Giving students a taste of a corporate career
<p>Learning how to communicate with colleagues, manage time wisely and problem solve — these are some of the challenges everyone faces when starting out in the working world. Students from Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School are getting a head start on mastering them, along with a glimpse at life as an employee of a leading corporation, through a unique work-study program.</p>
<p>Cristo Rey is a college preparatory school located in Atlanta, Georgia. Part of the <a href="https://www.cristoreynetwork.org/" title="Cristo Rey Network" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: 0.8125rem;">Cristo Rey Network</a> of schools, it’s designed to provide a rigorous prep school education to students who would not otherwise be able to afford one, and also to demonstrate that at-risk students can succeed both academically and professionally when granted access to a high-quality education.</p>
<p>Through the school’s Corporate Work Study Program, students work five days a month at a leading local business, learning skills they’ll one day need in the workforce and at the same time earning enough income to pay a large portion of their tuition costs. Four students share one entry-level job for approximately nine months per year.</p>
<p>Watch the video to meet three of Cristo Rey’s work-study students and hear firsthand about what they’ve learned during their tenure at Southern Company. Two are interning with Georgia Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company, and one with Southern Company Gas.</p>
<p>Stephanie Villasenor-Caballero works in the claims department at Southern Company Gas. “Everyone around me always motivates me, and they’re always telling me to strive high and to keep going.”</p>
<p>Many Cristo Rey students do just that. Thanks in part to their working-world experience and the confidence boost they gain from it, they go on to college in record numbers, ready to conquer that challenge — and whatever comes next.<br>
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