Dear Genesys Works NYC Community,
Five years ago, Genesys Works launched in New York City with 31 pioneering high school seniors from seven schools in the Bronx enrolled in our summer skills training. As these students have navigated college over the last four years, their Genesys Works internships have informed their choice of major, opened doors to new corporate internship opportunities, and given them a community of peers and mentors to help them on their academic and professional journeys. How has this played out for our first college graduate – Gael Mendoza – who graduated with a B.S. in Cybersecurity in just three years? Gael’s GWNYC internships helped him land a full-time job in the IT department at one of our corporate partners.
I signed on to help launch Genesys Works in the Big Apple because Genesys Works transforms futures. And five years later, I am honored and delighted to say that we are delivering on that promise.
This work is hard and requires strong partnerships, deep commitments, and long-term vision. Genesys Works NYC has been incredibly fortunate to have that vision and commitment from a dedicated group of current and former board members over the last five years. I want to thank each of them for the incredible contributions they have made to get us to where we are today.
We have been blessed with so many great partners over the last five years, including 40+ corporate and non-profit internship partners, 30+ corporate and foundation donors, 20 NYC public schools, and 20 community partners. Thanks to each and every one of you for all the doors of opportunity you have helped to open!
Here’s a snapshot of our impact since 2019:
- 165+ Young Professionals (YPs) placed in year-long internships
- 290 students trained in professional and technical skills
- $1.5M+ earned by interns
- 100% high school graduation rate
- 99% college enrollment rate
Over the last five years, I have seen our young professionals take the stage to share their journeys with hundreds of executives, work a room to build relationships for their futures, and realize career paths they had not envisioned prior to their Genesys Works internships. It is the individual transformation each YP has made possible for themselves that is the real story of our impact. I could not be more grateful to our young professionals for trusting the Genesys Works NYC team to be their advisors, supporters, and #1 fans. We will continue to have your backs.
None of this would be possible without the boundless commitment of my GWNYC colleagues who have helped build this site over the past five years. I want to thank Jabari, Ger, Yanki, Jason, Lucy, Stefania, Melvin, Annie, Kavi, Sterling, and Mina. And I want to give a special shout out to our close partners at New Visions for Public Schools for their support – Jennie, Lydell, and Kim. Thank you.
What’s in store for the next five years?
If you’ve talked to us in the past few months (and if you haven’t, please reach out!), then you know we are working hard to expand our partnerships to provide more transformative internship opportunities. Over the next three years, we aim to more than double the number of high school seniors who have these opportunities.
Next, we are ideating and piloting alumni services that build off the early career exposure Genesys Works is known for. We are looking not only to introduce young professionals to corporate America, but also to help them land that first career-track job in corporate America. For our alumni, this will mean increasing our support to help them complete college and to do so with a set of professional experiences and credentials that serve as a springboard into their careers. For our corporate partners, this will mean further strengthening our partnerships to understand their talent needs and complete those talent pipelines we’ve started building together into their companies.
Our young professionals continually surpass expectations. They are incredibly talented, driven, smart, capable, and committed to paving a path to a brighter future – a future filled with options and opportunities – for themselves and their families.
And they have turned to us to help them unleash their potential. How can we empower them? Support. Access. High Expectations. Investment.
This is what we do at Genesys Works NYC, and the longer we do this, the more we will break systemic barriers that perpetuate inequity. Join us in this ongoing work.
With deep gratitude,
Mike
