My Internship Experience – Social Impact Work

Disclaimer: Below is solely my thoughts and observations as an intern. They do not represent the position of the organisation in any manner.

It’s has been around 2 months since I have joined Soristic as a Research and Community Events Intern and it’s been a thrilling experience thus far. Since this is my first internship, I was not very sure about what to expect especially in the area of social impact work that Soristic does. However, I wanted to immerse myself in the social sector and learn as much as I can during my time here. So as a personal reflection, I have recorded several points that I have realised during my stint in Soristic. Here are some of my takeaways:

•   Unpredictable and Reactive Work

Based on my time here, I have come to realise that the social sector can be highly reactive and at times unpredictable. Due to the nature of the work, there is always a need to gather the latest information or news so that the work remains highly relevant to all the stakeholders involved. This means that there is always a need to be aware of the social issues on the ground and its developments. For those who enjoy more fast-paced work, I would recommend it to you.

•    Learning Attitude, Open-Mindset and Teamwork

In this space, I have realised that there is really so much to learn from everyone. In order to maximise manpower and efficiency, oftentimes we would request help from other interns or staff especially when we are unsure of certain matters or lack the experience and expertise for assigned work. For instance, I learnt how to use the application “Canva” (among other useful programs – Google Jamboard, Google Classroom, PowerPoint Icons) which helped tremendously in multiple projects. And for social impact work, I have also gained exposure to certain skills such as landscaping of programmes with the guidance of the team. Of course, these traits are not limited to only this area of work, and I am highly certain that those are transferrable in different sectors as well.

•  Being Inquisitive and Thinking Critically

I will always remember the amount of rigour required especially when obtaining or researching information about various organisations and social causes. Many times, I find myself not able to find certain data despite googling for it. This means that I have to dig out certain documents from publicly available websites or academic databases in order to find the information that I seek. To some, this can be quite challenging as it requires more than just an internet connection or decent logical deduction– at times, you will need to also be critical about the information that is available and make smart inferences based on these data.

 I have truly benefited a lot from this experience thus far and I am more than grateful to everyone involved in this internship. Special thanks to all the full-timers for the guidance and assistance – Pauline, Juliana, and Yoke Pean as well as the interns and volunteers for all the laughter and joy we had – Jingmin, Meijun, Denise and Erra.

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I am left with about 1 week before my internship ends and university is about to begin as well. Not too sure about what to feel regarding that but I am really happy that my summer break has been very fulfilling — and I hope everyone is having an enriching break too before school resumes (for those who are currently studying). As always, thank you for reading this article and feel free to let me know if you have any questions about my internship experience if you are interested too in this space.