To Understand is to Perceive Patterns.

I was a little overwhelmed during the first few weeks of my internship at Sarawak Oil Palms Berhad (SOPB) but it was an amazing feeling being able to learn and to grow as a person. I have yet to end my internship so here's what I was involved with during the second/third week of my internship and what I have learned so far.

Immediately after joining the PR Department at SOPB, I was trained to multitask. The clock is constantly ticking and time was on no one's side. You either get the job done or die trying (dramatically put). I had to learn fast and use whatever time I had extremely efficiently. I really learned how important managing time is here at SOPB.

One of the events that I had the opportunity to be involved in was SOPB's Family Day. The PR team was in charge of decorating the hall and also the blood donation drive to be held on the same day. Throughout my experience being involved with the event, the one major lesson that I have learned is this; understanding is no less important than planning.

As I was part of helping out during the blood donation drive, I witnessed that most SOPB staffs volunteered to donate blood which was really great BUT most failed to do so. Their heart rate was either elevated or they lack of rest. It is important to understand that to donate blood, the basic requirements is to be in a relaxed state, not to consume alcohol 24 hours prior to donating blood, have at least 8 hours of sleep and not to be involved in any vigorous activities beforehand. But as it is a Family Day, SOPB staffs joined games and activities which made them unfit to donate blood on that day which drove the blood donation drive to be a lackluster one. Not to mention SOPB hosted their annual dinner the night before the Family Day, contributing to the lack of rest.

It was a lesson well learnt to all and hopefully, there will be proper understanding of the "do's and don'ts" when planning and carrying out an event.

To end on a lighter note, here's a picture to share of me and my colleagues and the blood donation drive team on SOPB's Family Day! 

 

Me (top right) with my colleague (top left) with the blood donation drive team.

Till then, cheers! Have a great internship!
Sabrina Lim

p.s. Quote in title is by Isaiah Berlin.