Ka-ching! Is this what payday looked like for early co-op practitioners? Well, no. The benjamin counting shown here was actually part of this accounting major’s co-op duties at the American Trust Company, in Boston.

In September 1927, Northeastern’s School of Business Administration started participating in the university’s cooperative-education program. The timing seemed especially auspicious: The average weekly wage for co-ops had soared to $25.10.

But Old Man Depression was about to come knocking. From 1930 to 1935, the fledgling co-op program faced devastating challenges. Only 42 percent of enrolled students landed co-op posts in 1932. And the average weekly wage for students who were fortunate enough to find a co-op dropped to $4.22, an 83 percent decrease from 1927.

Co-op had to do a little belt tightening. Even so, throughout the lean years, Northeastern staff continued to visit prospective employers, maintaining relationships and cultivating future development by keeping the benefits of co-op fresh in the minds of business and industry leaders.

The can-do attitude worked, and laid the groundwork for what is today the nation’s foremost program of cooperative education.

Proving Northeastern—then and now—has the resources it needs.

— Magdalena Hernandez, MBA’02