Ohsafa Harding is an engineer for National Grid, where he analyzes gas mains and recommends whether they should be replaced. It’s a job he said he has loved from day one and was fully prepared for, thanks to a high school internship.
Harding, a 2017 graduate of Cristo Rey Brooklyn High School in East Flatbush, said the school’s Corporate Work Study (CWS) program gave him a head start in his professional life. Under CWS, students work one day a week at corporations, nonprofits, universities, and other entities to earn money to pay their school tuition.
“I think when you’re exposed to a corporate environment at a young age, it prepares you for what’s to come so that when you graduate from college and walk into your job for the first time, you’re not as intimidated as you would be otherwise,” he explained.
Harding, who has served internships each of the four years he attended Cristo Rey, said having a job in high school taught him discipline and focus and gave him a sense of responsibility.
The one he considers particularly useful was a 10-month stint at NYU Tandon School of Engineering, where he worked in the administrative offices. It was valuable, he said, because of his interactions with engineers and engineering students.
“I’ve wanted to be an engineer since I was a kid, and being around them solidified my decision. They were problem-solvers,” said Harding, who went on to earn an engineering degree from Fairfield University in Connecticut.
While many schools offer internships in which students work outside of school to earn academic credits, the CWS program is unusual for a high school in that it offers students the chance to work and pay their tuition.
According to the school’s website, tuition ranges from $800 to $2,500 a year, depending on a family’s financial situation, with families paying $1,800 a year.
Under CWS, a student interns for one day a week at a company, and in exchange, the firm donates the student’s salary to Cristo Rey, which puts the money toward the student’s tuition and other costs. The program, which Cristo Rey has had in place for 15 years, is approved by the U.S. Department of Labor, school officials said.
“Corporate Work Study is an integral part of what we do here at Cristo Rey,” said Principal Deanna Philippe, who added that Harding epitomized the type of student for whom the program was made.
“During Ohsafa’s time at Cristo Rey Brooklyn, he displayed an intellectual curiosity to be admired,” she added. “He was reliable and hardworking, which I’m sure impressed his CWS supervisor.”
Cristo Rey has working partnerships with more than 80 corporations and business entities. Employers benefit from having young, eager workers, and students benefit from gaining valuable experience in the working world, according to Philippe.
Amayah Thomas, a 2024 graduate, is a freshman at St. John’s University studying to become a pharmacist. She has fond memories of her time in CWS, where she worked at Hudson Insurance Group in New York’s Financial District.
“[The job] taught me to pay attention and to focus,” said Thomas, whose job entailed working with insurance forms. “I learned how to multitask.”
Looking back, Thomas appreciates the respect she received from the insurance company’s workers.
“They never treated me like a kid,” she said. “They gave me responsibilities, and they expected me to carry out those responsibilities.”
While she has no plans to go into the insurance business, Thomas said she still feels that her time at Hudson Insurance was valuable and set her up for the future.
“That sense of responsibility is a priceless thing to teach a teenager,” she said.
Harding noted that the CWS program offers both practical and life lessons, including empathy.
“I think it’s really just beneficial to be able to see the corporate world,” Harding explained. “I think we see our parents come home from a long day of work, and they’re tired. It’s hard to connect with them. But now, you understand.”