“One of the biggest and most surprising benefits of my Mizuho internship has been the ability to find my voice in a professional setting,” notes Makaylah L., a high school senior in the Bronx. Makaylah is part of the 4th cohort of interns – referred to as “Young Professionals” or “YPs” -- from Genesys Works New York City (Genesys Works), a non-profit focused on providing meaningful career experiences to young adults from underserved communities. Mizuho Americas is a founding partner of Genesys Works NYC, helping launch the New York City affiliate of the nationwide organization that pairs students with corporations for year-long, paid internships in business operations and information technology.
Makaylah’s as proficient in business etiquette as she is hard working, and her impressive intellect has ensured her a place on the National Honor Society. She plans to leverage her skills to pursue a career in psychology. “When I got to Mizuho, my supervisor Tori (Cherrington, who coordinates the Mizuho Program for Genesys Works interns) told me I have great ideas and should be confident in presenting them with conviction. It’s been very empowering.”
“Makaylah has proven to be an exceptional teammate,” adds Tori. “She is organized, conscientious, careful, thorough, and has shown tremendous growth over the past few months since starting on our DEI team.”
The Genesys Works relationship with its partner corporations is founded on the mutual trust that intern candidates will be carefully selected and trained and the firms participating are committed to providing an engaging and meaningful internship for 20-hours-per week. Twenty-two Genesys Works NYC Young Professionals have completed full-year internships over the past four years at Mizuho, with nine currently on staff.
“We want to provide value, not busy work,” says Annie Hsu who co-mentors Genesys Works YP Aminata J. “Our team serves a regulatory function with a high level of velocity and volume that has to be right and on time. Aminata is a valuable member of the team and we provide her the opportunity and oversight we would a full time employee.”
“It definitely feels like a real job where you have professional responsibilities and deadlines,” said Aminata, a college junior currently serving her second year as a Genesys Works YP and first year at Mizuho. “I have learned how to navigate different regulatory systems and work in step with a group that is critical to our daily compliance with federal regulatory requirements. It is a lot of visibility for an internship.”
“We try to expose Aminata to experiences beyond the level one might expect for an internship,” said Co-Mentor Audrey Lavilette. “For example, we invited her to a managing director luncheon to give her a literal seat at the table to interact with senior management.”
“Mizuho is providing access to transformative professional work experiences for our interns,” says Mike Gross, Executive Director, Genesys Works NYC. “These talented Young Professionals have the drive and the foundational skills, and thanks to committed partners like Mizuho, they have opportunities to succeed.”
“Our partnership with Genesys Works is emblematic of our culture and values,” says Jean MacInnes, Mizuho Americas’ Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. “It’s about giving opportunities to the YPs that they may not otherwise have, but also building a vibrant pipeline of talent for us and opening the aperture to include a wider perspective of backgrounds for our employees.”
Working in Accounts Payable, Axel De La Rosa, a Bronx high school senior, is looking for a career in economics. “Axel joined at an especially hectic time,” notes his mentor Cinthia Aguilar, Finance Associate. “We just implemented new technology to better manage business systems, and it was all hands on deck.” The immersive experience provided lots of opportunity to observe, up-close, how funds move between departments and to vendors at a large, multi-national company. “It was like watching a spreadsheet come alive every day,” he notes.
But it isn’t all business. Mizuho’s YPs are encouraged to take part in the many employee events Mizuho offers. “I participated in a Lunar New Year event hosted by the Asian professional’s resource group here,” he said. “It is nice to take in the tradition as well as the training.”
Mizuho provides Genesys Works NYC with grant support, internship opportunities, and employee-led Mizuho Cares Volunteers. In 2019, the program at Mizuho began with two high school interns, the following year two more high school students interned at Mizuho, and then in 2021, the company more than quadrupled the number to nine, with a combination of new high school students and college students as well.
This year, we’ve maintained the same size of the program with nine interns in high school and college across five departments (Accounting, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion/HR, Enterprise & Performance, Equities and Operations – Derivatives). Three of our interns are repeat Mizuho interns returning to the same teams as in prior years. The internship program begins in September and runs through June with the option to extend through the summer.
If you’d like to learn more about Genesys Works NYC, please check out their website and their LinkedIn page.