Highlights from the 2012 Breaking Through Ceremony

Over 500 people were in attendance at our 2012 Breaking Through Ceremony. Families, corporate mentors, and school and community leaders gathered on Tuesday, October 2 at the McNamara Alumni Center on the University of Minnesota campus to recognize the achievements and hard work of our latest class of Genesys Works Young Professionals. Led by our Young Professionals, the ceremony featured four student speakersnwho shared their breaking through stories of transformation and success. Community members and organizations were acknowledged with ACHIEVER Awards for their ongoing support for Genesys Works. Also, 153 Young Professionals were recognized and presented with business cards as they embark on their journeys towards professional success. Below are some highlights from the Ceremony.

A shot of the crowd inside the McNamara Alumni Center.

Founder and CEO Rafael Alvarez, right, joined us from Houston to congratulate students and presented them with business cards.

Young Professional Frank Rypa, one of many student speakers in the Ceremony, is pictured presenting an ACHIEVER Award.

Young Professionals enjoyed a slideshow recap of their summer training.

One of four breaking though speakers, Hannan Farah, right, posed with peers before the Ceremony began.

Alia Manraj, center, is congratulated by her mother and Program Coordinator Joel Crandall after giving her breaking through speech.

Breaking through speaker Natasha Moore arrived with a team of supporters from her workplace, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota. She is pictured with Senior Recruiter Ken Dobson.

Final breaking through speaker, Najee Kennedy, shared a moment with his mother and Genesys Works Executive Director Jeff Tollefson.

Young Professional Niat Tesfai, second from left, enjoyed some refreshments with her family after the Ceremony.

Supervisors from 3M arrived together to support their seven Genesys Works interns.

The Ceremony, our most well-attended event to date, was made possible through the support of many. We want to especially thank AT&T for sponsoring this year's Breaking Through Ceremony, along with the many financial supporters and the 41 corporate supporters that provide the professional development opportunities for our students.

Presenting the First ACHIEVER Awards

This year, we were honored to present our first ACHIEVER Awards to two outstanding community members and one corporate client. ACHIEVER stands for the values we instill and reinforce in our students. We believe a positive Attitude, strong Communication skills, Honesty, willingness to take Initiative, Excellence, having a Vision for the future, Enthusiasm, and Respect help create strong leaders. The Awards recognized the leadership supporters and partners have played in providing real-world educational opportunities for Genesys Works students across the metro area. All the winners have gone above and beyond their call of duty to help Genesys Works succeed. As a way to show our appreciation for their support, we announced the winners and shared their contributions at the 2012 Breaking Through Ceremony. Awards were given out in three categories: School Partner, Corporate Partner, and Individual Contribution.

ACHIEVER Award: School Partner 
Presented to Superintendent Valeria Silva and Saint Paul Public Schools

When Genesys Works started in the summer of 2008, we had just 16 students from three Saint Paul high schools. The support of teachers, guidance counselors, principals, and the Superintendent herself have been instrumental in the growth of the Genesys Works program. Now we serve all Saint Paul public high schools. Success in Saint Paul allowed us to move into the Minneapolis Public Schools and more than a dozen other districts. 

ACHIEVER Award: Corporate Partner
Presented to Medtronic and CIO Michael Hedges 

During its four years of support as a corporate client, Medtronic has offered over 50 internship positions to our Young Professionals. Led by CIO Michael Hedges, who also serves on the Genesys Works Board of Directors, Medtronic continues to be our largest client year after year. This year alone, they employed 20 Genesys Works interns in its IT department. Medtronic has helped expand the scope of the type of work students perform, from PC deployment and help desk support to other roles, such as project management. Medtronic has set the bar high for how student interns can be successfully utilized.

ACHIEVER Award: Individual Contribution
Presented to Nick Hernandez, President and CEO of Aeritae Consulting  

In the Individual Contribution category, we recognized the individual who had the most impact on the Genesys Works program: Nick Hernandez, President and CEO of Aeritae Consulting. Nick’s support of the students and mission of Genesys Works goes well beyond his contributions as a member of our Genesys Works Board of Directors. He has introduced Genesys Works to senior leaders at potential client companies resulting in more than 40 jobs over the past two years. Nick also helped organize a special training day on ServiceNow for Genesys Works Young Professionals. Additionally, he encouraged his employees to help with developmental interviews for our students and with our Suit Up clothing drive.  

Successful Draft Day

After 160 hours of training in technical and professional skills, 155 young professionals gathered on Draft Day in front of representatives from 40 corporate partners to learn of their internship sites. Our largest group to date, Class 5 will engage with, learn from, and provide support to teams in the IT departments of some of the Twin Cities' largest corporations throughout the course of the school year. The energy and enthusiasm of the students and corporate partners from the event is captured in the photos below.

 Young professionals gathered at the St. Paul Hotel to celebrate the completion of summer training and discover where and with whom they will be interning throughout the school year.

The crowd, young professionals and corporate partners, looked on in anticipation as Executive Director, Jeff Tollefson, prepared to reveal the student and client matches.

Representatives from new client Patterson Companies, Inc., in true Draft Day fashion, brought caps and jerseys to welcome their interns.

Medtronic continues its support by offering 20 internship positions, the most of any corporate client.

Medtronic continues its support by offering 20 internship positions, the most of any corporate client.

Capella University not only supported Genesys Works in designing the learning management system to guide students through summer training, but also continues their partnership with six new interns.

Young professionals with the highest ACHIEVER scores during the summer were honored for their excellent performances in each of their classes.

Genesys Works founder and CEO, Rafael Alvarez, congratulated young professionals, Jesus and Frank.

Genesys Works founder and CEO, Rafael Alvarez, congratulated young professionals, Jesus and Frank.

Students shared in the excitement of starting an internship at one of the Twin Cities' largest corporations and taking the first steps to paving a professional career for themselves.

Students shared in the excitement of starting an internship at one of the Twin Cities' largest corporations and taking the first steps to paving a professional career for themselves.

Draft Day was truly a remarkable day. The students and staff of Genesys Works wish to thank our 40 corporate partners for the tremendous opportunities you are providing to our latest class of young professionals. The success of our program is a direct result of the willingness of the Twin Cities business community to stand behind our urban youth and provide meaningful opportunities for career exploration and professional growth. For this, we are most grateful.