"It’s not learning a lesson for the sake of learning a lesson," said Stephanie Bova, a business communications instructor who came to Year Up two years ago after teaching at Johnson & Wales University. Bova said everything Year Up does is geared to preparing its young adults to thrive at a corporate job.

"It’s learning a lesson so that you develop very specific skills that you can then use at an internship and it’s going to make you a valuable asset in a company going forward. In a short amount of time we are producing fantastic entry-level employees that can perform well under pressure, they’ve absorbed a bunch of information, time and time again."

Bova notes that the internships, a key component of the program, are earned and not guaranteed. The current class will be starting internships next month at more than 30 companies in Rhode Island, including Hasbro, CVS Health, IGT, Citizens Bank, Amica and Fidelity.