To college.

To career.

To thrive.

Consistently, research underscores the power of a four-year degree for a young person’s ability to realize a life full of choice, opportunity, and enduring success.

Yet, college graduation rates for underrepresented students hover at a staggering 30%. And further, only a third of college graduates report having a job upon graduation.

This is in stark contrast with a recent study that determined 58% of students in college decide to attend primarily for job attainment, and a staggering 2.4 million jobs are estimated to be left unfilled over the next decade.

A constellation of structural factors accounts for this disconnect, factors that are magnified in the lives of students of color from low-income communities because of our country’s history of educational inequity across race and class.

History that has shaped an ineffective college and career landscape where, for every one high school counselor, there are nearly 500 students they are expected to support, resulting in a mere 38 minutes of college and career guidance for each student.

Coupled with this injustice is the working assumption by far too many colleges that a career is an implied outcome of a college degree.

This is despite 51% of college students stating that internships throughout their studies would help them feel more prepared for careers, and a study finding that across all industries, students with internship experience had a 56% higher offer rate.