--------------- posted on behalf of Samantha Lew----------

Just how fast time flies, it has come to the end of my internship at LEWIS, almost. Tomorrow will be my last official working day, which is going to be terrifying. Not because i am leaving the company, but due to the amount of work i have to clear and organise for the handover. I can already visualise what a crazy day it will be at the office tomorrow! Nevertheless, there is something that I am really delighted and have been looking foward to, no more doing of ridiculously mundane work. Thank goodness!

Anyway, since this is the last entry for my internship, I will wrap up with my overall opinions of being an intern. As far as i am concerned, i think being an intern really equates to cheap labour. Not to make it sound so negative, this probably does not happen to everyone, and not all companies treat interns the same way. I had quite a few negative encounters at work and it is an insult to me. For instance, there were boxes of computer hardware in the storeroom and nobody refused, or maybe, did not have the additional time to check through the inventory, so as the intern, i had to do it. I mean, like opening one cardboard boxes after another, and counting each and every single item, jotting it down and then simply putting the figures into a spreadsheet. Also, as the only intern, i had to travel down to the client's office alone to do an inventory list and to update it, which meant more counting and mundane, brainless work. On top of that, there were also occasions when i had to do coffee-runs for the clients and my co-workers (that said, it was also due to the fact that i was an intern). Why am i certain? This is because I was told that everyone else was busy and i was the only one who had less 'valuable' time. Truthfully speaking, i did not mind doing the coffee-runs at all. I liked them in fact. I do not like the feeling of being cooped up in the office the entire day, so the coffee-runs did make it seem like taking a breather, a time for me to get my mind off work. However, what i did not like was the mentality that they had, about me having less valuable time and that i probably did not have tough jobs like them and so forth. These few instances are sufficient to explain the rationale of an intern being a form of cheap labour in the company.

Before i end off the entry, i must say that despite the bad moments i had at LEWIS, it has been a good lesson for me, in terms of gaining lifelong skills, life values as well as to really experience the life of a working adult. I have been a student for the past 17 years or so, and it is finally time for me to step out into the society. Undeniably, i do have my fear about leaving school. As all should know by now, it is always fine for a student/intern to make mistakes, and this, unfortunately, does not apply to working adults. The world is cruel. Sometimes, mistakes can be trivial, but the world would be less forgiving towards you once school is over. With that, i am really excited for the upcoming months and my days of job-hunting after graduation.

All the best, everyone!

Samantha Lew Gui Ling
14681923