Emmanuel Olmos, 14, found out he’d be working with his dream company, General Motors, at the Cristo Rey Fort Worth College Prep Draft Day 2022.

“I tried to give the corporate work study program a lot of hints to get me there or some kind of car company,” Emmanuel said.

Emmanuel, a freshman at Cristo Rey Fort Worth College Prep, was one of 206 students who were placed into one of more than 70 companies as a part of the school’s Corporate Work Study Program.

The festivities kicked off Aug. 25 with students filing in through the auditorium while parents, corporate sponsors and staff roared in the crowd. Draft Day 2022, the fifth annual Draft Day, was commentated by Annette Landeros, the president of the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Marc Istook, the morning anchor for Daybreak and Steve Lamb of WBAP sports talk radio. John Rhadigan, the television anchor for Bally Sports SW, emceed the event.

The Corporate Work Study Program provides real world workforce experience and development for the Cristo Rey students — the Fort Worth Botanic Garden | Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Texas Health Resources, Cook Children’s and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art were among sponsors.

In Emmanuel’s case, he is particularly interested in cars. Since middle school, he would overhear cousins talk about cars which sparked his interest in the industry.

Emmanuel grew up in Fort Worth and went to the college preparatory high school because his sister, Elizabeth, already attended.

“I have classmates that have been there before,” Emmanuel said. “So, I’m excited.”

Disclaimer: The Fort Worth Report received three students as part of the program.

Cristian ArguetaSoto is the community engagement journalist at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him by email or via Twitter. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

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Cristian is a May 2021 graduate of Texas Christian University. At TCU, ArguetaSoto served as staff photographer at TCU360 and later as its visual editor, overseeing other photojournalists. A Fort Worth...