This transcendental phenomenology study was designed to examine the phenomena of the paid internship portion of the North Carolina Principal Fellows Program (NCPFP) through specific graduates of the universities that offer the scholarship. The study aimed to answer the following research question: How does the paid internship experience from the MSA program at state universities help graduates prepare for successful leadership in today's challenging educational environment? A portion of this study also looked at how to answer the previous question through different standard alignment of principal preparation standards and specific North Carolina state standards. Principal preparation programs nationwide must be updated with different curriculum designs, establishing multiple pathways, and updating policy and reform efforts embedded within (Davis et al., 2005; Levine, 2005; Murphy et al., 2008), along with embedding different ways to provide mental health support and current professional development strategies (Herman et al., 2022). For this study, graduates from the NCPFP program answered a series of questions through phenomenological interviewing to help answer how the paid internship experience aided their preparation as future school leaders. The themes of professional networking, crisis management, and authenticity of practice were found as critical aspects of their internship experience. The findings of this report aligned with the NELP standard 8 (2018) that the internship experience is a necessary process in principal preparation and different instructional strategies are needed in preparing the future leaders of our K - 12 education buildings. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]