ATLANTA — Maybe you’ve seen uniformed students in your office building, on MARTA or walking downtown.
They go to Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School and are part of a growing student workforce throughout the metro.
The high school students are getting firsthand experience working in some of Atlanta’s most respected companies, which in turn helps them solidify their future paths.
Max Gonzalez-Izaguirre and David Paisano are collaborating on a real development project at Kimley-Horn in midtown Atlanta.
David, a rising senior, said he always dreamt big while looking up at the stars. As a kid, he drew a spaceship.
“And from then on, I was just like, this is what I want to do. I want to design these things. I want them to go into space,” he said.
That’s aerospace engineering.
One day a week, David is at Kimley-Horn learning hands-on how engineering projects get done.
“It just made my passion grow that much more for engineering,” David told Channel 2′s Wendy Corona.
“By the end of the semester, they’re talking about how to time traffic signals and the projects they got to work on,” said Christina Pastore, a vice president at Kimley-Horn.
Pastore oversees the staff creating a meaningful experience for the students.
“It’s an opportunity for our young staff to be able to mentor and coach,” Pastore said.
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Something staff had been doing on their own before officially becoming a work-study corporate partner with Cristo Rey.
It’s one of more than 130 companies that are partnered with the school. It’s a who’s-who of corporations throughout the metro that take on a team of four students and provide a hands-on internship throughout the school year.
It’s part of what makes this school unique and draws students like Max, to the challenge.
“When we come in we have no idea what to expect, so we have to come in with an open mind to learn,” Max told Corona.
Max saw what it did for his older brother.
“He told me that you should go come to this school because the work experience really pays off and he had like a set foundation of what he wanted to do after that,” Max said.
David also saw positive changes in his siblings who graduated from Cristo Rey.
“Before high school, it was a dark time for my siblings. But seeing my sister grow through it and seeing the improvement touched me in such a way that I wanted to go through those same lessons, and I wanted to grow as well,” David said.
Pastore hopes this welcome into the corporate world may broaden student’s visions for themselves and in turn grow the number of minorities in a variety of fields.
“If we can get them into STEM, the STEM community, and into the pipeline and build their confidence, that is ultimately the larger goal for us,” Pastore said.
For more than 10 years, companies have repeatedly found the program-- especially the students-- worth investing in.
“The ability to see that we’re having an impact and we’re helping open students’ eyes and lives to greater opportunities is tremendously fulfilling,” Pastore said.
This year’s graduating class had 100% acceptance into college.
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