WASHINGTON, Apr. 02, 2019 — Buchanan & Edwards Inc., a technology leader creating transformative solutions for government customers, recently celebrated its fourth year sponsoring Year Up National Capital Region, through which they have provided business internships to 23 talented young adults from underserved communities around the Greater Washington area. In January, Buchanan & Edwards helped honor the achievements of the three interns, who were recognized at the 2019 Year Up NCR Graduation held at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center on the Alexandria Campus for Northern Virginia Community College.

“I thank Year Up for this amazing platform and for holding me and my colleagues accountable for our actions, holding us to the highest of expectations, and for providing me with the opportunity to intern for one of the greatest companies I’ve ever dreamed of,” said Anthony Blow, a 2019 Buchanan & Edwards intern graduate. “Buchanan & Edwards is a selfless company that prides itself on leadership, mentorship, growth and giving back to the community. I was able to be my best self while continuing to grow my IT career.”

Over the past four years, Year Up interns have worked at Buchanan & Edwards in roles such as help desk and desktop support, project management, and business operations. To date, seven Year Up interns have also become full-time Buchanan & Edwards employees following completion of their internships. The co-founder of Buchanan & Edwards, Tony Parchment, both mentors students and serves on the board of Year Up NCR, investing time, talent and funds to serve the organization’s mission. Mehret Belayneh, director of corporate operations at Buchanan & Edwards, serves as a mentor to individual students, teaches a course on Understanding Corporate Culture & Workplace Scenarios, and is the main liaison between Buchanan & Edwards and Year Up NCR. At Year Up’s recent graduation ceremony, Belayneh was recognized as recipient of Year Up’s Urban Empowerment Award.

“Working together with Year Up over the past four years has been an incredible experience, and we have been honored to have the opportunity to partner with such an amazing organization and support such talented individuals,” said Belayneh. “I’m so proud of this graduating class, especially those with whom I had the pleasure of working, and I’m looking forward to all of the great things they will accomplish in the future. It’s been a rewarding experience for me to mentor such an amazing group of students as they advance their professional business careers.”

Year Up offers a one-year, intensive training program that provides talented and motivated, yet underserved, young adults, ages 18-24, with a combination of hands-on skills development, coursework eligible for college credit, corporate internships and wraparound support. This program connects young adults with companies around the nation in order to help them build meaningful careers and enhance their industry knowledge and skills.

For more information about Year Up, visit www.yearup.org.