Whether you’ve experienced them first-hand or know someone personally who has, we all know of the horror stories of unpaid internships. Fortunately, according to Essence, a new partnership is coming to the financial rescue of students who want to move forward with great unpaid opportunities, but don’t have the luxury to afford missing out on coins. Gen Z hair care brand Next of Us (NOU) and D.C.-based nonprofit Pay Our Interns have teamed up for the “Next of Us Intern Opportunity Fund.” The new funding “will award $50,000 in need-based stipends to help Gen Z BIPOC and working-class college students overcome financial hurdles that often create barriers to career advancement,” according to the outlet. “NOU believes in the power of the next generation to make the world better for themselves and generations to come,” said Lela Coffey, Vice President, Multicultural Hair Brands and North America Hair Care Portfolio, P&G Beauty in a news release. “We are proud to partner with Pay Our...

Increasing computer science enrollment for Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) students has to start with building community, and nonprofit ColorStack recognizes that. The National Center for Education Statistics reported that of the 79,598 computer science degrees awarded in 2018, only 8.9 percent of them went to Black students, and more than 50 percent went to white students. The lack of diversity bleeds into the tech workforce as well. Less than 10 percent of Google’s national workforce identifies as Black or Latinx, while nearly half of Apple’s global team is white professionals. These statistics are stark. That’s why Jehron Petty launched ColorStack, a nonprofit that runs community building, academic support, and career development programs for Black and Latinx college computer science students across the U.S. ColorStack runs a three-week virtual career-building boot camp, hosts a 12-week computer science program, puts on a three-day computer science summit, and manages...

Ahead of Juneteenth weekend, Western Union (WU) is pledging a commitment to two new programs supporting Black and brown communities. A press release reports that in partnership with the Western Union Foundation, the financial services company is launching two initiatives that aim to uplift both current and future business leaders across communities of color — including Project Finish Line, an extension of the Foundation’s WU Scholars program, and Sistahbiz, a Black women entrepreneurship program. The former initiative will be offering scholarships to Black and brown students working to finish their higher education — many of those who attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) — while the latter plans to fund Black women-owned businesses and provide leadership development. Both of these programs are in response to the racial disparities that exist for Black, Indigenous and People of Color across educational institutions and the business world. “Social exclusion,...

As colleges across the nation turn to online learning for fall 2020, students are now facing their most daunting semester. Some undergraduates are scrambling to find off-campus housing, as opposed to risking COVID-19 exposure by going home, reports USA Today . Other scholars are enduring sad “quarantine meals, ” according to BuzzFeed. Most egregiously, most students in these predicaments are still paying the same pre-coronavirus tuition. However, in the face of college’s exorbitant costs, enterprising pupils have picked up side hustles for supplemental income to afford alternate housing, food, among other needs. Though social distancing measures curb traditional gigs like driving Uber and being the resident dorm hairstylist, here are seven ways to make extra coins for college while staying safe. Do No-Contact Food Deliveries Switch that Uber app to Uber Eats and pick up food instead of people to better manage exposure to COVID-19. Alternatively, Meals on Wheels always needs drivers...

The college student loan debt crisis is a serious issue America has been faced with for decades. Americans owe over $1.64 trillion in student loan debt as we’re burdened with the cost of higher education more than ever in 2020. While politicians like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have made proposals for free college tuition and forgiveness for the current student loan debt, others are making their own strides to eliminate debt for current college students. Clark Atlanta University alum and female entrepreneurs, Pinky Cole and Stacey Lee have made an effort to put a dent in the student loan debt crisis by helping clear balances for 30 fellow CAU college students. The 30 Clark Atlanta University seniors were surprised with a special gift from these businesswomen as they were originally led to believe they were simply meeting the two alumni. Little did they know these dynamic entrepreneurs were going to give them a clean slate after college by completely wiping their debt. “We...