Young Professionals Prepare for Success at CME Group

Over the past eight years, CME Group has hosted 71 interns through the Genesys Works Young Professionals Program, which is funded by the CME Group Foundation.

Founded in 2002 and established in Chicago in 2010, Genesys Works has provided over 1,300 high school seniors from the city’s South and West Sides with eight paid weeks of professional skills training in areas such as business technology and accounting/finance. Once students complete this training, Genesys Works facilitates a 10-month paid internship where each student receives 1,000 hours of vocational training at Chicago’s top companies, including CME Group.

“During my internship, I learned more about managing my time effectively, as well as communication, which allowed me to be more productive,” reflects Giovanni Sanchez, who interned in our Professional Development and Organizational Effectiveness team during the 2022-23 academic year. “One important thing I learned about myself through this internship is that I am detail-oriented and a quick learner.”

“In such little time, Gio stepped out of his comfort zone and [was] leading team builders for the other 12 Young Professionals at CME Group,” says Stephanie Mata, Program Coordinator at Genesys Works. “He recently attended a meeting with the larger HR team and met colleagues from New York that he was working with remotely. Gio’s professionalism, dedication and hard work is impressive.”

During the 10-month paid internships, CME Group provides meaningful work experiences, mentoring support and employee engagement opportunities to help build the future of the workforce.

CME Group will host 13 Genesys Works Interns for the 2023-2024 academic year. All interns have a primary supervisor and specific internship responsibilities, but we are always looking to expand on their experiences. These talented high school seniors can accomplish a lot if given a bit of time and support to ramp up. If you have some work that might be beneficial to the growth of a new professional, please reach out with the task, timelines, and a contact that would be willing to support the intern through the work. We also host 45 minute knowledge shares on a bi-weekly basis for the interns to learn more about CME Group, career options and growth, personal and professional development topics. If you have a topic to share, please reach out to Betsi Pinkus for more information.