Community college students cite career advancement as their top reason for enrolling, with over 70% of first-year students expecting to participate in an internship as part of their college experience. However, surveys indicate only between 10% and 25% of bachelor’s degree holders participated in an internship, with Black and Latino students, women, low-income, and first-generation students having less access. With strong associations between paid internships and positive outcomes in the labor market after graduation, the impact is substantial: new grads who start out underemployed are five times more likely to remain underemployed after five years.

This experience report documents a multifaceted intervention at Green River College. Partnering with Mentors in Tech provides community college baccalaureate students studying software development with structured mentorship from industry mentors who help students navigate the hiring process and landscape and bring impactful aspects of internships into capstone projects. Partnering with CodeDay provides students with accessible internships, working on open-source software. In 2022-23, this intervention reached over 90% of students in the program, consisting of 47% students of color, 28% women, 59% receiving financial aid, and 20% first-generation college students.

Initial results include a review of hiring process metrics, placement outcomes, and student reflections. Seventy-five percent of students who graduated in 2022 landed a tech role within six months of graduation. Over 90% of participating students expressed confidence in their ability to transition from student to tech professional. Ongoing work focuses on long-term sustainability and expanding opportunities for students enrolled in similar programs at comparable institutions.