For the sixth consecutive year, Emory University and Emory Healthcare have partnered with Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School in its Corporate Work Study Program, in which students work entry-level jobs at corporate sponsors around Atlanta to gain experience and help pay for educational costs.

Cristo Rey Atlanta provides a rigorous Catholic college preparatory education to students of all faiths with limited economic means. Students participating in the work-study program found out which corporate sponsor they were assigned to on Friday, Aug. 16, at Cristo Rey’s annual “Draft Day." 

Similar to the NFL draft or a medical school’s Match Day, students at Cristo Rey’s Draft Day gather in the school’s auditorium and wait patiently until their name is called to go up to the stage, where they are greeted by their corporate sponsor.

This year, Emory is proud to welcome 34 Cristo Rey students in the work-study program. 

Emory Healthcare has placed 22 Cristo Rey students in multiple areas including Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Emory Orthopaedics, Emory Clinic and the departments of patient access and patient financial services.

Emory University has placed 12 Cristo Rey students in areas including campus services, business operations, financial planning and analytics, human resources, library and information technology services, investment management, the Center for Faculty Development and Excellence, the Office of the Provost and the Office of the Executive Vice President for Business and Administration.

With 34 total students in the work study program, Emory is one of the largest out of over 100 corporate sponsors that participate in Draft Day.

Students placed at Emory will gain valuable hands-on experience to jump start possible careers in health care, higher education, business or other fields.

First opened in August 2014, Cristo Rey Atlanta is part of the Cristo Rey Network of 37 high schools that serve over 12,000 young people from low-income backgrounds, living in urban communities with limited educational options. In 2019, 100 percent of the schools’ senior classes were accepted into college.

The work-study program is a core component of the Cristo Rey Network Model, allowing each student to work five days a month in a corporate work setting in addition to taking a full course load in school. The work-study program funds the majority of students’ tuition.