New Program Provides Students with Best-In-Class Internships and Work-Based Learning Opportunities

September 10, 2026 byRob Sentz

6 min to read

Texas Connections Academy students test out IBM’s Innovation Studio, Austin, TX

On a hot Texas morning in early June, a handful of racecar drivers, devoid of hesitancy or caution, navigated around a curvy racetrack. They smiled and laughed as they passed one another, careening off course and back on again. Onlookers happily recorded the mayhem on their phones as cars charged through barriers, grandstands, and each other.

Sounds dangerous and expensive.

But it wasn’t.

The race was a video game. The venue was global technology leader IBM’s Innovation Studio in Austin, Texas. The drivers were Texas Connections Academy students. And the onlookers were parents, IBM employees, and school leaders.

The occasion?

The Connections Academy students and IBM mentors had recently completed a one-month virtual internship in which students were paired with IBM employees to work on projects designed to give students real-world experience in subjects ranging from cybersecurity to marketing.

At the end of the program, some of the students and their parents traveled to IBM to meet with the mentors face-to-face. The race the students participated in was held at IBM’s Innovation Studio, so students could gain hands-on experience with IBM’s cutting-edge AI technology and learn how it is being used in areas such as business and sports.

Ultimately, the real occasion for this unique collaboration was an effort to cultivate work-based learning: a critical skill and career development concept that Connections Academy has invested in heavily over the past few years.

*Texas Connections Academy students, parents, and school leaders meet with IBM mentors in Austin, TX*

The What and Why of Work-Based Learning

Work-based learning (WBL) is a structured program that connects students’ classroom learning to real-world career experiences. In WBL, students participate in internships, job shadowing, mentorships, or industry projects with business professionals, exploring careers that align with their interests. Throughout the process, students gain hands-on experience, develop professional skills, and build networks that can support future college or career opportunities.

Sunny Lee, a Texas Connections Academy high school principal who also participated in the IBM visit, praises WBL for helping students build confidence and see the value of their education beyond the classroom. “Ultimately, WBL creates stronger partnerships between schools and families as everyone works together to support student success and future goals,” she added.

Connections Academy is cultivating WBL partnerships with companies like IBM for several reasons.

First, parents and students understand the value of such partnerships. A 2025 Connections Academy survey revealed that parents’ greatest concern for their child’s future is their child’s ability to find career success. Parents are interested in internships and mentorships, which are arguably the best way for students to explore careers, develop professional skills, and gain real-world experience and connections with professionals. WBL answers parents’ concerns by providing a key link between the classroom and the workplace.

Second, work-based learning is an excellent way for students to explore careers, discover those that interest them, and identify what they might want to pursue after high school—all in an exceptionally low-risk way. If a student thrives with a particular internship or mentor, they can take the next steps towards a particular industry or career with confidence. At the same time, if they discover they don’t enjoy the subject matter, there is no harm in moving on to another opportunity.

Third and finally, given the tremendous popularity and competitive nature of internships, mentorships, and apprenticeships, relatively few students are able to land one while in high school. According to Mia Bartlett, Head of Impact at Connections Academy and creator of the internship program, “Only 2% of high school students have access to WBL annually.” The demand far exceeds the supply.

For all of these reasons, Connections Academy is expanding WBL opportunities for students by partnering with leading companies to create internships and mentorships. According to Sunny Lee: “Work-based learning directly supports our commitment to preparing students to be college-, career-, and life-ready.”

How Is Connections Academy Developing These Opportunities?

One of the first hurdles Connections Academy had to overcome was the assumption that internships must be in-person to succeed. But as the career team developed the program, they found that the internship's virtual aspect was an overall strength. The program's virtual nature helps the school recruit students and mentors more easily and allows students to connect with mentors more readily.

How so?

First, Connections Academy's virtual internship program makes it far easier for students and mentors with busy schedules to engage. A busy schedule is one of the leading obstacles keeping professionals from serving as mentors in internship programs. Add to this the fact that high school students spend most of their day attending school, completing homework, or participating in extracurricular activities, and it is exceptionally difficult for professionals and students to engage in internships.

Virtual internships, however, allow students and mentors to be flexible, connecting at times that are most convenient for everyone. Students don’t need to commute to an office building (and parents don’t have to figure out how to add yet another trip to the schedule), and mentors can sit in the comfort of their offices or homes to instruct and interact with students. The flexibility afforded by virtual internships is a massive time-saver.

Second, Connections Academy’s virtual program is more accessible to more students and mentors. In a traditional in-person setting, there will always be a geographic limit. A particular mentor at a particular business needs to be in close enough proximity to a particular student who is a good fit for the internship. Time and geography limit how many students and mentors can connect in a given week.

In contrast, a virtual program easily overcomes these limitations. Mia and the team at Connections Academy found that taking the internship opportunity online allows many more students and mentors to participate.

Third and finally, the virtual aspect allows Connections Academy to match students with mentors —regardless of location) — and to provide a common structure that is ideal for mentors and easy for students. Students who don’t live near major metros or close to participating companies can still jump into a real-world experience—a rare opportunity for students in smaller communities. This last point is a critical reason that Connections Academy’s virtual program can scale to any community and any business.

Connections Academy Runs the Administrative Side so Mentors and Students Are Free to Interact

Mia and the team at Connections Academy deliberately set out to create a structure that would make it easy for students and mentors to engage with each other. The program begins with the Intern Academy, a five-week program designed for middle and early high school students. The focus of the Intern Academy is to help students develop professionalism and become familiar with presentation tools such as Microsoft Teams, PowerPoint, and SharePoint.

The program then progresses to the Pearson Virtual Internships, a cohort-based, mentor-led experience where four to five students are matched with an industry mentor for five weeks. While interns do develop technical skills, the virtual internship is also meant to be a place where students can grow their soft or “human” skills (such as collaboration and communication), as well as develop their social capital in professional relationships with mentors.

And finally, students can apply for the Networking Bootcamp. In this program, students continue to develop their social networks and connections to professionals. They spend another five weeks learning how to contact professionals or alumni, ideally landing a summer job by the end.

Preparing Students for Real-World Career Success

Connections Academy’s WBL program is vital because it helps students discover and prepare for real career success—addressing one of the foremost concerns of today's parents and students. In the program, students connect what they learn in school to real-world careers and life skills. Through hands-on experience, they build confidence, communication, teamwork, problem-solving, and professionalism while exploring careers that match their interests and strengths. The program also helps students make informed decisions about college, training programs, and future careers by exposing them to actual workplace expectations and opportunities.

“For many students, work-based learning increases engagement in school because they can see the purpose behind their learning,” Sunny Lee noted. “It also helps students build resumes, professional networks, and industry experience before graduating, giving them a stronger foundation for future success.”

Explore the program further by hearing directly from the students and mentors who participated in the first iteration of the IBM virtual internship. To learn more about how Connections Academy helps students build confidence, discover their interests, and prepare for life after graduation, explore our online school resources and curriculum offerings available at a school near you.