HighView Career Access Scholarship Fund

Many HighView college students work while attending school and carry meaningful financial responsibilities for themselves or their families. The challenge is that the hours required to earn income often compete directly with the experiences that make students more competitive after college: internships, employer projects, job shadows, networking, professional development, and HighView programming.

The HighView Career Access Scholarship Fund provides targeted financial support so students can reduce unrelated work hours at critical points in their college journey and invest more time in experiences that strengthen their long-term career trajectory. The goal is not to replace work. It is to ensure that short-term financial pressure does not force talented students to forgo the very opportunities that can materially increase their future earnings. Donors are effectively investing in one of our students’ scarcest resources: time to build professional capital before graduation.

For college students, career opportunity is highly time-sensitive. Internship recruiting, networking, employer projects, and career-aligned experiences happen throughout the academic year, often well before graduation. Once a recruiting cycle or internship opportunity passes, students cannot simply recreate it later.

HighView is now significantly expanding work-based learning through its College-to-Career Accelerator. That creates a powerful opportunity, but only if students have enough flexibility to participate. Without financial support, some students face an unfair tradeoff: earn the income they need today or invest those same hours in the experience and relationships that can transform their earnings tomorrow. Career Access Scholarships allow students to make that investment at the moment it matters most.

A successful campaign would allow HighView students to make career decisions based more on long-term opportunity and less on immediate financial constraint.

A student working substantial hours in retail, food service, or another unrelated job could reduce those hours during a critical semester to complete a career-aligned internship, employer project, or intensive recruiting process. Students could participate more fully in HighView workshops and networking, spend more time preparing for interviews, and pursue opportunities that build relevant skills, references, and professional relationships.

By graduation, the difference is tangible: stronger résumés, deeper networks, more relevant work experience, and a clearer pathway into a high-opportunity first job.

The campaign will provide Career Access Scholarships averaging $5,000 to 10 HighView college students during the 2026–27 academic year. HighView will track scholarship dollars awarded, student participation in HighView programming, completion of internships and other career-aligned work experiences, college persistence, and internship and job outcomes.

We will also ask recipients to report how the scholarship affected their paid work obligations and ability to participate in career-building opportunities. This allows HighView to evaluate not simply whether funds were distributed, but whether the investment actually created more time and access for students to build the professional experience that drives strong career launch.

Donors supporting this campaign at the $5,000+ Benefactor level may choose the HighView college student(s) they want to support with Career Access Scholarships, giving them a clear line of sight into how their investment helps students create more time for internships, employer experiences, HighView programming, and other career-building opportunities.

HighView will share a curated set of eligible student profiles, with appropriate student consent and privacy protections, and provide Benefactors with updates on the students they support, including academic and career milestones, work-based learning experiences, and progress toward internship and career goals. Benefactors will also receive HighView’s annual impact reporting and invitations to select program and employer events.