Date

6-17-2026

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education Administration (PhD)

Chair

Shariva White

Keywords

internships, high impact practices, soft skills, historically Black college and university, underrepresented student, experiential learning, workforce, employment

Disciplines

Higher Education

Abstract

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe soft skill development gains through high-impact practice internship experiences for Black students at an HBCU in the Mid-Atlantic United States. The theory presented informed and supported the focus of inquiry was Kolb’s experiential learning theory. This theory served as the theoretical framework for the study to answer the following central research question: What are the lived experiences of HBCU Alpha University students who participate in HIP internships? Participants included 10 Black students at Alpha University who completed an internship. The participants were selected using purposeful sampling. Data was collected through focus groups, interviews, and journal prompts. Data analysis included identifying codes and themes and a transcription process of participants’ responses with textural and structural descriptions to capture the essence of the students’ experiences. The findings addressed and answered the research questions of the stated purpose and theoretical framework of this study. The seven key themes were (a) impact of internship participation, (b) time management, (c) communication and creativity, (d) collaboration and critical thinking, (e) personal and professional development, (f) importance of supervisor interaction, and (g) multiple internship sources. Results revealed that 80% of participants were able to engage in tasks that encouraged soft skills and received weekly feedback with their internship supervisors. All participants were aware of services provides by the career center but only 20% engaged regularly.

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