Those who dream are resourceful and those who are resourceful make their dreams a reality

Friday 17 October 2014

Intern, Intern, Intern (and Study) ... ABROAD!

Source: The University of Sydney (http://sydney.edu.au/)

Journal Entry 8/26
Becoming a Better Me: The Internship Experience

My journey began at the University of Sydney Business School on August 6th 2014. I was interviewed for the position of marketing and communications intern by my two supervisors and was hired later on that day.

At first, I was quite skeptical about the internship since I had previously worked at the UCLA Anderson School of Management Executive MBA Program (Global Access Program) as a student assistant, and wanted to expand my scope and work in a different field. As long as I can remember, I have always been passionate about writing and journalism. Back home, I write for my newspaper every week and have been itching to interview and report ever since I arrived in Sydney, Australia. I wanted to intern at a company that pushed me to become a better writer and journalist. Little did I know, this internship would do just that.

I was surprised to learn what all this internship entailed. So far, I have been working on composing social media posts for articles and events (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook), posting and editing blogs for our Marketing Matters and Opportunity Blog, analyzing and tracking our social media likes, shares, followers and comparing them to other business schools and utilizing excel and PowerPoint for additional projects. Although I had used excel in my previous job, I had never explored its fancy features and format details.

So far, I have found editing to be my most challenging task. At UCLA, I worked as the Community Editor at the Daily Bruin for a couple months. After being an editor and adapting to a specific journalistic style of writing, I thought I knew everything to look out for. Editing the blogs has shown me how much I have to learn not only about editing but about my own writing and grammar. I find myself constantly googling words for possible spelling errors (ex. Australians spell some words with an ‘s’ instead of a ‘z’ (realise)) and grammar mistakes such as semicolons and apostrophes. After reflecting on my internship and my own writing, I feel as if this is my weakness, something I will have to constantly strive to better myself at. With hard work, a little research each day and a positive attitude, I believe I will be able to improve my editing skills for my internship, future employers and the journalism world.

Journal Entry 9/9
A Holistic Approach to Education and Self

These last couple weeks I have worked on the goal I had set for myself in my previous journal, which is, researching universal grammar rules and rules only specific to Australia writing. Although it has not been the most exciting task, I have found that researching one rule (ex. use of commas) each day before work has immensely helped me with editing blogs throughout the day. Although I do not have the best memory and revert to “googling” words and sentences to double check my judgment, I feel as if I am more confident in editing and presenting my findings to my supervisor.

Lately, I have been doing more than editing and posting the MBA, Opportunity and Marketing blogs. My supervisor has extended my editing sphere to include proof reading our business school’s e-newsletter, a monthly letter with various articles featuring clubs/societies, professors, financial donors, etc. In addition to editing the letter, I look over the design of the page and check all of the links online to ensure everything looks professional and runs smoothly. I have caught a few errors and have presented them to my supervisor (something I feel extremely proud about).

Besides editing, I have been learning an immense amount of knowledge in the area of marketing. For our monthly e-newsletter, we use the online platform “campaign monitor.” This site traces our online distribution, audience, subscribed, unsubscribed, soft bounce and hard bounce emails. At first I was quite scared to tackle on this project of tracking down and recording these figures since numbers and math is not my strong suit. After a short information session with my supervisor, I no longer felt scared to try, rather, I felt excited to undertake such an interesting assignment that lies far beyond my realm of expertise.

Although I wouldn’t choose marketing as a career, I found the exercise in using a tool that marketers use to be very exciting and eye opening. I had never realized how much companies really do take note of our every move online and how this information can assist in catering to customers and employers.

Ultimately, my reflection from these last couple weeks can be defined as “you learn something new every day.” May it be researching, learning new editing skills, or testing the waters of a different career, every experience I have encountered so far has contributed to not only a holistic approach to my education, but also, of myself and what I can achieve.

Journal Entry 9/23
Career: A Way of Life

My normal tasks I complete during my day to day shift have gone smoother and faster than they have ever been. Lately, I have been working on our September social media power point report in addition to my other responsibilities. I have found myself sifting through the statistics with ease and confidence as I prepare the report. I have learned that with time comes confidence and experience in the workplace.

Because of my familiarity with my tasks and the increased speed in which I have accomplished them, my supervisor asked me if I would be interested in writing a blog for the Big Opportunity page after editing and posting the MBA students contributions like I normally do. I more than jumped at the opportunity and felt privileged to be able to complete such a task that I felt was extremely valuable in helping me grow as a writer. After I wrote my blog for the business school, I reflected on what had gotten me to this very point. As a marketing and communications intern, personal blogging is not usually tied with the job. I realized that because of my hard work in the office, my supervisor probably wanted to provide a creative outlet for me as a thank you for my efforts. With hard work comes a reward so bright and wonderful which makes the work not seem like work at all, rather, a learning process to the ultimate prize of self-growth.

This week I celebrated my 21st birthday, which did not go unnoticed by my coworkers. I was pleasantly surprised with a pre-birthday morning tea since my birthday was the following day. I was absolutely blown away by their kindness and good vibrations for me. They showed me how much they cared by taking the time from their own busy schedule just to wish me a happy birthday and ask me about my plans. In that moment, I understood why the business school functioned so well. Because of my co-workers’ natural concern for people and their caring demeanor, their professions were more than just a place of work to them but a way of life.

From this simple but impactful experience, I learned that no matter what profession you go into, you must believe in what you do and give your best in everything. Success can be equated with having a positive attitude and genuine care. May it be a birthday or an assignment, a person’s true character will always shine through and will not go unnoticed by a supervisor or by a thankful intern.

Journal Entry 10/15
It’s a Wrap

As of October 20th 2014 I will have officially completed my 120 hours working at the University of Sydney Business School as a Marketing and Communications intern. These last few weeks have seemed to fly by as my supervisor has kept me busy with my normal projects with an added bonus of assisting with photography shoots of the Business School faculty. I have learned the importance of lightening, background, and people in taking photographs. While analyzing the photographer, I focus on the way in which he creates a “safe” environment of positivity and humor. Although some of the faculty members came in nervous and pessimistic in being the subject of the photograph, the photographer and myself joked around and made the experience fun and enjoyable. In effect, the faculty members left with smiles not only for the camera, but also for themselves.

From this seemingly insignificant experience, I learned more about the business industry than I ever thought I could. In any career we choose, we must learn how to connect with our co-workers in order to sustain a comfortable environment of mutual trust (ex. the faculty members trust that the photographer will take a flattering photo of them). While an exchange or a business deal can be just that, we must go the extra mile to encourage and motivate others to aspire to their full potential (ex. the photographer encourages the one being photographed to smile so as to capture the most beautiful and authentic picture of happiness). If so, the other person we do business with will remember us as a hardworking and driven individual and will network with us in the future. In other words, you reap the benefits of your work in full and only get out as much work as you decide to put in. So why not dive in feet first, splashing in a couple mistakes along the way and learning from them, until completely submerged within the best reality we could have never dreamed of. Living passion.

My time here was short, but the benefits I have received are everlasting. I came into this program with a skeptical view of how much I could really learn from a seemingly familiar job I had worked at before. My initial perspective couldn’t have been more incorrect. What I have gained is more than I could ever write on a resume. Through sociological lenses, it is the way in which we communicate. It is diligently working, genuinely caring about your cause, and always trying to better yourself. While my internship may be over, the path to my own definition of success has just begun.



Sunday 12 October 2014

On the Road: A Pathway to Growth

An account of my mid-semester break in Australia.

Check out the adventure here. A blog contribution to The University of Sydney Business School.

In addition, check out an earlier post of mine, Beyond Borders . I discuss the differences between Australian and American cultures and education. A blog contribution to The University of Sydney Business School.