This study evaluated the University of [BLINDED] Circularity and Digitalization Skills Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates (CD‑Skills REEU), a 10‑week summer program designed to immerse students in authentic research and extension activities related to circularity and digitalization in agri‑food systems. The objective was to determine whether the program was successful and to identify the specific features students perceived as most influential to their learning, confidence, and career intentions. A qualitative end‑of‑program focus group (≈70 minutes) was conducted with all ten participants. The discussion was audio‑recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using an inductive thematic approach supported by a nested codebook (five parent themes; twenty sub-themes). Interpretation was guided by a three‑level theoretical framework integrating social constructivism, experiential learning, and social cognitive theory. Students consistently described CD‑Skills as a qualitatively different experience from prior coursework or lab exposure. They emphasized authentic, end‑to‑end project ownership—often their first opportunity to design questions and methods—which fostered competence, confidence, and emerging researcher or “ag person” identity. Participants reported clearer graduate‑school intentions and stronger understanding of research careers. A layered mentoring ecology provided modeling, feedback, and belonging, with graduate mentors playing a particularly influential day‑to‑day role. Cohort interactions offered grounding and community, especially for students working independently in labs. Students highlighted coherent learning activities linking lab work, field visits, and weekly sessions, which supported systems thinking and sustainability perspectives. They also identified operational features that protected research time, such as predictable scheduling and role clarity. Negative cases (e.g., underprepared site visits, last‑minute changes) revealed predictable failure modes and pointed to actionable improvements. Overall, participants characterized CD‑Skills as transformative, high‑impact, and trajectory‑shaping, reporting learning gains that exceeded typical semester‑long coursework. Findings suggest that authentic ownership, layered mentorship, coherent experiential design, and operational guardrails are key mechanisms supporting successful undergraduate research experiences.