By Ethan Huang, Staff Writer
Already making plans for next year, junior Adonis L. plans to leave school midday during his senior year to work at an internship under Genesys Works. Adonis L. has currently been accepted to the skills training course, and if he successfully completes the training, his senior year will compartmentalize into half a day of school, and then half a day of work.
Genesys Works is an internship program that selects students for an 8 week skills training course, where they get taught essential skills in the areas of information technology, business operations and professional development. Once students complete the 8 week skills training course, they are matched with a major corporation to do a year-long paid internship, doing real work for the companies while making $10,000-$15,000 dollars for their work.
Adonis first heard of Genesys Works during a school presentation given by the school counselors. Due to his hopes of working in the computer science field, he was drawn to the opportunity of potentially learning computer science skills, which he never really done before, and working under a big company, such as Apple or Google.
If he does get accepted, his whole senior year will be extremely busy. For starters, Adonis will only take 4 classes at Galileo per day, leaving for Genesys Works right as lunch starts. He will have to quickly commute to whatever corporate building accepts him, and then work from 1:30 PM to 5:30 PM, daily.
Although Genesys Works seems like a dream opportunity, there are some drawbacks. First of all, in order to work during his senior year, Adonis needs enough credits for school in order to be able to miss 2 periods daily, which at the moment he does not have. As a result, he has opted to take Calculus 1 during the summer, freeing up the rest of his schedule for classes with missing credits. He said, “Obviously I don’t want to take Calculus during the summer, but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity so I’m willing to make sacrifices”.
Additionally, by participating in Genesys Works, Adonis feels like he is sacrificing his social life. All summer, the combination of summer class and the Genesys Works’ skill training program will take up his whole day.
Furthermore, because his senior year will be heavily focused on working for his internship, Adonis fears that he won’t be able to participate in wrestling, a sport he has been a part of since his freshman year. He says, “It’s unlikely for me to be able to wrestle next year but I’ll still try to work things out with the counselors. It’s hard for me to let go of the sport because I’ve been doing it for so long and I’m the captain of the team, but if Genesys Works doesn’t let me participate, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
