2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This Work In Progress paper underscores the impact of a 6-week summer internship program for high school upperclassmen on one cohort of participants. The purpose of this study is to explore how participation in the internship program affects students’ STEM career interests. Lent, Brown, and Hackett’s 1994 Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) provides the theoretical framework for this investigation into the different elements of career interest. Kolb’s 1984 experiential learning theory ties SCCT back to the internship experience.
This internship program has supported Career and Technical Education (CTE) students in this district since 2015. In the 2024-2028 state plan, this internship program is part of the primary effort to expand work-based learning opportunities for students. The program is overseen by a supervisory team composed of one engineer and one K-12 educator. Student participants in this CTE program are matched with a host employer after an interview and selection process designed to promote alignment between the student’s skills and interests and the company’s needs.
Once hired, the students work directly with employees to gain first-hand work experience, develop professional skills, and engage in a positive mentoring relationship. The cohort in this study consists of CTE students enrolled in their district’s STEM program of study. Each participant has expressed an interest in engineering specifically, prior to the application process.
In addition to working with their employer on STEM-related projects, students are guided through a research project on a STEM topic of their choosing by two immediate supervisors. These topics must relate to the host employer’s work and have ample current literature to explore. The internship also features cohort-based activities including site visits to museums, workplaces, and learning institutions. Other features include professional development sessions, guest speakers, and a culminating event where the participants present their work and research via scientific posters to a diverse audience.
The study underway employs surveys and semi-structured interviews as the primary data sources for investigating students’ experiences and how they relate to STEM career interests. In addition to the pre-survey, post-survey, and exit interviews, we also collected secondary data from weekly reflection writings from each participant. Quantitative data from each survey will be analyzed using a Wilcoxon signed rank sum test to determine differences between pre- and post-responses. Qualitative data will be coded using reflexive thematic analysis to identify themes and sib-themes of students’ experiences. Currently, the analysis is in the data familiarization stage. Expected results include increased self-efficacy and an emphasis on the importance of an engaged supervisor for developing student’s career interests.