Episode 43: The Secret Advantage Successful Students Have Before They Graduate High School
What if the biggest challenge facing today’s teens and young adults isn’t getting into college—but gaining the experience, confidence, and professional network needed to succeed once they get there?
In this inspiring episode of the We’re Good Podcast, host Lee Ann Necessary Brownlee sits down with Elizabeth Lindsey, Executive Director of Genesys Works National Capital Region, and alumna Michelle Olivar to explore how one innovative nonprofit is helping students discover career pathways long before graduation.
For Elizabeth, this work is deeply personal. As a first-generation college graduate herself, she knows how transformative access, mentorship, and opportunity can be. She shares how her own journey fuels her commitment. Through Genesys Works, Elizabeth and her team connect high school seniors from across Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland with paid professional internships at leading companies, while providing career coaching, financial literacy training, college advising, and workplace readiness skills that many students never receive in traditional classrooms.
The conversation also tackles one of the most pressing questions facing families today: How is artificial intelligence changing the future of work? Elizabeth discusses what employers are looking for, how entry-level jobs are evolving, and why learning to work alongside AI is becoming an essential skill for the next generation.
Listeners also learn how Michelle’s life was changed by the program. Unsure of her future career path as a high school student, Michelle gained hands-on experience working on executive-level projects for a defense technology company while still in high school. Today, as a college senior studying interior architecture, she reflects on how Genesys Works helped her build confidence, develop professional skills, and discover a future she hadn't yet imagined.
Whether you're a parent, educator, employer, or student, this episode offers a hopeful and timely look at how mentorship, workforce development, paid internships, and early career exposure can unlock potential, expand opportunity, and prepare young people to thrive in a rapidly changing world.
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