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Ten years ago, the New England Regional Council of Carpenters and Wentworth Institute of Technology developed a program that allowed union carpenters to earn Wentworth degrees at a significantly reduced cost and in classes specifically scheduled to accommodate members working full-time. The success of that program has never been clearer than this spring, when Local 328 Brother Nick Crimaldi was the student speaker at commencement, graduating summa cum laude and earning the Wentworth Alumni
Award for attaining the highest grade point average in his major.

Crimaldi joined the union as an apprentice carpenter when another union carpenter, Local 328 Business Representative Jeff Martin, spotted him leading a landscaping crew that was cutting the grass at the Local 328 building. Martin noticed his leadership skills and work ethic and suggested he consider the carpenters apprenticeship program.

“I heard about the Wentworth program during the apprenticeship information session, but I felt like the time for college might have passed me by,” said Crimaldi. “But once my raises started hitting, I had the comfort of stability that I hadn’t enjoyed. I thought about doing more.”

John Murphy and Frank Santa Fe worked with Wentworth to develop the program when they were organizing in Boston. Now NERCC Chief of Staff, Murphy attended Crimaldi’s graduation. He says it’s a great example of what they dreamed of when the collaboration started.

“Nick became an apprentice and took full advantage of what was in front of him. He’s gone from landscaping to carpentry, to a degree and the commencement speaker with some attractive career options. As a union, we’re extremely proud that path is available to carpenters.”

“Commencement was momentous for me and my family,” Crimaldi said. “My dad shined shoes, didn’t go to grammar school. This was a day everyone that supported us was honored by what we’d accomplished. The achievement is not just for you, but for your support group. Nobody got here alone.”

Murphy says the Wentworth relationship raises the ceiling on what’s possible for members and changes the game when it comes to the union’s place in the industry and with the general public.

This fall, Wentworth and the Carpenters union will celebrate their ten years of partnership with a union carpenter-Wentworth alumni event at the Carpenters Center. A group of apprentices is being invited because, like Crimaldi, someone’s spotted in them the potential for higher achievement. They’ll be given a close-up look at the opportunities available and challenged to consider what’s possible for them.