Extracurricular internships have benefitted students and organizations by providing exposure to the work environment and assisting in the development of job-related skills. The experience of internship can provide much more than a career-related opportunity. Internship may be a window from which to observe how individuals cognitively navigate unknown social spaces. How an individual contextualizes internship and how he/she attaches meaning to the experience may provide insight into the human process of learning and, specifically, how a complex human system adapts to change. This research study examines one such experience of internship in a secondary school setting in which high school juniors are immersed in the work environment for four weeks as part of their academic requirements for graduation. How an adolescent navigates and adapts to a foreign environment, having no daily support mechanisms such as friends, family, or teachers, will be explored.
