With the continued challenges faced by so many during 2021, I could not be any more grateful to have gotten notes like this during the year.

"As someone who’d never done a [traditional] internship, I struggled applying for jobs out of college and I didn’t have a lot of experience to talk about. After the project, I had new, relevant experience to put on my resume, and that really interested my now-employer."

"Micro-Internships helped me pay rent for an apartment near my university while I finished my first degree without asking for more financial help or taking on student loans."

"My Micro-Internship helped me establish what I wanted to do with my professional life. It helped me find my strengths, interests, and the work environment that best suited me."

While I am so proud of the impact, it is only because of the efforts of our friends at so many employers, universities, and nonprofits that thousands of college students and recent grads have had opportunities like this.

Those who were discouraged by the cancellation of in-person events. 

Those who read about the diversity initiatives of companies, but still found themselves filtered out because they didn’t go to the “right school.” 

Those who otherwise would be forced to make difficult decisions between participating in recruiting events and working at their part-time job to cover their expenses.

I am also proud of positive impact experienced by so many professionals – not just feeling good for providing these opportunities, but the way it supported their business needs.  Whether it was an organization trying to compete for top talent, a large enterprise trying to ensure diversity was more than something highlighted on the website, or a local business struggling to find their next hire, professionals valued the opportunity to engage these highly talented Career Launchers!

It even helped get those “We should…” and “I shouldn’t…” tasks off their to-do lists!

So while all of us could rightfully complain about the challenges during the past 24 months, I prefer to say thank you.  Thank you for your support these past six years.  Thank you for recognizing that academic pedigree doesn’t predict success, and diversity is more than checking the box.  Thank you for joining us on this journey to improve campus recruiting.

And, most importantly, thank you for providing these incredible opportunities for so many amazing college students and recent grads to gain experience, demonstrate skills, build networks, explore career paths, and have equitable access to professional roles.

While there is still much to be done to improve college to career transitions for students and employers alike, looking back at 2021 makes me confident and excited about what we can accomplish together during the year ahead.