American Residential Services, a Memphis, Tennessee-based national provider of HVAC and plumbing services, is sponsoring Memphis Catholic High School’s Education That Works intern program for the 10th year.

“We’ve been involved since day one, and we like the program because it’s an opportunity to give kids who might not have a shot,” said Jim McMahon, chief financial officer at ARS. “We have needs in our business where we would have had temporary people or others coming in, and we were able to bring in the students in this program, and for 10 years they’ve done an outstanding job for us.” 

Through the program, four students have the opportunity to work at ARS as part of their internship, providing them with real-world job experiences while also allowing the students to earn a portion of the cost of their education.

“The work-study program, in general, has grown me as a person in the work field,” says Javon Roberts, a junior at Memphis Catholic High School and intern at ARS. “When I first started, I wasn’t used to working around so many people in an office setting or a business, but now I feel like it’ll get easier as I get older, but, even today, it’s not hard.” 

Deacon Ted Schreck, director of work study for the Education That Works program at Memphis Catholic High School, said the school wants to explore opportunities for the students with both small businesses and large corporations.

“You don’t want this to be a hidden gem in the city of Memphis,” Schreck said. “Our goal is to spread awareness and the benefits of this program.”

To learn more about Education That Works at ARS, click here.