“Genesys Works was my lifesaver!” Those were the words uttered by Class 6 student, Amanda Barboza, as she described the influence that Genesys Works and her mentors at United Space Alliance had on her life and future.

Amanda’s young life has been filled with many challenges. Throughout her high school years she lived in several different places including friends and relatives’ houses; she hung around the wrong crowd; and she did not have goals beyond working in menial jobs. In fact, her high school counselor didn’t expect her to finish high school.

It was that same counselor, however, that encouraged Amanda to apply to Genesys Works during her junior year in high school. When she began her Genesys Works training, the summer prior to her senior year, she had no computer skills and she lacked the confidence in herself to believe she could learn enough over the summer to earn a good job.

By becoming a part of the Genesys Works culture, Amanda began to look beyond her circumstances and developed a sense of direction and self-confidence. At the end of the 8-week training, Amanda had proven her determination to succeed and was placed in one of Genesys Works’ most coveted positions: working for United Space Alliance at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. There, she worked during the afternoons of her senior year repairing the computers that are used to run the Space Shuttle program! This was clearly the opportunity of a lifetime that Amanda was not about to take lightly.

While gaining experience and providing value to NASA, Amanda developed a great mentoring relationship with her manager, Yvonne, who took a personal interest in her. Yvonne helped Amanda see her true worth and set high expectations all in a spirit of friendship that allowed the duo to discuss everything from work, to family to life itself.

While some would say placing a disadvantaged young person in such a technologically-oriented setting would be intimidating, Amanda grew by being treated as an adult and having a sense that she was a part of something “real” – something she says she never felt in school. As a result, even when one of her many moves took her to live over an hour away from NASA, she remained steadfast on her path to success and made it into work every day.

Along with working, Amanda also took advantage of the Genesys Works college connection program. The program inspired her to believe that pursuing a 4-year college degree was the best way to gain stability in her life. Now she is engaged on a path towards a professional degree and away from generational poverty by attending Angelo State University as a full time student. This is something she would have never considered just a couple of years ago.

When asked what advice she has for younger generations of Genesys Works students, she says “Focus, reach for the stars, and don’t let anybody stop you!” We say, Godspeed Amanda Barboza!