Reflections

It has been a week since I have finished my work experience at the Department for Communities, and this will be my last post on this blog. I have chosen to only blog now as I wanted to be able to reflect on my time at the Department.

My last few weeks flew past in a blur- we had another intern join us for the same unit, so we worked together a lot. We went to an event called NAIDOC, in which the Department had a stall offering information and services to the public- and I learnt a lot about the setting up of a stall, and how to make it more appealing to the public, as well as drawing them in. NAIDOC is an Indigenous cultural festival held every year, so the target audience was also very different to engage with. I found that many stood back and just peered into the tent, seeming too afraid to come in and access the brochures we had available- as most were on depression, suicide, dealing with divorce and alcohol issues. The other intern and I then decided in order to distribute this sensitive information, we organised information bags with all the brochures in. However, resources could well be wasted in doing this- anyone have any ideas of how to do this differently in the future?

The rest of my time consisted on working on the “Living Histories” project, writing up stories for the intranet, and calling seniors featured in local newspapers about nominations for Seniors Week. I learnt a great deal whilst working with the Department, and am grateful for the experience! I hope everyone else has learnt as much as I have- this has defiantly reinforced the fact that this is what I would like to do for my career!!

LM

Ps: My media release I wrote in week one of my internship ended up being published in five newspapers, and once on radio! Not bad for a first go!