In this article, I share the shape and findings of a participatory action research project with newcomer youths on the contours of status in society. This project was nested in a professional internship experience for newcomer youth, and this experience provided the context in which we explored how privilege and status are afforded in American society. I use here Mary Louise Pratt's concept of contact zones to frame the interactions experienced by the youth in their research and with each other. I provide implications for educators to re/consider the contrast of a project deliberately shaped to interrupt societal patterns of privilege with the patterns more traditionally found in schooling.