Genesys Works - Twin Cities

Student Ambassadors Pay It Forward in Recruitment

2012-01-19T09:16:00.000-06:00

Genesys Works Young Professionals gain a lot from their participation in the program. They gain IT and professional skills during summer training, have the opportunity to work in meaningful internships during their senior year, make lifelong friends and map out plans for college and professional careers. At Genesys Works, they are also given ownership for the development, expansion and growth of the Twin Cities program and each day students pave the way for future Young Professionals by excelling in their internships and changing stereotypes about inner-city youth.

Young Professionals also play a tremendous roll in recruiting new students for the program. Their knowledge of their classmates, their schools and their first-hand experience in the program leaves them uniquely qualified to seek out new students for the program and encourage them to apply, a role students take very seriously.

Over the years, a pay it forward culture has developed at Genesys Works - Twin Cities as students actively encourage others in their school to join the program. For Tou Thao, Class 3 Alumni, it was fellow Central High School student Tou Moua from Class 2 who first introduced him to Genesys Works. Thao saw Moua dressed professionally as he walked to class one day and began asking questions. Moua knew Thao to be a harding working student, so he eagerly shared about his experience working in the IT department of Capella University, which sparked Thao's decision to join Genesys Works. The next year Thao shared his experience with, Elvin Gateri, another Central student he knew to be hardworking and tech savy, continuing the tradition.

Class 3 students Tou Thao and Chue Thao present to future Young Professionals for Bring a Friend Night 2011

This pay it forward culture is already evident in Class 4 where Genesys Works Young Professionals are hard at work recruiting juniors in their schools. Lead Student Ambassador Stanley Wu leads the charge at Central High where he has been speaking in homeroom classrooms, creating video announcements and is constantly sharing about his experience in Genesys Works. His hard work is already paying dividends in the increased number of applications recieved from Central.

When asked why he was so invested in recruiting students for Genesys Works Stanley said, "Genesys Works can change students' lives. Many people wereliving in a bad place before they started Genesys Works. They came out likechampions and feel like they accomplished something meaningful after theprogram. Even if some of them were already in a goodplace, they are now in a better place. All of us Young Professionalsgained valuable skills over the summer. Even now, we're gaining skills andexperience that most high school students wouldn't normally get. The more students that learn these skills and gain valuable work experience the better."

Current Student Ambassadors like Stanley Wu, center, use their communication skills to encourage classmates to join Genesys Works

Thank you, all Genesys Works Student Ambassadors and Alumni, for your hard work as we recruit Class 5 in the Twin Cities. With your help, we cannot wait to welcome 200 outstanding students into the program this summer!

Philanthropy on the Front Lines: Ibrahim and Troy at Dorsey

2012-01-18T16:29:00.003-06:00

We've written much about the Genesys Works Young Professionals on this blog--the obstacles they've overcome, the incredible commitments they make to success in school and the workplace, their accomplishments as they win scholarships and move on to college. Students like Ibrahim, currently an intern at Dorsey & Whitney, do the most they can to take advantage of the opportunity Genesys Works and its corporate partners provide.

What we don't always make clear is the amount of care and energy invested into our students' experiences by the people they work with. Ibrahim's supervisor, Troy Johnson, is an especially strong example of the influence an intern's coworker can have on him. Like a normal manager, Troy assigns tasks and gives trainings to Ibrahim. But he has also acted as a mentor, inspiring Ibrahim to think big about his career and motivating him to take risks in the workplace.

Young Professional Ibrahim Hagos has developed a strong professional relationship with Troy Johnson, his supervisor at Dorsey & Whitney.

The payoff for Ibrahim has been huge. A naturally intelligent young man who entered Genesys Works with a sincere interest in developing as a technology professional, Ibrahim has nonetheless made huge strides in self-confidence and vision for his own career under Troy. Troy's investment in Ibrahim has been transformative. Before, Ibrahim was a strong but often tentative speaker who didn't know exactly what path to take to advance his career. With the information and support he now receives from Troy, he grows in confidence daily and has his sights set on a four-year computer science degree that will kickstart his career in the tech world.

All this has lead Ibrahim to consider Troy an important figure in his life as well. So much so that when Ibrahim learned he was a finalist for the $20,000 Coca-Cola Scholars program, Troy was the first person he thought of to write a recommendation. Troy was of course happy to oblige, noting

I was honored that he asked me to write the recommendation. Ibrahim definitely has a bright future ahead of him. He still continues to impress us here each day.

As Troy's relationship with Ibrahim shows, Genesys Works gives its corporate partners a unique opportunity to integrate a philanthropic spirit into their day-to-day business activities. Troy has played an integral role in helping Ibrahim create a platform for the best possible future.

Wanting More for Minneapolis

2012-01-18T15:52:00.001-06:00

By Joel Crandall, Genesys Works Program Manager

With recruitment seasonfor the next class of Genesys Works Young Professionals in full swing, I amreminded how proud I am to be a Minneapolis resident. Genesys Works has historically done very well in St. Paul because of great partnerships both on a district level and with individual schools. When I joined the Genesys Works staff two years ago, one of my personal goals was to see the opportunity presented to a greater number of students in the Minneapolis Public Schools.

I have lived on the city’snorth side for about nine years and have worked with high school students in anumber of different capacities (coach, youth pastor, and mentor). I believe instudents from MPS, and I care deeply about seeing them connectedto opportunities that will change their lives, especially as it pertains toaccess to college and meaningful careers. Though these are a few of the reasons it matters to me personally, there are bigger implications as well.

Why it matters:

Minneapolis is the state’s third largestschool district

The district is comprised of 70% students ofcolor and 66% students eligible for receiving free and reduced lunch: keydemographic groups we serve.

Several existing Genesys Works clients arelocated in or near the district and would like to work more closely withstudents from Minneapolis.

Our goal:

Is to have 102MPS students from the city’s seven high schools apply for the program.

Our historic numbers show that this willultimately result in 35 students starting training and 23 being placed in jobswith large corporations in the Twin Cities (for perspective, St. Paul PublicSchools, a similarly sized district this year is projected to have 305applicants from seven schools and place 84 students in jobs).

What you can do:

If you are concerned about seeing this life changinginternship opportunity available to high school juniors in MPS, there are somevery practical things you can do to help make this goal a reality.

Contact people in your network that areemployees of high schools in the district to let them know about thisopportunity for their students. You can direct them to the schools page on our website.

Contact high school juniors that you knowdirectly. They can apply for the program directly through our website.

Email programs that you know that servestudents in the district (after school programs, parks, etc).

Promote the opportunity on your Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter account.

Together, we can see Genesys Works provided as an opportunityto many eligible juniors in the district.