At just seventeen years of age, Queen works everyday on computers at NASA's Johnson Space Center, while Jose provides help-desk support in the corporate I.T. department of Reliant Energy and Julius provides engineering drafting services at El Paso Corporation. It doesn't sound like we're talking about high school students, much less students who live in some of Houston's lowest-income neighborhoods. But we are, and they do. These young professionals are part of the innovative Genesys Works program and are well on their way to a successful future.

Genesys Works (formerly Genesys ITS, Inc.) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that trains and employs high school students to perform technical services for major corporations. Our mission is to enable economically-disadvantaged high school students to enter the economic mainstream by providing them the knowledge and work experience required to succeed as technical professionals.

Upon acceptance into the program, students undergo months of training at our facilities where they learn the technical aspects of computer repair, engineering drafting, or our business operations pilot program. Furthermore, students prepare to enter and succeed in a corporate environment by learning professional skills such as proper communication, corporate behavior, security, conflict resolution, goal setting, resume writing and interviewing. From day one of the training program, students are exposed to a high level of expectations and through their training they come to realize that they can succeed as professionals.

Once trained, students are assigned to perform technical services for one of our clients which include the largest corporations in the city: United Space Alliance (at NASA), Reliant Energy, Shell Oil, Chevron, Continental Airlines, Boeing, El Paso Corp., Kinder Morgan, Plains All American Pipeline, and others. Our clients receive highly-motivated technicians who are determined to do a great job, at a lower cost. In addition, the chief information officers of these companies regularly report that the morale in their department increases as their full-time employees have the opportunity to focus on higher-level activities, obtain supervisory experience, and significantly impact a young life.

Students generally participate in Genesys Works during their senior year in high school. Through this working experience students realize first-hand that they can indeed thrive in a corporate environment and can achieve a much higher standard of living by pursuing a professional career than what they are used to. With this knowledge they significantly redefine their long term goals and set plans to pursue them. In fact, over 90% of Genesys Works graduates enroll into college immediately after high school and receive major scholarships due to our College Connection program.

Another unique aspect of the Genesys Works model is its self-sustainability. Over 75 percent of the program's expenses are paid for with the earned income obtained from the provision of services to corporations. Genesys Works therefore has found a way to change the lives of students and provide a valued service to corporations while not utilizing tax dollars. It is truly a win-win for all.

To learn more about Genesys Works, watch our video!

Genesys Works is truly a win-win for both students and corporations. This has allowed the organization to grow significantly every year since its inception in every major metric: number of students, number of hours worked (billable service hours), number of major (Fortune 500) corporate clients, financial self-sustainability and number of graduates attending college.

In less than five years since Genesys Works began operations, its students are working in 10 of Houston's 15 largest corporations. In addition, because of the terrific student performance which routinely exceeds expectations, Genesys Works has never lost a major client. In return, students have benefited from the exposure to the corporate environments and the increased self-confidence from knowing that they have succeeded in the best companies.

The table and graph below illustrate this impressive growth.