Hiring Our Heroes was launched by the U.S. Department of Commerce (USDOC) to help unemployed veterans — whose unemployment rate can be as high as 29 percent — find jobs. This week, 4,400 veterans and their spouses attended job fairs in Ft. Hood Texas, Chicago and New York seeking work at events created by the USDOC, in partnership with NBC News.

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WATCH VETERAN ALICE SIMPSON REACT TO HER BRAND NEW LOOK BELOW:

On the U.S.S. Intrepid aircraft carrier and museum in New York City, theGrio met Alice, a veteran, who came to Hiring Our Heroes seeking employment — and found an enhanced professional image. The New York City-based salon Panyc provided makeover services on a lower deck of the ship, where veterans were gifted with free make-up looks and hairstyles.

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We caught up with our subject right before she was about to receive her complementary make-up application, which was the first time she had had her make-up professionally applied in her life.

Alice Simpson came to the retired aircraft carrier looking for job leads — which she gratefully received. But the peacetime vet who served from ‘81 to ‘85 left the Intrepid with a lot more. Alice’s new look came with a bolstered personal outlook.

Follow Alexis Garrett Stodghill on Twitter at @lexisb