When First Lady Michelle Obama gave her commencement speech at UC Merced earlier this month, she urged the 430 graduating seniors to give back to their community.

“Dream big, think broadly about your life and please make giving back to your community a part of that vision,” she said to the university’s first graduating class.

Americorps is a federally funded program that allows students to do just that. It provides recent graduates with an opportunity to give back to their community by essentially working as free employees for nonprofit organizations.