A Running Start to a Bright Future Ahead

Class 10, congrats on all that you have accomplished so far!

The summer is an exciting time at Genesys Works – Houston.  In June, we welcomed 260 students of Class 10 from their 8-week training program.  For them, the June 13 - August 5 course was a huge step on their path to a bright future.  The training equipped them with job and professionals skills that they will need in their meaningful internships, during their senior year of high school, and in their careers.  Class 10 represented an increase of 80% (over 2010) in the number of students entering the summer training program, preparing for corporate internships in the fall. 



Young Professionals bonding through
activities at Team up

Throughout the training program, students engaged in bonding and learning experiences that made their summers worthwhile. By day, Young Professionals were hard at work in the Genesys Works office learning professional and technical skills. But after the first week at Genesys Works, the Young Professionals let loose and engaged in team-building activities at Team Up.  During Family Night, families were invited to come out and see what their children had been up to all summer. Our Young Professionals beamed as they demonstrated some of the skills they had learned and mingled with other families and friends. Genesys Works' Young Professionals also built stronger relationships with each other and our staff through Fun Nights, where students and staff competed in sand volleyball, played Pictionary, and enjoyed each other's company.

These group activities fostered a strong community, but it was also the activities in the classroom that  helped students to feel empowered and confident, two important emotions that feed into performance in the workplace. Says Adrian Munoz, Young Professional of Class 10, "I became more comfortable with myself and others. My coordinator Lindsay helped us come out of our 'zone'...we all just shared things with each other and stepped out of our comfort zone.  At the end of it all, I gained several friendships and more confidence."

Word of the proven success of the Genesys Works model is spreading within the partner schools. This year, Genesys Works-Houston experienced an all-time high in student demand, with more than 600 applicants for summer 2011 internship training.  To meet the growth in demand, we doubled our training center capacity this year.  In addition to our four classrooms in the downtown training facility, Genesys Works – Houston added two more training rooms downtown and an additional two in the Westside Energy Corridor.   The new site increases access to both students and major corporations in the area.

Congratulations, members of Class 10.  We recognize the initiative and motivation you showed with your commitment to the Genesys Works program, and to your future; and we wish each of you great success! We are excited to see where the future takes you.

40 Days/40 Ways

This summer, corporate partners helped our Young Professionals at Genesys Works in many ways.  In addition to providing internships and mentoring at their businesses, many are also Corporate Sponsors of our 8-week summer training program in job and professional skills.  With their sponsorship of 40 Days/40 Ways, they made possible this year’s 80% growth in the number of Young Professionals in training.  

During the summer between their junior and senior years in high school, Young Professionals trained in specific technical skills that they will use in their corporate internships, as well as in professional skills in order to know how to dress, interact, and communicate in the corporate world.  

Community Health Choice, one of our Training Day Sponsors, visits with 
Young Professionals over lunch.  

The following companies helped to make this program possible:

El Paso Corporate Foundation - Title Sponsor

JP Morgan Chase Foundation and Sysco Corporation - Presenting Sponsors

Enbridge and GE Oil and Gas - Training Week Sponsors

Center Point Energy, Community Health Choice, Copano Energy, HighMount Exploration & Production, Hines, KBR, Kinder Morgan, Service Corporation International, Spectra Energy, TransCanada, Union Pacific, United Space Alliance, and Williams - Training Day Sponsors

Genesys Works...does work!!!

Genesys Works is a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit organization that enables inner-city high school students to break through barriers and discover through meaningful work experience that they can succeed as professionals in the corporate world.

Our Program.

Students enter our program during the summer prior to their senior year and, after eight intensive weeks of training, are assigned to work at one of our client locations, part time, during their senior year. 

The training is designed to arm students with the knowledge they need to provide value to corporations in specific technical fields varying at each of our locations.  Furthermore, students are trained on the professional skills needed (such as communications and corporate behavior) to enter and succeed in corporate environments.  From the first day they walk into our facilities, which are located in the downtown business districts of the cities that we serve, the students are exposed to a culture of high expectations and professionalism.  Our entire community benefits as we develop a more diverse workforce for the future.

Our ultimate success, however, is not measured by the number of sites or the number of students who we directly serve.  Rather, we hope to serve as a catalyst for major education reform and will consider our mission accomplished when we are able to, in true partnership with schools, achieve a culture in inner-city schools in which the pursuit of a professional career becomes "the given" for all students.  Read our full mission and vision here.

For more information, please visit www.genesysworks.org.

Buy A Book That Benefits Genesys Works

Do you have any family, friends, or business associates that are “consultants” (Management, IT, Legal, Business, Real Estate, Financial, etc.)? Consider previewing for free and then purchasing a 1^st edition copy of Sue, What Do You Do?! as a thoughtful gift. This 34 page, full color, children’s book is the first published attempt to explain the profession of “consulting” through a whimsical conversation between Sue and her mother. 100% of the net proceeds of this edition benefit Genesys Works.  Available in both hardcover and paperback!

Click below to find out how to preview and purchase.

·        Hardcover:  http://www.lulu.com/product/hardcover/sue-what-do-you-do/15529718

·        Paperback:  http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/sue-what-do-you-do-paperback/15530650

Inspired To Make An Impact

Mike Jones serves as Vice President, Logistics & Material for United Space Alliance, one of Genesys Works – Houston’s clients. But, the relationship goes much deeper than that. Mike has personally contributed to our organization for many years. We recently asked Mike what motivated his personal giving and here is what he had to say.

“I first met Rafael (Alvarez, CEO & Founder) and learned about Genesys Works approximately 10 years ago. I heard his story, and his knowledge of the minority - and particularly the Hispanic - student high school drop out rates that spurred him to action struck a chord with me. It is a number I had also heard and it shocked and concerned me, too. When more than 60% don't complete high school, it creates a cycle of poverty, teen pregnancies, drug abuse, and crime that is extremely difficult to break. Genesys Works had a chance to change that cycle. The setting of expectations, formal training and exposure to the corporate workplace is fantastic for these kids and completely changes their perception of what their futures could be. And the multiplying effect from these “changed” kids on their families and communities, in terms of what is possible for them and their lives, has to be tremendous. It feels good to help contribute to something that is changing lives. If people want to put their money into a program that shows great results in months and changes a lot of lives every year, you can't do much better than Genesys Works.”

Thank you, Mike, for investing in the future of our youth, business vitality and the local community. Charitably supporting Genesys Works – Houston is a simple process. You may contact Randy Penn, Director of Development or give directly on-line at Genesys Works.