Internship Experience and Career Aspirations of Fresh Graduates from the Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management Program: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

This study investigates how internship experiences influence the career aspirations of fresh graduates from the Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management (BSHM) program. Using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) framework, the research explores how three internship-related constructs Clear Goals (CG), Menial Tasks (MT), and Support for Learning (SFL) predict three types of career aspirations: Leadership Aspirations (LA), Achievement Aspirations (AA), and Educational Aspirations (EA). Data were collected from 80 fresh graduates and analyzed using WarpPLS version 8. Results indicate that CG significantly predicts three aspiration dimensions, while SFL influences both LA and EA. Interestingly, MT negatively affects EA. The model showed good fit and reliability, underscoring the critical role of meaningful internship experiences in shaping the future trajectories of hospitality graduates.