For the third consecutive year, Emory Healthcare has joined 95 other area sponsors of the Corporate Work Study Program at Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School. This year, Emory Healthcare is the largest corporate sponsor of the program, which has expanded to connect 390 ninth, 10th and 11th-grade students with corporate jobs. Sixteen Cristo Rey students are working part-time at Emory Saint Joseph's Hospital, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Emory Clinic and Emory Orthopaedics and Spine Center. The students are gaining hands on experience and learning about future jobs available to them in health care. Some of their responsibilities include transporting patients, delivering and stocking supplies around the hospital, working with the communications team, providing comfort measures for patients and assisting staff.

The Corporate Work Study Program is a core component of the Cristo Rey Network model, allowing each student to work five full days a month in a corporate work setting, in addition to carrying a full load of classes. Earnings from the program pay for the majority of students' education costs. "The lessons our students learn from working in a corporate setting simply can't be replicated in the classroom. Our job partners and their employees are able to participate in an effort that truly changes the lives of our students. It is a win-win for everyone," says Bill Garrett, president of Cristo Rey Atlanta.

Cristo Rey Atlanta opened in August 2014 with 140 students in its inaugural ninth grade class, and is a part of the nationwide Cristo Rey Network that provides a rigorous Catholic college preparatory high school education to students of all faiths with limited economic means. The Cristo Rey students working with Emory Healthcare include:

• Emory Clinic:
  • Maria Dietrich
  • Kennedi Scott
  • Bryan Tinoco-Hernandez
  • Brian Zacahua-Varela
• Emory Saint Joseph's Hospital:
  • Tsion Fitsum
  • Luke Jackson
  • Edrasa Morales
  • Lizette Mariano
• Emory Orthopaedics and Spine Center:
  • Yonatan Cheran-Rosas
  • Elizabeth Rodriguez
  • Jazmine Zenteno
  • Amaya Carthan
• Emory University Hospital Midtown:
  • Monica Epps
  • Samrawit Tesfaye
  • Guadalupe Villal
  • Padilla Nishat Mim