It is great to encourage low-income students to go to college. But what if they fail to complete their first year? What is the difference in persistence between college-bound students and those who don’t? A new study has shown that college persistence rates for students who have been involved in meaningful internships in high school are higher than those of their peers.

“Once students experience professional success while in high school, continuing on a path to a lifetime of low-wage occupations is no longer an option, so when the going gets tough in college, they stay determined to succeed,”Rafael Alvarez, founder and CEO of(*) (Genesys Workswww.genesysworks.orgGenesys Works, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, is located in Houston, Texas and Chicago, Ill. Paul, Minn. offers meaningful internships to high school seniors in Fortune 500 and other top companies. Researchers from The Texas Schools Project at The University of Texas at Dallas reviewed and analysed data from Genesys Works, Houston Independent School District and other sources to determine the impact of Genesys Works on persistence and retention of students after their first year of college.

According to the study, 92 percent of program completions pursued college educations. 86 percent continued their studies after their first year. This compares to peers at the same schools who went on to college 50 percent and 41 percent respectively.

These results suggest that Genesys Works may be a viable solution to the nationwide problem of students not finishing their college education.

This is in support of two reports by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which claim that vocational education, which combines formal education with actual work experience, is an effective way to learn that goes beyond classroom education. The Pathways to Prosperity Study, released by Harvard Graduate School of Education, concludes that

Dr. Nidhi Vielotra, the University of Texas Dallas’ lead investigator on the project, said:”if we could develop an American strategy to engage educators and employers in a more collaborative approach to the education and training of the next generation of workers, it would surely produce important social as well as economic returns on investment.”

“Given that this is precisely what Genesys Works is trying to accomplish, the findings of this report lend support to the argument that programs like this are likely to yield high returns,”