September 1, 2025
A student at Ohio State University, Diego wanted to participate in a summer internship so that he could make sure his major in college was the right one. Because he has only completed his freshman year, he was having difficulty finding a position that would expose him to finance. He had assessed high in both computation and arithmetic reasoning on our assessment, so we knew that a career in finance was certainly something he had a strong aptitude to pursue.
The MoveUp Ohio Project was able to place him with a small non-profit that allowed him to be very hands on over the summer. Not only did he assist the finance director, but he was also given a small project to manage during his six-week internship. He was asked to manage finances for their small driving range. He asked if he could try to enhance the revenue brought in by the driving range, as profits from this enterprise help the agency provide services to children. They asked him for a proposal and after hearing his ideas, gave him the go-ahead.
Not only did he gain exactly the hands-on experience he needed to help him confidently declare a major in college, but he helped the non-profit increase a secondary revenue stream by 60 percent. Diego proved to himself that he was on the right track and created an opportunity for the agency to help additional children.
In addition to helping create this internship position through our funding for Work Based Learning experiences, we were able to help Diego purchase work appropriate clothing. He attends his college on a full academic scholarship and did not have a personal option to get work-appropriate clothes. We were able to use participant support funding to get him a few collared shirts, waterproof shorts and safety footwear. Even though he was working in finance, he still needed to spend a great deal of time outside working at the charity’s driving range.
Diego is from Lucas County and even though he does not have his own transportation, his employer was located on a city bus line. The non-profit was able to base his hours around the bus schedule.
He has returned to Ohio State for his sophomore year and, with a great deal of confidence, has declared finance as his major.
