30 Years of CS: The Chicago Scholars Capsule & Creative Internship
malcolm with the six 30 Years of CS Interns.
chicago scholars turned 30 this year. to mark three decades of investing in chicago youth — the same investment that helped shape gratitude's own founder — we didn't want to make a collection. we wanted to build something with the scholars themselves.
the collection
the capsule is three pieces: a knit sweater, a t-shirt, and a hat — each one built around chicago scholars' 30th anniversary. proceeds from the drop go directly back to chicago scholars, helping fund the same scholarships, mentorship, and support that gratitude co-founder malcolm received as a scholar himself.
this isn't merch. it's reinvestment.
the internship
alongside the collection, gratitude ran a creative internship program — giving a group of chicago scholars seniors real, hands-on experience building the capsule from the ground up.
the instagram post above introduces our six interns
the group was split into three segments, each one responsible for a different piece of the rollout.
art — designed and created a 30x40 mixed media canvas, marking the anniversary in a physical, one-of-a-kind piece.
the instagram post above shows the final canvas
video — directed weekly recap videos across all four sessions, documenting the internship as it happened.
the instagram post above is a recap from week 1 of the internship program
marketing — ideated the photoshoot from the ground up: concept, planning, and post schedule.
the instagram post above is a recap from week 3 of the internship program
when all three segments came back together, the full group ideated the commercial for the drop — bringing everyone's work into one shared vision for how the collection would be introduced to the world.
the instagram post above shows the commercial ideated by the interns
the takeaway
30 years of chicago scholars. three pieces. three teams. one group of scholars who didn't just receive an opportunity — they built one.
the instagram post features the interns speaking on their experience
can't live without it.
gratitude x chicago scholars — 30 years of cs.