At Genesys Works, it’s officially summer training season! That means that as the Class of 2019 settles into summer – preparing for college or other post-secondary paths and finishing their year-long internships – we are also preparing the Class of 2020 for their upcoming internship opportunity.

And there are a lot of them – the Class of 2020 is our biggest class yet. On Monday, June 17, we welcomed 388 students to the first day of eight weeks of summer training spread across three Twin Cities locations – our Minneapolis and St. Paul offices and Minneapolis College (Minneapolis Community and Technical College).

And they’ve already begun. So far in the curriculum, we’ve covered first impressions, nonverbal communication, and email communication best practices. Tomorrow, all 388 of them will gather at Minnehaha Park with the entire Genesys Works Twin Cities staff – including nine new summer staff – for Team Up, a day of team-building activities where students will put into practice critical skills like communication, teamwork, and problem solving. Of course, they’ll also have a lot of fun.

Next week they will jump into impromptu speaking exercises and continue learning key technology skills and processes so that they can be prepared to jump into their internship roles.

Class of 2019 Xcel Energy intern Leyla Abdirizak shared with us that what made summer training meaningful to her were “all the doors of resources that were open to us young professionals.” She went on to say that, “Whether it was networking, technical, or communication skills… our Program Coordinators made sure that we utilized these meaningful opportunities in our academic and professional lives by being our number one resources in these fields.”

Summer training – in all its excitement, chaos, and learning – is Program Coordinator Doyen Kulee’s favorite time of year. To her, “summer training means growth, discomfort, and breakthrough moments – big and small – where students move through obstacles and show their commitment to the program and to themselves. I love this time of year because of what the students bring to summer training: enthusiasm and fervor for learning.”

It’s a sentiment that many of our staff share. Students bring an energy – commonly referred to as “enthuuuuusiasm” – to our offices that, simply said, connect us back to our mission. Their drive to discover new skills and overcome any number of obstacles is often what excites us to show up to work every day.

And then there’s Draft Day, the culminating event that catapults them into their internship year. After eight weeks of intensive training, these rising seniors will discover which company they will be placed at for their year-long internships and earn the official title of Genesys Works young professionals. It’s the place where they’ll continue to discover more about themselves and piecing together a clearer vision of their post-secondary future.

So, stay tuned! This summer is sure to bring a plethora of enthuuuusiastic and breakthrough moments. Keep an eye out for more Class of 2020 updates on our Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages.