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Best of Both Worlds: Cristo Rey Work-Study Student Rejoins GM Financial for Intern Program

Imagine a hiring manager asking you, “How in the world do you already have four years of corporate experience? You just graduated high school!”

This is not a mere thought exercise for students at Cristo Rey Fort Worth; it’s their reality.

GM Financial and Cristo Rey College Prep Fort Worth (CRFW) share a passion for equipping local students with robust academic training and applicable, real-world experience. This is why GM Financial is proud to be a Corporate Sponsor of their innovative Corporate Work-Study Program, where high school students are immersed in the corporate world while earning a portion of their tuition. Participation in this program means that by the time these students graduate from CRFW, they will have four years of firsthand work experience to bolster their résumés for college, internships and their future careers.

They get the best of both worlds: a rigorous private education coupled with a near-unparalleled amount of corporate experience.

Amber Castaneda, a member of Cristo Rey Fort Worth’s first graduating class, worked at GM Financial during her junior and senior years. For her junior year, the staff placed her with GMF based on her interests and aptitudes. For her senior year, they asked her if she wanted to return, and she said, “Absolutely, yes!”

She graduated from high school in 2022 and has rejoined the company as a summer intern this year. Her vision for her studies and career has become clearer each year because of her involvement with GM Financial.

As Amber’s future grows increasingly bright with each new experience and accomplishment, she has had opportunities to reflect on what she has learned. She shares some of those reflections here.

Did your participation in the Corporate Work-Study Program in high school influence your college and professional career?

“Yes. Early in high school, I thought I wanted to be an engineer, but as I had the opportunity to work in different departments, I realized how much I truly loved the marketing function of the business. When I began college, I had no doubt that marketing was what I wanted to pursue and I'm glad I was able to return to GMF to intern in their marketing department. Now that I have experience in consumer marketing at GM Financial, I am confident in stepping into a digital marketing career after I graduate.”

What made you want to return to GM Financial for the internship program?

“I remember how much I loved the company culture. Even at 16, I was taken seriously by my supervisors and co-workers. My team embraced having a high school intern and allowed me to learn the ins and outs of the business. I saw managers lead with compassion, work-life balance was prioritized, and work was fun. My supervisor once told me, ‘We spend more time with our co-workers than we do with our family sometimes, so wherever you land, make sure you love working with the people you see daily and love what you do.’ That really stuck with me. I knew I wanted to stay in touch and find ways back here after high school.”

How does your current internship with GM Financial differ from the ways you’ve worked with the company in the past?

“While I was in the work-study program in high school, I got to learn all the different core functions of the business. As a summer intern, I've been able to hone my skill set and specialize in my passion area: marketing. My team works with the consumer marketing side, so I have learned about increasing overall satisfaction throughout the customer experience at every touch point. I love that I get to combine a little bit of everything that I've done at GM Financial so far: prioritizing customers, using data to support marketing strategies and collaborating with several teams to bring projects to life.”

What are the most important skills you have developed through the work-study program and your current internship?

“I’ve learned to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. As Cristo Rey students, we are taught how to be introduced to new environments, learn quickly, be confident and stay adaptable. I take this adaptability with me to each team, each job and each new experience. I also have learned to apply lessons from leaders I’ve shadowed and admire— many of whom are leaders at GM Financial today. I take risks and get out of my comfort zone because I know that I can adapt and overcome.”

What advice would you give to students considering the Corporate Work-Study Program?

“Throw yourself into the experience fully. The team at Cristo Rey and the corporate sponsors like GM Financial truly want to support you at every step, through high school and beyond. The work-study experience isn’t just about gaining corporate exposure; it’s also about developing as a young professional and building connections. You learn so much about yourself: what you’re passionate about, what type of team you want to work with, how to develop confidence in yourself at such a young age. That experience is life-changing.”

Stories like Amber’s are why we seek to engage with and invest in our community. Erik Haven, Chief Human Resources Officer at GM Financial, said, “What stood out to me about Cristo Rey was the opportunity to give back to the community and help these students get real-life experiences.”

The talent that lies in and around Fort Worth is a resource that we seek to cultivate, and our collaboration with CRFW’s Corporate Work-Study Program is one of many ways that we pursue this goal. We are proud to hear stories from students and interns like Amber who are given the opportunity to dive into a corporate culture that inspires them and equips them to accomplish their dreams.

By Tatum Grubb, GM Financial

Tatum enjoys writing as a creative outlet and a vessel for information and storytelling. Her constant struggle in the craft is avoiding the use of unnecessary words, such as “loquacious” and “verbose.” You can often find her shouting, “gig ‘em, Aggies!” at inopportune moments, reading a novel, completing an escape room or scoping out the nearest spot for some decadent cuts of sashimi.