Over the last couple of months, we’ve taken a brief pause from our monthly newsletter to be with our students, staff and community. We’re back with a renewed sense of purpose + updates on our outgoing and incoming cohorts.
We all feel it. The unique mix of exhaustion and hope that will come to define 2020 when we look back on this time. It will be the year of the pandemics. The year we were exposed to the coronavirus and the year we were exposed for not doing enough to fight racism. It’s been hard on us all. Most of all, it’s been hard on Black people and other people of color who’ve been fighting for freedom, equality and justice for far too long. Even as an organization dedicated to connecting young people of color to professional opportunities, we have not done enough.
We acknowledge that talent is distributed equally, but opportunity is not. And we know that it is systemic racism that creates disparities in many success indicators, including wealth, education and employment. Systemic racism is also why communities of color disproportionately lack access to professional opportunities and why organizations like Genesys Works exist in the first place.
At Genesys Works, we have an important role to play in the fight for racial justice in the workplace. With the many school, business and community partners we have, we are uniquely positioned to help effect real change. We have a responsibility to our young professionals who will become the workforce of tomorrow, and we have a responsibility to each other. There’s much work to be done and we welcome you to join us. We’re moving forward but not moving on.
CLASS OF 2O20
The class of 2020 is closing out their yearlong internships this month with invaluable work experience on their resume, including their very first remote work experience. Like Jeffrey in the image above, many of our young professionals are digital natives who grew up with technology and found it easy to pivot to a virtual internship. It’s no surprise that 100% of them were accepted into college and collectively earned $1.6M in scholarships. On top of all of that, many of them are making their voices heard in the fight for racial justice. So, while the end of their internship and senior year of high school looks far from what they had imagined, our class of 2020 young professional are still entering the next phase of their lives with more confidence, skills and professional know-how than their peers.
Listen to what Matthew Alanis, class of 2020 intern with first-year partner Coronado Club, had to say about his Genesys Works experience here.
We are incredibly humbled and inspired by our young professionals, who will undoubtedly go out and leave their mark on the world.
CLASS OF 2O21
Last week we welcomed our class of 2021 cohort of 163 eager young professionals, including our very first cohort in Fort Bend. With their safety top of mind, the GWH team developed virtual summer training curriculum with new skill sets that will prepare our young professionals to work and learn in a digital environment. In an increasingly digital world where remote work is more and more common, they will be better prepared for what lies ahead. While summer training may look a bit different this year, our young professionals can count on the same valuable skills, friendships and experience we’ve always offered.
The number of students who earn an internship does not always match the number internship opportunities we have to offer. We already know the number we have to offer this year will be significantly less due to the current health crisis. We also know that many of us are having to do more with less resources right now. Help us meet motivation with opportunity by identifying internship opportunities within your company and have GW interns support your workload while gaining invaluable work experience.
Contact Amy Hufnagel at ahufnagel@genesysworks.org to help ensure that every young professional who earns their spot has the chance to experience an internship.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Ambassadors Lunch- In | September 17, 2020
Please join us at the second annual Genesys Works Ambassadors Lunch-In and witness the power of what happens when motivation meets opportunity. Stream the event live from the comfort of your own home on Thursday, September 17, 2020 from 12PM to 1PM. More details to come. For sponsorships, email Peggy Rhoads at prhoads@genesysworks.org.
Remote Internships
GWH Executive Director, Katherine Taylor, joined the Greater Houston Partnership in an UpSkill Works Forum to advocate for holding internships in a virtual space. Although the economy is being paused by the pandemic, our students’ education is not. Genesys Works places high school seniors into internships, so for the class of 2021, it’s now or never. Read more here.
