The Community Reconstruction Collective just launched its first program! We awarded scholarships, professional headshots, and a website presence to students in Western Washington University’s Human Services program in unpaid internships. Our program goal was to support them monetarily, uplift them professionally and share their stories. We helped 3 students bridge the gap between dreams of high paying employment and the experience needed to get there. Too many jobs require years of experience to get into entry level positions, putting students in a catch twenty-two. How can you gain experience to get your first job out of college? Internships are often the entry point for many people into the workforce, but for our students who are of lower socioeconomic status, those opportunities come at a high cost. Because many students need to work while in school, the additional workload of an internship can come at too high a cost. Thanks to an amazing grant from the Black Future Co-op Fund, we offered this program to students taking unpaid internships to allow for lower income students to participate in valuable job training and take a transitionary step in their scholarhood that will lead to longtime high paying employment!