Senior Salma Mohamed doesn’t have the most traditional school schedule. Her mornings start out typically, learning subjects such as math and English, but from 1-5 p.m., Mohamed works as a paid information technology intern for Optum Healthcare.

Mohamed said she started her internship this year through an organization called Genesys Works.

“I heard about Genesys Works through a previous intern who worked at the same place as me,” Mohamed said. “She told me quite a lot about it, how you gain professional and IT skills, as well as receive college help.”

Genesys Works is a non-profit organization with the goal to help students make business connections and gain useful skills, according to career and college coordinator Kara Mueller.

“They are a non-profit organization that was started in 2008 in the Twin Cities,” Mueller said. “They operate in Chicago, Houston, Twin Cities and the San Francisco Bay Area.”

According to Mueller, Genesys Works has operated at Park for around five years.

“We have worked with them for at least five years,” Mueller said. “They reached out to us, came in and explained their program and asked if they could have access to introducing it to our students and we said ‘sure.’”

Mueller said she sees many success stories with students working through Genesys Works, such as becoming fully employed after high school.

“I’ve had a student who didn’t pursue post-secondary after high school because he didn’t know what he wanted to do but he had a natural gift for technology,” Mueller said. “He went through the program and was hired by Mortenson Construction for an internship. He did so well there that they wanted him to stay. When his internship was done, he was fully employed in their IT department.”

Mohamed said she gained many skills from working through Genesys Works and received help with applying for scholarships for college.

“I’ve gained professional skills and IT skills, and currently I work with a computer and Microsoft Office,” Mohamed said. “They also help me with scholarships and financial aid.”

Junior Ben Mai said he saw posters around school and heard announcements for Genesys Works so he decided to apply Feb. 9.

“I thought it would be really fun because I want to meet new people and I want to do something more to get accepted into college,” Mai said. “If this program goes well, I would really consider working for a Fortune 500 company.”

Applications for Genesys Works are due March 4. For more information, visit the Genesys Works website or talk to Mueller in B220.