Genesys Works Puts 25 Duval Seniors in Paid Internships in Year 2: 100-Plus Applied, 10 Employers Take Part, Pay Runs $10,000 to $13,000

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A national nonprofit that places high school seniors in paid, yearlong corporate internships is in its second year in Jacksonville, and its chief executive says employers are increasingly willing to cover the full cost. Genesys Works CEO Byron Garrett spoke Nov. 6 on a panel at the Florida Blue Conference Center, the Jacksonville Daily Record reported that day. The Texas-based organization expanded to Jacksonville in 2025 and works with Duval County Public Schools to recruit students.

This year's class has 25 seniors, chosen from more than 100 applicants, Action News Jax reported Aug. 6. The program now serves students from eight Duval high schools and works with 10 local businesses and organizations, according to the station. The first Jacksonville class, in the 2025-26 school year, had 22 students, according to a Genesys Works news release dated Nov. 4, 2025.

How the program works

Students apply as rising seniors and spend the summer before 12th grade in training. The summer course lasts eight weeks and covers Microsoft Office, professional skills and cybersecurity, the Daily Record reported. Genesys Works' 2025 release put the training at 160 hours, and Jacksonville Today reported in November 2025 that the course earns high school credit.

Students who finish the course are matched with an employer for the school year. They commit to working from 1 to 5 p.m. during their senior year, Garrett said, according to the Daily Record, and he said that means giving up some extracurricular activities. Action News Jax reported that interns must complete more than 800 working hours by the end of the program.

The internships pay $10,000 to $13,000, according to the organization, the Daily Record reported. Jacksonville Today reported in 2025 that first-year interns earned $15 an hour. Students also receive more than 60 hours of college and career coaching while they work, according to the Genesys Works Jacksonville web page.

By the numbers

• 25: Duval seniors in this year's class, according to Action News Jax
• More than 100: students who applied for those 25 spots
• 22: students in the first Jacksonville class in 2025-26, according to Genesys Works
• 8: Duval high schools served this year
• 10: local businesses and organizations working with the program
• 8 weeks: length of the summer training course
• More than 800: working hours each intern must complete
• $10,000 to $13,000: what an internship pays, according to the organization

What employers said

Garrett told the panel that Genesys Works paid interns itself at first, rather than asking businesses to fund them, to show employers the value of hiring high school students, according to the Daily Record. He said companies have responded. "Companies have doubled down and said, 'I'm willing to pay the full freight because I've seen the value,'" Garrett said, according to the newspaper.

Sam Inman, president and CEO of Community First Credit Union of Florida, said the credit union was reluctant at first because it already had an internship program, the Daily Record reported. The interns changed his view. "Truly, these became some of the most valuable employees we had," Inman said, and he added that the experience "was transformational for our leaders and managers as well."

The other panelists were Lisa Kemph of Brooks Rehabilitation and Greg Szkotnicki of GuideWell, according to the Daily Record. Employers taking part this year include Baptist Health, Brooks Rehabilitation, Community First Credit Union, Mayo Clinic and Rogers Towers, Action News Jax reported. The class was introduced at a Signing Day event July 29 at the Jessie Ball duPont Center downtown, which marked the end of the eight weeks of training, according to the station.

Why Jacksonville, and who pays

Garrett said the organization chose Jacksonville partly because of its size. "We were looking at midsized or midtier markets, and Jacksonville falls in that category," he said, according to the Daily Record. Genesys Works operates in nine cities, the newspaper reported, and the organization's 2025 release said it launched in Houston in 2002 and has served more than 11,000 young people.

Most of the money comes from the companies that host students. About 70% of funding comes from internship sites, which are billed for student time, and about 30% comes from donations, foundations and individual giving, Jacksonville Today reported in 2025. The first class drew students from Raines, Ribault, Terry Parker, Edward White, Englewood and Mandarin high schools, according to that report.

What happened to the first class

Results from the first Jacksonville class are in. Among graduating interns, 55% planned to pursue education after high school and 45% entered the workforce directly, Action News Jax reported in August. "For these students, Signing Day is the moment opportunity becomes real," Alexandra Rudnick, executive director of Genesys Works Jacksonville, said of this year's class, according to the station.

The organization reports higher college numbers overall. Its website says students in the program completed 828 internships in 2025 and that 93% of them enrolled in college, the Daily Record reported, though the newspaper's account did not say whether those figures cover every city. Garrett said most students earn more than their parents within six years of their internships, according to the Daily Record.

How to ask about next year's class

Current juniors would be the next group eligible, because the program takes rising seniors. The Genesys Works application page describes three steps: an application, an interview for a spot in summer training and a confirmation of acceptance. The page says the organization works with specific partner schools, and it did not list a Jacksonville deadline when it was checked Nov. 9.

Families and employers can reach the Jacksonville office at 904-414-5819 or [email protected], according to the organization's website. The office is at 40 E. Adams St., Suite LL25, downtown. Rudnick told Jacksonville Today in 2025 that the aim is for students to "leave high school with a plan about what they're going to do after they graduate."