We meet students where they are. CILI is bridging the gap between higher education and meaningful employment for students, helping to address persistent disparities in access to high-paying careers and professional networks.

Our Programs Include:

Hire Learning$ Sessions

Hire Learning$ provides introductory workshops focused on specific career readiness topics such as resume writing, interviewing skills, work-place etiquette, effective networking and more.

These engaging and interactive sessions are curated specifically for college students and are offered both in-person and virtually to college students regardless of ethnicity, location, classification, or major. Learn More

CILI Fellowship Program

The CILI Fellowship & Internship is a more intensive, selective admission program that provides career coaching, resources, and multi-year paid internship experiences. Since 2021, our fellowship program has equipped over 150 college students with the skills, connections, and experience they need to attain and succeed in corporate careers. This summer 2025, CILI has also helped place over 50+ Fellows into paid internships, and in the process, we connected local employers in the City of New Orleans and around Louisiana with workforce ready talent. Learn More

Career Bridge Fellowship Program

The Career Bridge Program provides students who are within 3 - 12 months of completing their academic degree with focused career coaching to help them transition post college graduation. Students create personalized career plans, participate in facilitated networking opportunities, and are connected to skill building opportunities to enhance their resume and professional acumen. Learn More

Born of the need to fill critical talent gaps in the local corporate workforce, the Career Immersion and Leadership Institute (CILI) creates, finds, and strengthens pathways for first generation and lower socioeconomic college students to access employment opportunities and competitive wages that launch them on successful career paths. CILI connects students to paid internships and provide soft skill training to support personal and professional growth and success as students transition from academic to adult life after college.

CILI was founded by Human Resources executive Perry Sholes in 2019. He returned home to Louisiana

after decades of working in various roles in international consumer products, retail, and hospitality companies. After research, Perry saw a need to connect local college students to paid internships with employers to get them professional experience before graduation. In particular, Sholes saw the need for an organization that could connect local low-income and first-generation college students to employers, who too often fail to tap into the various talent pools available within the local market during recruitment.

CILI was established to bridge the gap between higher education and meaningful employment, low-income and first generation college students. Our flagship fellowship program connects students to paid internship

opportunities in the greater New Orleans area and provides a year or more of soft skill development training to support both personal and professional growth. To date, CILI has trained over 150+ students who were matched to paid internships. 80% of our participants receive federal Pell Grants. Half of our students are first generation college students.

CILI’s programming addresses the barriers faced by low-income and first-generation college graduates in accessing high wage careers and aligns with the three of the four “recommendations” made within the Strada Education Foundation's 2024 report, Talent Disrupted,  outlines recommendations to address college-level employment, including:

1) Enable every college student to access at least one paid internship;

2) Ensure that everyone has access to clear employment outcomes by college and degree program, with earnings and occupation data included and

3) Provide quality education-to-employment coaching to every college student.

By connecting students to paid career opportunities, CILI aims to reduce unemployment and underemployment among Louisiana's college students and graduates. We’ve learned that employers are more willing to hire students they have worked over an extended period of time. Where possible, CILI works to extend internships beyond the summer which allows for deeper relationships and skill building.

Meanwhile, Louisiana faces ongoing talent retention challenges. While there are college- and career-readiness programs for high school students, no other initiative matches CILI’s scale in supporting first-generation college students in achieving professional success and remaining in Louisiana’s workforce. 

New data shows Louisiana is losing college grads to Texas and other states

By:Josh Archote, LSU Manship News Service-June 6, 202311:21 am

Internship Central

This regional job portal is designed exclusively for college students, connecting them with tailored internship opportunities. Internship Central also provides invaluable tips and resources to empower interns in gaining valuable work experience. Ready to take the next step in your career journey? Explore opportunities now!

1. Click the button below 
2. Create Your Profile 
3. Upload Your Resume

• Interns must be in school and be able to provide a recent grade report.
• Graduate students are welcome!
• Students from technical and community colleges are welcome!

Get Started