INTERN OF THE YEAR

I remember doing an internship at a radio company.

It was part of a “summer internship programme” organised by my school. A few selected students could choose an industry and they'd be referred to relevant companies for a month-long programme—basically a scheme to make sure we didn't waste our vacations away. My top choice was a multinational organisation, but as fate (or my school) would have it, a media company was chosen for me.

Now I know many think internships are hard and the interns work their behinds off in different departments for little to no remuneration; often times the remuneration being a generic-formatted recommendation letter from the supervisor. I used to be one of the first ones to show up at work, and even took work home. Initially stationed with the marketing team, I ended up working with production, human resources, and even a few shining minutes as an “Outdoor Broadcaster”.

Totally irrelevant to my line of academia, and somewhat related to what I do now, I regard my one month as an intern to be one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I met a bunch of great people, did a lot of creative work but most importantly for a young person, learned first-hand about the professional settings at work.

Best part: the free food and listening to music 24/7. Can't beat that.

— Kazi Akib Bin Asad, Sub-editor, SHOUT