Finding my path
An Evaluation of the HACU-HNIP Internship Program
1 Purpose
In fall 2020, HACU retained AG consulting , L.L.C. to conduct a longitudinal analysis of the National Internship Program (HNIP). This report summarizes HNIP goals, the conceptual grounding of the evaluation, methodology followed, main findings, conclusions and recommendations.
2 HNIP four goals
Provide professional experiences for students from HACU member institutions and other colleges and universities; experiences that will enable students to make more educated career choices.
Expose students to research, development, technology, and career opportunities in the public and private sectors.
Present or make available to interns information that will assist, train, and prepare them for potential career opportunities.
Supplemental academic study with practical applications in their major fields and related disciplines
3 Conceptual grounding
We relied on several perspectives to guide our focus groups and survey design. These approaches ranged from Bandura’s theory of sources of self-efficacy (1986, 1994), social cognitive career theory (SSCT) (Lent et al, 1994, 2000), goal theory (Locke & Latham, 1990), to organizational theory perspectives (e.g., Drezner, 2018, Kezar, 2018; Weerts & Cabrera, 2021).
4 Methodology
4.1 Main approach
We adopted an exploratory sequential mixed methods design (Creswell, 2013) to assess the impact of HNIP
4.2 Research questions
What is the impact of the HNIP program on students’ educational and professional readiness?
What are the gains in professional competencies among HNIP alumni?
What are the civic outcomes among HNIP alumni?
Are there differences in the outcomes of alumni from NSF and Non-NSF sponsored internships?
4.3 Guiding perspectives for survey design & evaluation
4.4 Survey development
5 Key Findings
5.1 Demographics
HACU-NSF graduates are representative of the US population. However, Latinos of Puerto Rico origin are over-represented, while Mexican Americans are underrepresented. Nearly 60% of HACU-NSF graduates are first generation college students. And seventy-four percent of them are the first in their family to pursue a STEM degree.
5.2 Agencies interned at
HACU alumni interned at 31 agencies. Forty-two percent of HACU-NSF graduates interned at NSF (20.2%) and USDA (21.4%) see Figure 1 . Forty-two percent of non-NSF alumni interned at USDA (34%) and Library of Congress (8%). In terms of disciplinary foci, 56% of HACU-NSF graduates interned at STEM related agencies.
5.3 Exposure to professional opportunities
More than 50% of HNIP graduates reported being exposed to important professional and academic experiences, while being assisted in connecting with professional and policy organizations in DC. Most of the HACU-NSF alumni agreed the internship introduced them to STEM majors as well as career opportunities open to STEM graduates. They also learned about the connection between STEM and social sciences. Most HACU-NSF graduates reported exposure to professional settings and opportunities for professional development. Next to non-NSF graduates, HACU-NSF alumni reported higher levels of exposure to research conferences and policy organizations in DC.
| Percentage of HNIP alumni reporting internship provided exposure to professional opportunities | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Vicarious experiences | Overall | HACU-NSF | NON-NSF |
| Professionals in DC | 80.9 | 87.8 | 76.6 |
| Professional settings | 95.0 | 95.3 | 94.8 |
| Professional development | 93.2 | 91.2 | 94.0 |
| Careers not considered | 84.2 | 83.5 | 84.7 |
| Majors not considered | 66.0 | 71.3 | 62.8 |
| Being confident in data analysis & presenting | 74.5 | 71.4 | 76.6 |
| Research conferences | 54.3 | 67.1 | 45.3 |
| Policy organizations in DC | 72.1 | 79.2 | 67.7 |
| Role models | 88.8 | 92.9 | 86.1 |
| STEM majors | NA | 63.5 | NA |
| STEM careers | NA | 63.5 | NA |
| Connection between STEM & social sciences | NA | 79.2 | NA |
5.4 Quotes from participants
“[The Internship] … really opened up the doors, as far as, these are all the careers that are available if you study this. And in the same way, it helped me understand what I liked, what I didn’t like.”
“I appreciated the exposure to the different conferences. And they did have, what at least they said, it was required to go to some professional development meetings. So, I attended those and they spoke about no resumes or communicating different aspects of just working and of being a professional.”
5.5 Mentor’s role
Mentors’ social persuasion is a key feature of HNIP internships. Across all academic and professional contexts, HNIP alumni report levels of satisfaction with the mentor above 50%. In the professional arena, the mentor: a) facilitated attending professional conferences, b) assisted in internship projects, c) helped in identifying agencies to intern at, and d) assisted in developing networks. In the academic arena, the mentor allowed the interns see opportunities with different careers, and advised them in the selection of graduate programs.
| Percentage of HNIP alumni reporting mentor provided support | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Social persuasion | Overall | HACU-NSF | Non-NSF |
| Facilitated attending professional conferences | 70.7 | 76.4 | 66.3 |
| Advised in selecting a career | 63.6 | 65.3 | 64.2 |
| Provided support for internship projects | 86.7 | 79.2 | 83.7 |
| Advised about potential graduate programs | 57.0 | 60.6 | 58.7 |
| Advised about opportunities associated to careers | 77.9 | 75.7 | 79.8 |
| Advised about employers who support grad education | 54.7 | 63.8 | 48.5 |
| Identifed agencies specialized in business & technology | 56.8 | 65.2 | 51.0 |
| Facilitated connections with NSF program directors | NA | 68.3 | NA |
5.6 Quotes form participants
“The two mentors that I worked with in the earth science division were both women. I mean they were great. They just really gave me a lot of help and support. And when I would check in with them about the project, they were engaged, they were interested in it. I never felt like I was just their intern that they were like, go in the corner intern and be quiet for the whole summer. I really felt like the work I was doing they cared about, and they wanted me to do and they valued the quality of my work and they trusted it. And they also took the time to talk to me about grad school and to sort of go over, is it worth going right away? Is it better to sort of get a career? Or to develop a career a little bit? And they took the time to sort of coach me through that.”
5.7 Reduction of stress
More than 50% of HNIP alumni agree that pecuniary support from HACU played a key role in their internship. HACU-NSF reported lower levels of satisfaction with housing (80% vs 90%), and transportation support next to non-NSF alumni (65% vs 91%).
| Percentage of HNIP pecuniary support played a key role | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Reduction of stress practices: | Overall | HACU-NSF | Non-NSF |
| Housing stipend | 85.8 | 80.4 | 90.1 |
| Transportation stipend | 78.5 | 65.0 | 90.5 |
| Financial support | 91.3 | 88.7 | 93.4 |
5.8 Mastery of professional soft-skills
More than 50% of HNIP alumni reported that the HACU internship helped them to develop 6 out 8 of soft skills. The three top ones were communication (82%), teamwork (68%), and time management (66%). The plots in Figure 2 display the percentage of HACU graduates reporting gains in professional soft-skills by type of internship program. Among HACU-NSF alumni, see Figure 2 (a), the top three professional competencies are communication (83%), teamwork (74%), and project planning (65%). In contrast, among non-NSF alumni, see Figure 2 (b) , the top three professional skills are are communication (82%), time management (68%), and teamwork skills (65%).
5.9 Mastery of professional hard-skills
Across all HNIP alumni only two competencies displayed gains at or above 50%: Microsoft programs (72%) and technology (e.g., Zoom, Google products) (49%). In terms of type of internship, Figure 3, HACU-NSF gradutes’ top three skills are: Microsoft programs (78%), technology (60%), and job interviewing (51%), Figure 3 (a) . Among non-NSF graduates Figure 3 (b) , Microsoft software was the top skill mastered (68%). Like their HACU-NSF counterparts, just 31% percent reported being able to prepare professional vitae.
5.10 Self-Efficacy
HNIP alumni overwhelmingly agree that their internship experience was instrumental in providing job opportunities. However, less than half of HNIP graduates report that the internship had an impact on their actual pursuing of a graduate degree, completing a baccalaureate degree, or securing their current job. HACU-NSF alumni displayed higher percentages of agreement that the internship had an impact on their pursuance of graduate education (40% vs 29%), and their completion of a BA next to non-NSF graduates (36% vs 24%).
| Percentage of HNIP alumni agreeing internship had an impact on career/job related outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Career/job outcome | Overall | HACU-NSF | Non-NSF |
| Pursuing graduate education | 33.2 | 39.7 | 29.3 |
| Completing a BA degree | 28.6 | 35.6 | 24.4 |
| Job opportunities | 82.7 | 83.6 | 82.1 |
| Current job | 40.3 | 36.9 | 42.3 |
5.11 Satisfaction with the internship
HNIP graduates are highly satisfied with their internship experience in terms of clarification of academic goals, and confidence in pursuing a graduate degree and a professional career. Three quarters agree the internship allowed them to see what a graduate education could do for others, while enhancing their self-efficacy in their pursuit of graduate studies. HNIP alumni regard HACU internship as a “golden stamp” in their vitae. Most alumni would participate in the program again, would recommend it to others, and are willing to be part of the HACU alumni network.
| Percentage of HNIP alumni agreeing HACU internship was connected with important outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Career/job related outcomes | Overall | HACU-NSF | Non-NSF |
| Mentors helped to see graduate education was within reach | 75.0 | 74.2 | 75.5 |
| Internship enhanced perspective of what an advanced degree can do for others | 76.9 | 76.8 | 76.9 |
| Potential employers impressed with the gamut of experience gained at HACU internship | 78.4 | 81.2 | 76.8 |
| HACU internship is a “golden stamp” in resume | 75.6 | 77.8 | 74.4 |
| Would recommend HACU internship to others | 96.6 | 100.0 | 94.7 |
| If had the chance to do it over again, would participate in the HACU internship again | 93.2 | 95.9 | 91.7 |
| Willing to being part of HACU Alumni Association | 82.0 | 86.3 | 79.7 |
5.12 Civic engagement
HNIP graduates display higher levels of participation across all 9 civic behaviors than the national sample of Latinx college graduates (Guzman & Cabrera, 2022). Civic engagement among HACU-NSF graduates is characterized the most by voting and serving as funds of knowledge and support for their families and communities.
| Percentage of HNIP alumni reporting engaging in prosocial behaviors | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Prosocial behavior | 2019 Latinx college graduates | HACU-NSF | Non-NSF |
| Vote in local and national elections | 80 | 90 | 93 |
| Participate in mentoring programs (e.g., career support programs for young professionals) | 45 | 63 | 51 |
| Support Latinx leadership programs | 42 | 79 | 71 |
| Participate in political rallies | 30 | 47 | 43 |
| Write to elected officials | 20 | 48 | 25 |
| Give to non-profit organizations | 45 | 68 | 65 |
| Give to undergraduate institution | 15 | 32 | 31 |
| Encourage members of own community/family to engage civically | 75 | 89 | 86 |
| Share information (current events and/or politics) with community/family | 73 | 80 | 86 |
6 Conclusions
HNIP reaches its target population.
Alumni reflects the richness of the Latin America diaspora.
60% of HNIP-NSF alumni are first generation college students.
74% of HNIP-NSF alumni are the first in their family to pursue a STEM degree.
HNIP programs offer a rich variety of agencies to intern at:
- 56% of HACU-NSF interned at STEM related agencies.
HACU National Internship Program (HNIP) has a positive impact on underrepresented students’ career choices.
92% HNIP alumni report internship strengthened their confidence to pursue a career.
HNIP alumni display strong vocational self-efficacy prompted by mastery of competencies and positive contextual influences consisting of role models, strong mentorship, and pecuniary support.
Positive HACU-NSF environment also allowed interns to overcome self-doubts to pursue education or a career (“impostor syndrome”).
HACU-NSF graduates displayed civic engagement levels above the national norm of civically engaged Latinx college graduates.
HACU-NSF graduates are satisfied with and loyal to the internship
6.1 Quotes form participants
“I want to share how pivotal an experience this is for 1st generation undergrad students, like myself. It completely changes what you think you’re capable of. I would strongly suggest that the HNIP be enforced as a requirement for all participating MSI’s to send a cohort of Freshman, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors every summer through this program. I can only imagine what I could’ve gone on to do at UTEP had I participated earlier in HNIP. Thank you to all the administrative staff that work behind the scenes to make dreams come true for all of the alumni!”
“It has been a lifeline to professional careers for my wife, me, and my little sister. We had good grades, work ethic, and the degrees, but no professional network. All of us excelled and impressed in our respective jobs once given the opportunity and put in that professional setting. We have no idea how we would have bridged that gap otherwise.
7 Recommendations
Strengthening preparation for academic and professional careers.
- HNIP is most successful in having an impact on job opportunities and readiness for graduate education, but not so for current employment or degree completion
Identifying critical skills
Only a third of HNIP graduates report mastering professional vitae.
Only 20% of HNIP graduates report being proficient at statistical software, a critical skill in STEM related fields.
Not clear if employers value the 21 competencies HNIP currently stresses.
Address NSF chilly climate
- Puerto Rican interns report negative experiences when engaging NSF personnel, accessing its facilities.
Harnessing HNIP alumni loyalty
HACU’s LinkedIn presence has limited marketing value .
Consider enhancing the role of HACU alumni Association as a potential partner.
8 Selected references
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