Peabody schools organize technology speaker series

PEABODY – It looks as though the well-received high school technology internship program will have to wait until perhaps next year, said School Committee member Mike Moutsoulas.”But that doesn’t mean we have to sit idle,” he said.Moutsoulas and Peabody Veterans Memorial High School Vocational Director Maria Ferri have organized a technology speaker series, featuring several local companies and technology experts, who will host informative events for students interested in pursing a career in the ever-growing technological field.”They’ll come in and speak about technology in their companies, high-paying careers, and the importance of math and science,” said Moutsoulas.First up is the CEO of Weston & Sampson, John Bocchino, who will speak before a modest crowd at the high school on Monday, Nov. 10 at 10 a.m. Representatives from Analogic Corporation have also signed up for a future date.”My hope with this thing is that we have an annual speaker series event,” said Moutsoulas. “We’re making a conscious effort to reach out to the community. I think this shows a vested interest by these companies in our schools. It’s the start of something special, in my opinion.”Moutsoulas said that CORI checks and other standard procedures have slowed the start of his technology internship program.”We want to be making sure we’re sending our kids to a company with all their checks and balances in place,” he said. “We’re not giving up on that. This is just kind of the first step in establishing relationships.”The idea first came to be last year, when he reached out to business members of the community to open their doors to young Peabody students curious about technology. Local companies embraced his efforts, and the process seemed to be off to a good start.”In a perfect world, we can create a program and it starts up right away,” he said, remaining hopeful that next year’s students will have the opportunity. “We have dialogue going and we’re building relationships. There are a lot of fine details to work out before something gets going.”Moutsoulas said he’s excited about the upcoming speaker series and hopes students will be, too.”It’s exactly what we need during these times with the budget,” he said. “I think it’s going to benefit the students and also the community greatly.”