Transfer Students’ Perceptions of Science and Engineering Internships

Abstract

Economic mobility and career success for undergraduate students is enhanced by understanding students’ experiences and supports and addressing the barriers they face. This study explores how U.S. undergraduate transfer students described their career journeys and how they perceived contextual barriers and supports for their career-oriented experiences. This longitudinal narrative case study was conducted with undergraduate students who were transferring from a community college to a four-year college. They participated in a professional development program, which funded science/engineering internships within bioproducts and bioenergy sectors. The study drew from social cognitive career theory and analyzed data collected over two years, including student interviews, biographical mapping, and reflective writings. Students most frequently described supports they received from their professors and program staff (institutional), family (social), and their internship hosts. The barriers they identified were more variable, such as inadequate advising and communication issues, and were often resolved by program staff (institutional) and financial supports from the program and internship sites. Internship participation led to all of the participating students feeling a sense of job readiness. Programmatic supports, such as clear communication between the internship host and the academic program, funding the internships, and addressing barriers by providing adequate mentoring and logistical supports, were found to enhance the experiences of science and engineering transfer students.

1. Introduction

There is a need to develop a capable workforce of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professionals to support sustainable development [1]; this includes diversifying participation to provide new perspectives for sustainable solutions and innovation [2,3]. This study aims to understand community college students’ perceptions of the barriers and supports they experience during their career journeys, with the goal of improving access to quality educational experiences, preparing a skilled workforce to support sustainable innovation, and stimulating fulfilling employment and economic mobility. There is scant research on the programs necessary to support career development for transfer students in sustainability fields [4].

1.1. Background

1.1.1. STEM Internships

Internships are highly individualized professional experiences that often involve participation in a project or research. They are one of the most sought after career development opportunities for science/engineering undergraduate students [5,6] and are important for career discovery and job acquisition [7]. Internships generally occur during enrollment at a college or university, can be paid or unpaid, and last for one summer, a semester, or for a full academic year [8]. STEM majors often seek internship opportunities during the summer, after one or two years of college. For transfer students, this can create a disadvantage if they do not participate until after they transfer to a four-year institution.

Prior research found that access to STEM career development, which included internships, was a key motivator for female undergraduates who transferred from community colleges to 4-year institutions [9]. A study by Townley et al. [10] investigated the experiences of 53 undergraduate STEM majors. The authors found that students’ participation in internships and other STEM activities resulted in higher academic achievement as well as feeling a stronger sense of community. Brush [11] conducted a survey study to compare the perceptions of 162 former participants in a NASA engineering internship program to identify barriers to career persistence. There were differences based on gender: the research projects and mentorship were perceived more positively by the men than the women. Brush called on engineering education to “support underrepresented populations, including women, in overcoming the barriers that jeopardize their persistence and success. Internships provide one mechanism for meeting this objective” [11] (p. 54). Macedo et al. [12] emphasized the importance of the internship mentor’s leadership style and the organizational culture in supporting student career development.

Certain barriers to internship opportunities are more likely to be experienced by transfer students who are from historically underrepresented groups and/or who are from lower socio-economic backgrounds [13]. Selection of students for internships may be based on social connections or other pre-existing circumstances that exclude certain demographic groups [14]. Judge et al. [15] found that focused institutional career supports could overcome the recruitment disparities that community college students faced. Additional barriers to participating in internships include the lack of pay or low pay or lack of relocation costs coverage for students with limited personal or familial finances [8]. These factors could lead to post-college economic and career disparities.

1.1.2. Challenges Facing Transfer Students

In the United States, nearly half of the undergraduate students attend community colleges and for many, the experience is a lower cost and a more accessible education option before transitioning to a bachelor degree program at a four-year college or university [16]. However, transfer students are less likely to graduate from a four-year institution than their peers who started at four-year institutions; this is often due to additional academic challenges faced by students the first year after transferring [16]. Some researchers have grouped common challenges transfer students face into themes: academic, social, and personal [13,17]. Transfer student demographics (e.g., race/ethnicity, age, familial status, work status) tend to be more diverse than traditional undergraduates [13,18]. For example, transfer students are more likely to be older, married, have families, work full-time and be an underrepresented minority (URM). Transfer students are more likely to be first-generation college (FGC) students who rely more on college mentors for academic support rather than their parents or friends [19,20]. At the time of writing this, there were no published, in-depth reports on the experiences of transfer students participating in internship programs.

1.1.3. Theoretical Framework

Social cognitive career theory guides the analyses of this study (SCCT) [21,22,23].

In the SCCT, intrapersonal and environmental measures influence career interest, career choices, and student performance (as seen in Figure 1). Intrapersonal measures include interests, self-efficacy expectations, outcome expectations, and choice goals. Proximal environmental influences (contextual barriers and supports) may be specific to an individual or may be shared by the members of a group. In Lent et al.’s [22] analysis, researchers identified common categories of barriers and supports for undergraduate students. The supports included access to role models, financial resources, social encouragement, and instrumental assistance (e.g., critical school and work-related support). The barriers included race or gender discrimination, social and familial, instructional, and financial barriers.

The SCCT has been used to identify obstacles to educational and career pathways [24,25,26]. Balcarczyk et al. [24] investigated supports and barriers for individuals seeking natural resource careers who were from underrepresented groups. Supports included familial and social, financial, role models/mentors, and instrumental assistance. There were four themes of barriers: discrimination, financial, familial and social, and institutional. These barriers and supports affected participants’ goals and choices.

1.1.4. Methodological Approaches for Studying Career Journeys

The use of ongoing reflective writing during undergraduate internship experiences is recommended [22] for identifying student perspectives. In Schubring et al.’s study, students (N = 91) wrote reflective blog posts and recommended their continued use with future student cohorts [22]. The authors coded four themes: affective, social, cognitive, and metacognitive. In another study, students who reflected on internships were able to process their mistakes and celebrate their accomplishments [23].

Stories are a way to understand students’ individual pathways toward careers [27]. In career narratives, the researcher constructs a story based on what a student has written or expressed verbally or based on other provided information to help explain the development of students’ career interests. Graphic elicitation tools are another way that interviewees can narrate their experiences with the assistance of a timeline that spurs them to identify critical experiences and turning points [28]. This study uses reflective practice and biographical mapping to generate the career narratives of community college transfer students.

1.2. Research Questions

Attracting and supporting historically underrepresented students into STEM careers requires an understanding of what motivates these students to pursue certain careers as well as the supports and contextual barriers that they face. The research questions are as follows:

• How do transfer students describe their career journey and development?
• What are transfer students’ perceptions of the contextual supports and barriers related to their internships and other career development experiences?

2. Methods

2.1. Study Design

This study focused on the individual career and internship experiences of six community college students who then transferred to a four-year institution. A longitudinal narrative case study design [27] was used to capture the voices of these undergraduate students, offering the potential to better support the career journeys of future students who have shared characteristics.

2.2. Context and Participants

The participants in this study were community college students who then transferred to a four-year institution. All participants were enrolled in science or engineering programs. The students were participating in a unique program that featured a paid summer internship (the authors would have included students from other STEM disciplines (i.e., mathematics and technology) if they had applied and been accepted into the program).

The Sustainable Futures Program (all student and program names are pseudonyms) was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and was the context for all of the interactions with the students [29]. Selection of the participants was based on the major project goal: to provide opportunities for historically underrepresented groups (females, first-generation college, URM) in science and engineering careers. An overarching goal was to increase the awareness of underrepresented students in bioproducts and bioenergy, stimulate their interest, and take steps toward diversifying participation in United States bio-based research and industries in the U.S. Program staff recruited freshmen and sophomores who were currently attending community colleges, a woman’s college, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and regional universities. Students would participate in the fully funded program, in addition to their current educational program.

Over a period of two years, undergraduate students took either two or three online bioeconomy courses, starting with ‘The Sustainable Bioeconomy’ and ‘Biomass Conversion.’ The project had arranged to pay the tuition for the courses, and institutions agreed that students could transfer the credit hours they had earned back to their home institution, if desired. After the first two courses, in fall and spring, students participated in a summer internship that lasted 10–12 weeks. The internship was fully funded ($8000 base stipend, paid in three installments), and was connected to the bioeconomy sector. For students who relocated for the internship, they received additional funding ($1500 for in-state and $2000 for out-of-state). Most of the students took a third course in the semester following the internship.

The lead researcher (first author) was also the program director. She worked closely with all the undergraduate students in courses, collecting data and preparing them to apply for internships and interviews. The personal relationship helped to develop trust, as the program director was highly supportive of the students. Her close involvement seemed to promote the students’ sharing of their beliefs and experiences.

This study focused on the six research participants who were from historically underrepresented groups in science and engineering, and who transferred from community colleges to four-year institutions during the program (

Table 1. Student pseudonyms and self-reported demographic information.

Name	Gender	Race/Ethnicity	Other Demographic Details
Simone	Female	Middle Eastern
Carolina	Female	Latina	First-generation college
Caleb	Male	Black Latino
April	Female	White	First-generation college
Alex	Male	Palestinian
Ann	Female	White	Self-identified as “Non-traditional student”

Note. Students selected their own pseudonyms. This table was reproduced from the first author’s dissertation research [30].

).

2.3. Data Collection

Several qualitative data sources were collected and analyzed throughout the two years, to gain an understanding of students’ perceptions and experiences. This included program applications, reflective writing samples from the courses and internship, and a post-internship interview (Reflective writing prompts and interview questions are provided in Supplemental Materials).

The post-internship interview consisted of multiple interview activities and took place approximately three months after the end of the internship. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed by a professional transcriptionist. In the first interview activity, the student was asked to use biographical mapping [31] to create a career timeline on an “8.5 × 11” paper with a single printed line. Each student made additions to the timeline, describing life events that held significance to their career journey. As they made decisions about what to include on their timeline, students were encouraged to talk aloud [32] and explain their choices. Following the interview, the timelines stayed on the table to visually represent the students’ career experiences. As students remembered important events or people, they made changes to their timeline.

Next, each student was asked to read and reflect on what they had written in their program application in addition to their printed-out (provided by the researcher) career reflections from the course and internship reflections. This included thinking about their expected internship experiences versus what happened. Third, the researcher guided students in a semi-structured interview about their career and internship experiences. Students were encouraged to describe specific barriers and supports they faced when searching for, preparing for, and then participating in their internship. Five students participated in member checking video conference calls with the lead researcher approximately one year after the internship, sharing life updates. Students reviewed their narratives, made minor grammatical adjustments, and confirmed the interpretations of the researcher. Students were excited to read their own career stories and seemed to feel valued by taking part in the research. For the sixth student, who was unable to meet with the researcher, she was sent a written copy of the career narrative for review.

2.4. Data Analysis

Prior to coding, the students’ interviews were transcribed, de-identified, and assigned pseudonyms. The researcher used a chronological analytical approach, beginning with the participants’ career timeline experiences [27]. Each narrative described the student’s background, including their educational and job experiences, how their career intentions had developed over time, their internship experiences, and their perceived supports and barriers for career development.

A co-coder was enlisted to code a portion of the transcripts and enhance the trustworthiness of the analysis. Two doctoral students (including the researcher, who was a doctoral student at the time of the study) co-coded using qualitative analysis software (ATLAS.ti version 8). Based on the social cognitive career theory framework, an initial codebook was generated that specifically focused on proximal environmental influences (i.e., contextual supports and barriers). In the initial round of coding, contextual supports and barriers were identified. The two coders conducted a practice coding round of coding using a sample interview transcript (data not used in this study) to develop a negotiated understanding of the codebook. After inter-rater reliability was established, the coders worked independently to code the same transcripts (66% of the data), after which they were merged into a shared Atlas TI file. The Krippendorff α [33] agreement was calculated at 78%. For the codes that disagreed, the relevant part of the transcript was reviewed and discussed, after which a negotiated code was determined, guided by Patton [34]. This resulted in 100% final agreement.

For the second round of coding, the co-coders developed sub-codes for each of the initial codes that reflected specific supports and contextual barriers (i.e., social, moving/living logistics, finances, institutional, internship host, job readiness, awareness of opportunities, and nature of work). For this round of coding, one full interview (17% of the transcript data) was co-coded. Krippendorff α [33] agreement was calculated at 100%. The lead researcher conducted the remainder of the analysis.

3. Results

3.1. Student Career Narratives

In this section, a condensed version of Simone’s career narrative is presented. The career narratives of the five other students are outlined in

Table 2. Summarized student career narratives. This table was reproduced from the first author’s dissertation research [30].

Carolina	Major: Spanish, Engineering
Early Influences	Carolina aspired to go to medical school after meeting her pediatrician at age five. “I have a picture of me at preschool. I was dressed as a doctor—my mom loves it! That’s when I decided I wanted to do that…I’ve always been super interested in helping people.”
Community College to University	Carolina pursued her associate’s degree through dual enrollment in an Early College High School. “[M]y parents are lower income, so they couldn’t really afford to pay for my college, so I found this program… they pay for my textbooks, they pay for everything…”
Internship: Out-of-state bioenergy engineering company	Carolina chose a lab-based internship, optimizing processing conditions for the conversion of wood into a bioproduct. She said, “I definitely developed a more open mind towards labs and doing the lab work and collaborating in a scientific setting.”
Post- internship	Carolina felt open to more career options beyond her early intention to work in a medical field. She had “a lot of different passions” including Spanish, science, and helping careers. She wanted to serve “the Hispanic population here in the U.S.” promoting environmentally sustainable behaviors.
Caleb	Major: Biochemistry
Early Influences	Caleb grew up in a U.S Territory. During his time at a STEM-focused high school, Caleb had the opportunity to work on a federally funded biological research project, which fueled his fascination for the “power of science.” At the age of sixteen, Caleb and his family moved to a southern U.S. state, which he described as a “culture shock.”
Community College to University	His career interest in therapeutics research was deeply influenced by a desire to ease the pain and heartache caused by mental health issues faced by his sister. Throughout his college years studying biochemistry, he juggled a job in food service and dedicated his spare time volunteering at a local science museum laboratory.
Internship: In-state bioproducts R&D group at company	Caleb took on the challenge of setting up and operating a new pilot-scale machine at the internship company. The internship provided an opportunity to network with professionals who worked with microorganisms, an area closer to Caleb’s career intention.
Post- internship	With continuing interest in research and development of pharmaceuticals and biofuels, Caleb transferred from the community college to a bachelor’s degree program at a state university. He subsequently completed his B.S. in Biochemistry and started a full-time professional position with a local biomedical company.
April	Major: Environmental Engineering
Early Influences	Following her high school graduation, April left home to attend a state university to follow her “love of animals” and long-time dream of becoming a veterinarian. When she discovered how expensive veterinary school was, she concluded that she “could never afford it.” After one semester at the university, she left school and returned home. She thought, “I should probably move home and do community college” until she figured out what she really wanted.
Community College to University	April transferred to her local community college to pursue emergency medicine and then nursing but neither felt like the right fit. Reflecting on her diverse career pursuits, April shared, “It’s more like we’re figuring out what we don’t want to do, rather than figuring out what we want to do.” Seeking guidance from a community college counselor, she decided to try engineering.
Internship: In-state bioenergy research non-profit	April conducted her internship with a local bioenergy research group where she performed experiments converting wood into fuel. She was motivated to take the position because she was “incredibly interested in research, especially geared towards biomass conversions to biofuels” and she wanted to learn more about environmental engineering.
Post- internship	April transferred into a state university where she approached a professor about working part-time in her environmental research lab. April expressed a new-found confidence in seeking the job and in conversing with other researchers. When becoming oriented at the new job, April said, “Now I’m not afraid to just [ask] ‘What are we doing?’… ‘Can you explain it to me?’”
Alex	Major: Pharmaceutical Sciences
Early Influences	Alex had always planned to attend college. “I just knew that I should go to college. Just kind of a thing in my family. College is just very important — education in general.” He worked at various part-time jobs during high school, often two jobs at one time. He attributed his strong work ethic and ability to balance priorities on these formative experiences managing work, school, and family responsibilities.
Community College to University	Alex’s early career experiences were heavily influenced by his older sister. He began working as a cashier and then advanced to a pharmacy technician at a retail pharmacy with his sister. He followed in her footsteps, enrolling in a university pharmaceutical science program at a state university.
Internship: In-state university bioenergy research	For his summer internship, Alex joined a university research group focused on bioproducts. Under the guidance of a graduate student mentor, he developed a process for mechanically converting wood into pulp fibers. Although he gained valuable insights from the experience, sharing “I learned a lot of lessons that will be referred to later in life,” he felt that the project did not align closely enough with his interests in either biofuels for bioproducts for human health.
Post- internship	Alex maintained his commitment to biopharmaceutical and vaccine research and development and completed a second summer internship working on a regulatory project with a large pharmaceutical company. He was considering graduate school programs and looking forward to gaining more experience working at a pharmaceutical company.
Ann	Major: Chemical Engineering, Paper Science
Early Influences	Ann’s early career inspiration came from her uncle and other family members who served as science and engineering role models. From an early age, she wanted to grow up to be a NASA engineer like her uncle. Her grandfather, a chemical engineer, gave her career advice to “find something that you’re really good at and make your life’s work from it.”
Community College to University	Ann shared that she “had to work to put herself through college.” She considered herself a “non-traditional student” because she had multiple “starts and stops” in her education. She worked in restaurant service, retail, and sales before returning to community college to study environmental engineering and then transferring to a state university, double majoring in chemical engineering and paper science/engineering.
Internship: Out-of-state university bioenergy research	Accepting an out-of-state internship with a biofuels research group, Ann was motivated to gain laboratory and field experience with algae biofuels. Discouraged by the repetition of sampling and testing at the internship, she turned her attention toward engineering roles in manufacturing and production.
Post- internship	Ann gained a new perspective about the value of internships. “I guess I didn’t realize just how much of a competitive edge [an internship] gives you.” She leveraged her experience to secure a co-op position the following fall and lined up a second internship for the summer. She felt that her Sustainable Futures internship had given her “a leg up” for the positions.

.

3.1.1. Simone’s Early Life Experiences

Simone, a female of Middle Eastern heritage, resided with her parents and siblings—two older siders, one older brother, and one younger brother. Throughout her upbringing, Simone’s career interests ranged from teacher, to astronaut, to scientific researcher (Figure 2a). She described herself as a reserved child with “lots of dreams.” Simone was heavily influenced by her mother to attend a new STEM high school (Figure 2b) where she began to explore science and engineering through class projects (Figure 2c); her sophomore-year chemistry teacher gave her a positive impression of women in STEM. This is how Simone described her teacher: “She had a background in engineering and seeing a woman in that field gave me much inspiration to follow that route…She showed me the pathways of women in engineering.”

3.1.2. Community College to University

After completing high school, Simone continued her education at a community college where her primary goal was to “obtain an associate’s degree and … transfer to a university as soon as possible…” (Figure 2d,e). During this time, she was accepted into a NASA scholarship program designed for community college students, broadening her exposure to various engineering disciplines (Figure 2f). While balancing her studies, Simone faced the challenging family circumstances of her father’s cancer diagnosis and subsequent passing. She reflected on this loss as the most impactful event shaping her life, to date.

3.1.3. Sustainable Futures Program Experience

Simone first became aware of the Sustainable Futures Program through an email notification from her community college instructor. Intrigued by the intersection of biology and engineering, she expressed a passion for biomedical engineering within her application. She endeavored to contribute to the development of sustainable products, such as renewable energy sources. During a career exploration activity in the first course of the program, Simone wrote,

The job that sparked my interest was civil environmental engineering because I have always had an interest in the environment…this job includes designing and planning bioenergy systems as well as structures, which sounds like an incredible job to me.

3.1.4. Internship Experience

Simone successfully completed her associate’s degree the same semester she completed the second online course with the Sustainable Futures Program, gearing up for her summer internship (Figure 2h). Presented with two internship opportunities—a role with a biofuels research group and another out-of-state bioenergy engineering firm (Figure 2i)—she opted for the latter. Recounting the summer internship, she reflected on the profound impact of her experience. She noted the heightened sense of responsibility of the role, emphasizing the punctuality and self-reliance required while living independently, “with nobody telling me what to do or what I need to be doing.” She also described how much she learned about working for a company: “Professionally, I learned how a corporate company works…My professional network has definitely grown…I met people from different backgrounds to different career paths, which is definitely going to help me in my future.”

Moreover, the internship marked a transformative shift in Simone’s mindset; her identity was shifting from that of a college student to that of a pre-professional person. “[B]efore the program, I wasn’t really focused on my career, per se. I was focused more on getting through college… I now know what I want to do for sure after college.” The internship further inspired her ambition toward civil engineering, now believing that she was capable of pursing career options that she previously thought were “out-of-reach.”

3.1.5. Post-Internship

Returning from her out-of-state internship, Simone immediately transitioned into an engineering program at a four-year university (Figure 2j). Recognizing the pivotal role played by her involvement in the Sustainable Futures Program, she attributed her university acceptance, at least in part, to her participation in the program. She emphasized “internships are very, very important” in providing insight into career direction, providing anecdotal evidence by contrasting her situation to that of a few peers who recently graduated but had not pursued internships. “They didn’t get the opportunity to see what they liked versus what they don’t,” and were consequently discontented with their first jobs after graduating.

3.2. Five Career Narratives

The remaining five career narratives of the five other students are summarized in Table 2.

3.3. Overview of Student Supports and Barriers

All six students exhibited a sense of ease in openly discussing upbringing and professional growth. In both their reflective writings and interviews, students tended to highlight the positive aspects of their experiences rather than dwell on the negative.

Contextual barriers identified from the student reflections were categorized into themes including institutional, social, job readiness, and financial themes (

Table 3. Coded contextual themes with sample quotes. This table was reproduced from the first author’s dissertation research [30].

Themes	Barriers	Supports
Institutional	“It was the professor that made it [the internship] very difficult. It ended up being very, very difficult to work with [them].” (April)	“I think the only pretty much support or help I actually got… was from [the program manager].…I didn’t even know if I could handle an internship at the time but I’m really glad I did.” (Simone)
Social	“If I would’ve turned to say, my mom, [for support] she would’ve been like, ‘I told you so,’ and nobody wants to hear that.” (Simone)	“I just knew that I should go to college. Just kind of a thing in my family. College is just very important—education in general.” (Alex)
Moving/Living Logistics	I turned down the opportunity [out-of-state] because… I would have to find my own housing…” (April)	“[The] first [financial] installment was good because I was able to get my plane tickets, set up housing, figure out that kind of stuff.” (Ann)
Financial	“I had to buy more professional clothes. I had one nice outfit and that’s it. I was like, ‘I can’t wear that every day.’ So there’s a lot more upfront costs…” (April)	“I think [the funding] was a big influence because [I am] at a point of my life where an unpaid internship… I won’t have the time to actually keep up with all the other bills and stuff like that.” (Caleb)
Job Readiness	“Just the technical skillset is a big limitation in my field. It’s hard to work at a lab if they do some specialized work with a microorganism….” (Caleb)	“Should I mention the three jobs here? … I mean, I feel like they just built my work ethic.” (Alex)
Internship Host	“One of the project leads just not handling it very well and being kind of unprofessional.” (Ann)	“[M]y mentors– at my internship were amazing people…They had introduced me to how their career path went; what they did in college and stuff.” (Simone)
Awareness of opportunities	“I think that a lot of people don’t really know what’s out there, and you don’t see [internships] when you look for a job.” (Carolina)	None
Nature of work	“I just felt [the internship] was busy-work. I wasn’t really doing anything meaningful.” (Alex)	“The internship was a pretty good match because it allowed me to explore career opportunities and gave me useful laboratory experiences.” (Caleb)

).

3.4. Contextual Supports

While not all students experienced similar contextual supports to the same extent, certain patterns emerged within the group in terms of how much they discussed different supports, as shown in Figure 3. The following are descriptions of the most frequently discussed supports.

3.4.1. Institutional Supports

Overall, ‘Institutional supports’ emerged as the most frequently described type of contextual support, constituting 27–41% of all the statements coded for each student. Students discussed supports provided by schools, colleges, universities, and the Sustainable Futures Program. Students acknowledged the supportive roles of their teachers or professors at their high school, community college, and university. For instance, Alex described how his instructors helped nurture his interest in biology and chemistry. For instance, a female community college biology instructor encouraged him by saying, “I see a lot of potential in you” as she urged him to apply for the competitive Sustainable Futures Program.

Simone underscored the significance of her female instructors in historically male-dominated fields. She described how her high school chemistry teacher “showed me the pathways of women in engineering.” Additionally, Simone recalled a computer programming professor’s influence: “She helped build up the confidence to ask any questions and speak up when I needed help.”

The students involved in the study acknowledged the pivotal role of the Sustainable Futures Program and its staff in facilitating connections between students and internship hosts. Caroline expressed a sense of being “on-track” with her career development: “this program has a lot more impact than you think, because…at 18, I wouldn’t have gone out and found [an internship], just with my connections.” In preparing for the internship, Alex, April, and Ann relied on assistance from the program staff with preparing resumes, practicing for interviews, and drafting communications to potential internship hosts. Alex emphasized the challenge of preparing a polished resume: “I never had a resume before… [Now,] I don’t want to look at that old version; I want to burn it.” April responded similarly, “Definitely you guys… [the program staff] helped me prepare for my interview and emailing [my manager]. I was a bundle of nerves.”

3.4.2. Internship Host Support

References to the student’s internship host was the secondmost prevalent contextual support, ranging from 8% to 26% of the coded data (M = 21.2%) for each student. Five out of six students identified the internship hosts as an important source of support. Ann was the exception; she leaned on community college instructors and the Sustainable Futures Program staff for her institutional support. Supports from the internship hosts—including mentors, co-workers, and organizational culture—were grouped as a separate theme, due to their prevalence.

April felt “extremely supported” throughout her internship, despite initial apprehension on the first day of her internship. April was “terrified to talk to anyone,” but her coworkers and internship mentors helped put her initial nerves at ease. “[They] welcomed me so warmly, everyone introduced themselves and offered to help any way they could.” At Caleb’s internship there was a formal internship program with organized professional development events for interns from across the company. He was assigned two mentors who he described as being “really relaxed” and “they loved the work they do.” He found that “they were all really helpful and– they were so interested in what they were doing that they wanted to share it.”

3.4.3. Social Supports

Social supports emerged as the third main source of support, ranging from 9% to 27% (M = 14.5%) of the coded data for each student. All students mentioned the role of their families, in some capacity. Simone and Alex both pursued pharmaceutical sciences, following the guidance of their older sisters who worked at pharmacies, although Simone eventually discovered the field was not for her. Ann benefited from the guidance of her grandfather and uncle, both scientists, who inspired her career direction and helped her to prepare for the internship. For Caleb and Carolina, despite their families’ limited background in science, their parents expressed enthusiasm for their internships. Caleb’s mother would demonstrate her support by sending him articles about science and engineering companies; “She’ll see a news article and see a company and say, ‘Oh, hey. This company seemed interesting,’ or ‘read this article. This might help you out.’”

3.4.4. Readiness and Other Supports

Carolina, Caleb, Alex, and Ann also emphasized career readiness, encompassing the technical skills, knowledge, and soft skills they learned in courses or at previous part-time jobs. While students occasionally described other types of supports, which were organized into the themes, Nature of Work, Finances, and Moving/Logistics, these were more often described as barriers.

3.5. Contextual Barriers

All of the students recognized institutional, social, and financial barriers to their career development (Figure 4), but the extent to which each barrier theme affected their career development varied widely. The most frequently discussed barriers are described, below.

3.5.1. Institutional Barriers

Institutional barriers included issues related to the student’s community college or university system. Caleb, who emphasized institutional barriers more than the other students, described a lack of communication between the Sustainable Futures Program and the internship host company. He commented, “They didn’t have enough time to actually prepare for [for my arrival] since they’ve never done that kind of internship before…It was a bit off sync.”

Ann expressed disappointment with her community college academic advisor. According to Ann, the advisor merely provided a list of required course enrollment and wished her “good luck.” She added, “At a community college you have to actively seek out [career development] opportunities. As soon as I got into [a four-year university], I was overloaded with resources…whereas at [a community college] we do not get that.”

3.5.2. Social Barriers

Social barriers often stemmed from a lack of support from family or friends. Ann and Simone both opted for out of state internships and their families worried about such a “big move.” Simone faced some apprehension from close friends and family regarding her safety while living independently and discouraged her from taking the out-of-state internship. “I just had to reassure them that… I [would] actually be able to do it.” Despite feeling stressed during the internship, Simone hesitated to reach out to her friends and family for help and support, not wanting to add to their worries.

3.5.3. Financial Barriers

Even though the internship experiences were fully funded, students faced numerous logistical challenges. April, who talked the most about financial matters, said, “Figuring out the finances of it all. Trying to figure out where to live” felt overwhelming. April stressed the importance of financial support prior to starting the internship for covering relocation costs, purchasing appropriate clothes, and arranging transportation to and from the internship site.

Carolina also emphasized the financial hurdles concerning reliable transportation. She recounted having to travel to another city daily for the internship, only to have her car break down in the third week. Most students financially supported themselves during college through part-time work during the semester. During the internship summer, students had to decide whether to quit (like Caleb) or continue working (like Alex and Ann) at these jobs while balancing the internship projects.

3.5.4. Moving and Living Logistics Barriers

Four of the students relocated for the summer, with two traveling to out of state internships. These students overcame challenges with moving and living, including travel arrangements, securing housing, coordinating reliable transportation, and obtaining professional attire. April struggled to make all the necessary decisions and moving plans while she was wrapping up the semester and taking final exams, and as a result, she turned down an opportunity for an out-of-state bioproducts internship and opted for a local option, instead. Similarly, Ann was stressed by the coordination of relocating for the summer, but she went through with the relocation. Ann shared, “Because it was a big move, and I just needed to figure out financially what to do. And finding housing, and plane tickets, all of that kind of stuff.”

4. Discussion

4.1. How Transfer Students Described Their Career Journey and Professional Development

These community college students transferred to a four-year university during the study and participated in an internship through the Sustainable Futures Program. Students expressed career journeys that were individual, and experienced unique sets of contextual supports and barriers. Consistent with the SCCT framework, the barriers and supports affected participants’ career goals and choices.

Assertion 1: Students expressed both professional and personal benefits from participating in an internship, regardless of the perceived “match.” The internship experience was a valuable experience for these students, even if it did not align closely with their specific career goals. Three of the students, April, Carolina, and Caleb, perceived their internship placement as a “good match” with their intended careers. Simone described her placement as a “decent match,” and neither Ann nor Alex considered their internship a good match. Consistent with findings for previous research studies, students were able to apply the skills and knowledge they had learned in their classes to their internship experience and gained first-hand experience in a professional setting [35,36,37,38]. These experiences provided students an opportunity to observe what happens in actual professional settings compared with their prior expectations. Brush [11] explained the value of student learning “what I don’t want to do” to be as nearly as important as “what I do want to do.” These findings are also consistent with Matusovich et al.’s [7] reporting from college academic advisors; one of the greatest benefits of engineering internships is job discovery without a huge commitment.

Assertion 2: Initial concerns expressed by students were mostly resolved over time.

At the beginning of her internship, Carolina had expressed concern about “repetitive or mundane” laboratory work. Instead, she found that interactions with her colleagues were engaging. She found it “exciting to create solutions to problems,” which gave her new insight into laboratory careers. April initially expressed concerns about her abilities; these lessened as her mentors and colleagues praised her work. Many students have limited exposure to engineering or science professions, particularly those who are from historically underrepresented groups. For these students, mentors from industry or the university provided role models. Mentorship from relevant role models, such as female engineers for female undergraduate students, could support students’ self-efficacy [39].

Assertion 3: All the students felt the internship experience made them competitive for future opportunities with other internships or professional positions. Caleb’s description resonated across the students: “[Internships are] this elusive beast that you need experience to get one, but you can’t get experience without one and there’s just that whole circular argument.” The internships and the support provided by the program helped to launch students’ career pathways. Following the internship, students expressed feelings of accomplishment and comfort in science/engineering. The environmental influences of institutional and contextual supports, particularly through the program manager and internship hosts, resulted in students feeling positioned to take on future challenges.

April, Alex, and Ann applied for and secured another science or engineering internship following the program, feeling the confidence to do so. All would have delayed this attempt—if trying at all for an internship—until later in their college career. Their experiences are consistent with what has been found in other fields: students with internship experiences are more likely to receive another internship [35]. Upon graduation, these students are offered jobs sooner and receive more job offers [40].

Assertion 4: Students’ review of their career reflections provided them additional insight into their career pathways. Simone was surprised at how enthusiastic she had been about her career goals, which were slowed at times by family situations and while engaged in college coursework. Alex commented, “honestly, there are a lot of details that I’d forgotten. It’s a good reminder for me to keep going. It gets me excited and makes me hungry for success.” Many studies have described the beneficial role of reflections throughout internships [41,42,43]. In this study, the reflections took place over a longer period, and students reflected on formative experiences throughout their lives. Reading these writings from earlier in the program led students to reflect on the influences on their career pathways as well as their accomplishments.

4.2. Transfer Students Perceived Contextual Barriers and Supports for Their Internships

Many of the barriers and supports faced by the participating students were like those identified for a general undergraduate student population, but there were several issues particular to the transfer student experience. These issues included access to internship opportunities, differing supports from community colleges, student financial resources, and level of family knowledge of science and engineering jobs. Each of these students experienced a unique set of circumstances and journey. Yet, looking for patterns across the individual cases elucidated shared challenges and how to better support community college students in internships and on their career pathways.

Assertion 5: The contextual barriers (social, financial, institutional, moving/living logistics) faced by these students were eased by the internship program and students’ academic programs. Initial barriers experienced by these community college students included lack of support from family and friends. These barriers were eased by supportive connections to internship hosts, program staff, and colleagues. Financial barriers, such as moving expenses, were addressed by pre-payment of funding that the Sustainable Futures Program provided.

Initially, students had concerns about whether they would fit in with their internship colleagues. Instead, all the students described feeling welcomed. No concerns were raised about “gatekeepers” or “exclusionary climates” that have previously been described in the literature (in relation to first-generation status, race/ethnicity, or gender) [44,45].

Assertion 6: Students had little initial knowledge about internship opportunities, what they involved, or information about applying for and preparing for an internship. Most of the students interviewed (five out of six) believed that most community college students (including themselves) likely had low awareness of internships—their availability or that some of them were paid. This lack of exposure to internships was in part related to limited contact with engineering or science role models. The program expanded their internship recruitment network by recruiting from community colleges, a women’s college, and HBCUs. These contacts resonate with recommendations by Harper [14] to increase access for students who are underrepresented in these fields.

Assertion 7: Students believed that university students were more likely than community college students to secure internship placements, due to an (often inaccurate) perception that community college students are lacking preparation, skills, or knowledge. An internship, Ann explained, would “probably go to someone at a university before it goes to someone at [community college], unless you have a really strong resume.” Three of the students, Alex, Caleb, and Carolina, felt they were less competitive for engineering/science internships than peers enrolled at a four-year university, due to a perception of having fewer technical skills. The courses that were a part of the Sustainable Futures Program helped Carolina increase her technical knowledge. This resonates with the research of Haag et al. [46], who found that relevant coursework enhances internship experiences for students.

4.3. Recommendations

Several recommendations result from the study’s findings. These recommendations are intended to better support internships and career development experiences for community college transfer students.

4.3.1. Recommendations for University and College Programs

• Create active communication lines between the academic program and internship host. Provide program details before and during the internship and encourage students to share information with their families.
• Encourage students to obtain internships, whether they think the position is perfectly matched to their career goals, or not.
• Provide prior experiences through courses, laboratory research, or workshops that will develop students’ skills and knowledge.
• Encourage ongoing student reflection during the internships, through structured prompts.
• Provide support to students to help in the development of a professional resume and targeted cover letter, as well as providing interview practice through mock interviews.

4.3.2. Recommendations for Internship Hosts

• Recruit broadly through community college networks to enhance the diversity of the pool of students who apply to and who are accepted into the internship program.
• Assist students with logistical challenges related to transportation and housing.
• Provide stipends that include up-front funding to alleviate some of the stresses for initial expenses and communicate clearly about likely expenses and the payment schedule.

4.3.3. Recommendations for Students

• Discuss details and plan for travel, housing, stipend schedule, and transportation with the internship program coordinator and internship host early in the hiring process.
• Work with the internship mentor to plan a project that fits the scope and timeline of your internship.
• Maintain communication with the college/university program during the internship experience, which can serve as a mediator if any issues arise during the internship experience.
• Prioritize time for writing and reflection during the internship. Consider writing out expectations for the experience, keeping a weekly journal, and reflecting on any learnings from the experience.

4.4. Limitations

The findings of this study should be considered in light of several limitations. First, the number of participants in this study was relatively small, and the nuances of their internship experiences may have been influenced by factors that were not addressed in the interviews and exercises used in data collection. Our findings provide insight into the experiences of U.S. community college students who were in the process of transferring to a four-year institution, but may not extend to other populations.

To enhance the reliability of the study, the quotations and research findings were shared with the student participants to provide an opportunity for clarification. Notably, the first author served as the program coordinator for the Sustainable Futures Program, assisting in various aspects of the program including student recruitment, internship host recruitment, and student internship preparation. Students may have moderated any negative experience on account of their personal relationship with the first author and her official role with the project. To mitigate potential biases, a semi-structured format was used, and a co-coder was recruited for data coding.

5. Conclusions

This study focused on underrepresented students who participated in paid summer bioeconomy internships as they transferred from a two-year community college to a four-year university, addressing a gap in the literature. The narrative approach explored how transfer students described their career journey and how they perceived contextual barriers and supports for their career-oriented experiences, through biographical mapping, reflective writings, and interviews. This study highlighted the critical role of environmental influences to support students’ internship experiences. The Sustainable Futures Program increased the internship opportunities available to the students; these opportunities had the potential to lead to further productive educational and professional experiences. By adopting some of the recommendations of this study, it is hoped that those universities and industries that are involved in the development of management of internship programs will provide career-enhancing opportunities for many more transfer students.

Future research directions could include investigating what motivates companies/organizations and their representatives to host interns, as well as studying the potential impact of diversifying internship placements on diversifying the company’s personnel. Additionally, the authors recommend a study that investigates the motivations of students who select specific science/engineering internships, particularly for those students who are historically underrepresented in those fields. A quasi-experimental study could investigate whether an internship preparation course influences internship aspects (e.g., hiring, support) for internship hosts.