Today is the first day on the job for hundreds of Nashville youth who are engaging in valuable summer work experience through the Opportunity NOW youth employment initiative. 

Through the summer internship program, Opportunity NOW students across the city will be working with various agencies and businesses to gain real life skills that will be helpful in the workplace. In addition, each young person is paired with a Youth Employment Coach who will guide them through the experience and work individually on achieving specific benchmarks that are essential for college readiness. These include developing skills and forming connections to help students gain college access support, meet their health and immunization needs, understand the Federal Application For Student Aid (FAFSA) and other budgeting & student loan basics, secure transportation, and prepare for exams. 

We are proud to support Opportunity NOW through the development a community resource guide that will be used by employment coaches to connect youth to local services and resources to help them achieve success in meeting these benchmarks, completing their internship, and thriving in college and career. 

We are even more proud to welcome our very own Opportunity NOW intern, Alice May, who will be working with the team on a number of projects throughout the summer, including the Social Emotional Conference, the development of our Annual Report, communication and networking efforts, and a community service and team-building projects for Alignment staff.

Alice May recently graduated from University School of Nashville. In high school, she edited her school’s literary magazine, and captained the mock trial and ultimate frisbee teams. In the fall, she plans to attend the University of Chicago where she will study either Philosophy of Psychology. She was privileged to go to wonderful school with immense resources, so she is excited to try to help improve the circumstances of kids and teens who were not afforded the same opportunity. She hopes to continue giving back to the community, and helping people reach their full potential.

We are thrilled to welcome Alice to the Alignment Nashville team and wish the best of luck to all Opportunity NOW youth on their new endeavors!