If you’re a college student right now, you’ve probably seen a headline suggesting that your major is either a golden ticket or a dead end. The truth is more interesting, and more useful. No degree is risk-free, and very few are hopeless. What matters is truly understanding which kind of risk your degree carries and what you can do about it while you’re still in school. The Big Picture: A Tougher Market, But the Degree Still Pays Let’s start with the numbers. According to the

By Mera Makar When I first started the Workforce Accelerator, I began my internship working in web design. I was able to gain experience working on websites, thinking about user experience, and applying my technical and creative skills to real projects. As my experience continued, my responsibilities expanded beyond web design. Most recently, I have been working on creating hackathon videos for high school students in Peru. This experience has allowed me to work on something

# 20 Hours to Minutes: What I Built at JGM This Summer By Sebastian Giraldo Going into my summer internship at JGM Innovation, I expected to spend most of my time thinking like a data scientist: cleaning data, running models, looking for patterns. What I actually spent the summer doing was building tools that real people at JGM would open up and use every single day, and figuring out, project by project, what it actually takes for something you build to be trusted enough to r

By Zahyra Otero Going into my internship at JGM Innovation, I wanted hands-on experience in software development and AI. What I didn't expect was how much the work would show me that UI/UX, frontend development, prompt engineering, automation, and testing all come together in one product. A large part of my internship was spent working on Eclipse, JGM Innovation's AI-powered web application. One of the first areas I focused on was its user interface. When I started, the inter

By Yi Cui Before I joined JGM Innovation this summer, I had a certain picture in my head of what a nonprofit focused on improving education in Peru would look like. Spreadsheets, maybe. Email newsletters. Not much in the way of "advanced tech." I was wrong almost immediately. JGM has been quietly building Eclipse, an internal AI chatbot that automates a surprising amount of the organization's daily work, and I spent my internship helping build it out. Over the summer, I worke

In the midst of my summer internship at JGM Innovation, I was ecstatic to accept my role as a Scrum Master upon being offered the position. As a rising sophomore in college pursuing an Information Systems degree, I was nervous to start my initial role as a Web Developer with limited technical knowledge. However, the Workforce Accelerator program played a pivotal role in helping me gain the confidence and practical knowledge to step into this position. It taught me how to appr

Today, we are officially launching Lighthouse, JGM Innovation's central hub for child and community impact data. Lighthouse is our data analysis and visualization terminal, bringing together the information our team relies on into one place we can actually use. This has been months in the making, and we are excited to finally bring it online. Access Lighthouse here: https://www.jgminnovation.org/lighthouse Why We Built This At JGM Innovation, we lead with facts. Every neighbo

A deeper analysis of Lima, Perú, reveals how vastly education access and risk can differ between neighboring districts. Key Takeaways We compared education access and outcomes in the urban district of Lurigancho-Chosica and the rural district of Santa Eulalia. Lurigancho-Chosica has 244 primary and secondary schools, while Santa Eulalia has only 16. This matters because fewer nearby schools can make access more fragile. Rural students have lower learning-achievement rates t

As the semester comes to an end, I’ve begun to understand the impact that the Workforce Accelerator has made on my professional journey. I started my spring semester internship with the main intention of building experience in public relations: how to write press releases, building media attention, and growing brand visibility. What I’ve left with is a stronger skillset in that area, but just as importantly, true career development and a sense of pride in my own abilities and

In July 2025, we proudly launched the first-ever JGM Competitions, an initiative created to bring education, excitement, and opportunity to the students of Jorge Guevara Mellado Elementary School in Santa Eulalia, Peru. As the namesake of our company, JGM Innovation has long supported the school’s mission by ensuring every child has access to meaningful learning. From donating physical education equipment for primary students, to providing a playcircuit for preschoolers, to e

At JGM Innovation, we've been building tools that put AI to work for workforce development. One of them is the AI Audit Bot, a system designed to review our analytics blog posts against a defined set of editorial standards before publication. The idea was straightforward: give the AI a data analytics blog draft, get back a structured audit report. Flag weak titles, missing sources, undefined acronyms, jargon that needs plain-English rewrites, and make sure every post lands in

Key Takeaways We analyzed labor‑market outcomes across dozens of undergraduate majors to understand how early‑career unemployment, underemployment, and credential‑attainment patterns differ across fields. STEM fields generally posting lower unemployment and underemployment with higher mid‑career wages. Majors in the humanities, social sciences, and arts exhibit structurally higher underemployment. Our next step is to use this combined dataset to support clearer program evalua

Key Takeaways: We analyzed NYC data for PS 73 (Bronx) and JHS 202 (Queens) to understand student need and neighborhood economic conditions. The data shows that both schools serve overwhelmingly low‑income, majority Hispanic/Latino students. Concentrated disadvantages and language barriers in early grades increase the risk of long‑term learning gaps. Our next step is to direct funding, wraparound services, and volunteer support to PS 73 and JHS 202 while using this dashboar

While New York City is known for its vast wealth and generosity, a deeper analysis of nonprofit grant distributions uncover a stark imbalance in how resources are allocated across its boroughs. KEY TAKEAWAYS An analysis of the top 100 nonprofits in each borough reveals a staggering funding gap: Manhattan receives $18,868 per-capita, while Staten Island receives just $1,484. This disparity matters because underfunded boroughs often face greater social and economic challenges y

JGM started off the new year doing what we do best: supporting students in all capacities. We gathered donations from Cibao Meat Inc. and fellow supporters alike to organize a Food Drive for students and families in need in New York City. Food insecurity is a major issue that New Yorkers have been facing for years. JGM Innovation works to ensure children's health and safety, inside and out of the classroom. Success begins at home, and we are dedicated to being the extra pilla

Every organization is shaped by a founder’s question. For JGM Innovation , that question was simple yet profound: how can we honor where we come from while building opportunity for the next generation? Carlos’s journey with JGM began when he was a freshman in college, searching for something greater than himself. As a prospective member of Phi Iota Alpha at St. John’s University, he was introduced to a powerful belief rooted in shared Latin American identity. Although each co

An interactive look at pay, rent, and purchasing power for new graduates Key Takeaway Higher pay does not always mean a better start. After costs, outcomes differ widely by role. Some careers lost ground despite stable salaries. Rent is the main source of early-career pressure. Income after costs matters more than salary alone. Are you a parent helping a new graduate cover rent and daily expenses in New York City? Or a recent graduate wondering why a decent salary still doesn

As JGM Innovation prepares for the 2026 cycle of the Team Effort Scholarship , also known as the Family Achievement Scholarship, the program enters its fourth year with a growing legacy of impact and community transformation. Rooted in the belief that education thrives when families are actively engaged, this initiative reflects JGM Innovation’s long-standing commitment to fostering educational success through family involvement, opportunity, and access. The Family Achievemen

This December, we had the privilege of organizing a joyful holiday celebration at Jorge Guevara Mellado School , located in Santa Eulalia, Peru. The event was filled with warmth, laughter, and the true spirit of giving. To make the celebration special, we donated panetones (a traditional Peruvian Christmas bread) and served delicious hot chocolate , creating a festive atmosphere for the children and their families. In addition, we arranged an exciting show featuring a belov

This year, we came together with RRJ , Phi Iota Alpha New York Alumni Association , and Floral Park Lodge #1016 to make the holidays brighter for children in underserved and challenging circumstances. Our Holiday Drive was more than just a gift-giving campaign, it was about restoring joy and hope . Thanks to your generosity, we donated toys to children across multiple locations and created unforgettable holiday experiences filled with laughter, music, and magic. We hosted a