Alum Succeeds in College

The high-traffic Einstein Bros Coffee shop, nestled within the Christensen Center at Augsburg College, is a great place to take in a typical college scene. A constant flow of college students grabbing coffee and bagels before heading to class, meeting with friends, or studying by the windows became the backdrop for my interview with a former Genesys Works student. She came in the frenzy of students, sat down, and quickly began conveying her new found desire to one day become an ambassador for the United States. Quite the future goal, however, if you got to know Markeisha Jones, you would understand that she will make this dream into a reality.

                 
Jones was a Genesys Works intern at the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office during her senior year at Richfield High School.  Before entering the program, Jones described herself as in a “downward spiral.” Not applying herself toward school or her goals, it took entering the Genesys Works program to make her mindset shift.  

“It gave me a new found motivation. It was the beginning of the beginning.

For Jones, that beginning was flourishing in Genesys Works, receiving acceptance to Augsburg College, and taking a giant step toward successfully obtaining a position as a United States Ambassador.  Today, Jones is triple majoring in International Relations, Professional Communications, and Spanish, and is actively working toward learning the language Farsi. As a Resident Assistant, she is helping mentor incoming freshmen during their first year in college and is currently serving as a Vice President of the Genesys Works Alumni Board.  Her dream of becoming a United States Ambassador may seem overwhelmingly large and unobtainable to some, but for Markeisha Jones who has already come such a long way, it is a dream we, at Genesys Works,  are sure she will succeed in.