance, retirement planning products, structured settlement annuities, trust services, money management, and other financial products and services.  The MassMutual Financial Group is a marketing name for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company and its affiliates.

Western New England College is a private, independent, coeducational institution founded in 1919. Located on an attractive 215-acre suburban campus in Springfield, Massachusetts, the College serves 4,500 students on its main campus and at six sites throughout the Commonwealth. Undergraduate and graduate programs are offered through the College’s Schools of Arts and Sciences, Business, Engineering, and Law.

Western New England College - Named among America’s top 100 colleges considered hidden gems --Washington Post survey.

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