Student Ambassadors Pay It Forward in Recruitment

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 were living in a bad place before they started Genesys Works. They came out like champions and feel like they accomplished something meaningful after the program. Even if some of them were already in a good place, they are now in a better place. All of us Young Professionals gained valuable skills over the summer. Even now, we're gaining skills and experience 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!