From Student to Intern: A New Phase

Greetings fellow course mates, I hope your internship and your placement is doing well so far. It is such an exciting phase of my life as I enter into the "working world" and it is even much more exciting as we are entering this phase together. I am very excited to hear your side of the story, so keep them posted!

Let me introduce myself. My name is Ivy Ong and I am Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication (Majoring in Public Relations) from Curtin University Sarawak. I am currently interning in Miri Marriott Resort and Spa, a 5-star international hotel. Never in my lifetime would I ever imagined myself working or being a part of such a well known hotel. I am grateful for this opportunity and would wisely spend my time working here gaining experience. It was such a mix of emotions wen I received my acceptance letter from this establishment. 

The interesting part about my internship here is that during the first week that I commence my training, I was placed in the operations department. To be more specific, I was placed at the front desk. It was definitely an experience I will never forget and it was such a good start to my training here as a Public Relations Trainee. So on the first of work, 23rd November 2015, I made sure I arrived on time to meet with Mr. Galvin, Human Resource Officer, at the hotel lobby (Ms. Edna, the training executive, was supposed to meet me but she was outstation giving training). He then brought me to his office to hand me a few documents to read and sign prior to commencing my training. I was then handed over to the associates at the front desk and they warmly welcomed me and introduced themselves. I was under the guidance of the General Relations Officers (GROs) in the front desk. Ms. Loni, one of the GROs, showed me how things work at the front desk and taught me what to do such as how to greet the guests. Only hours have passed, and the fellow front desk's associates have all become my friends and we grew close quite fast. Though tiring, it was a really pleasant first day I must say.

The following days, I was given more opportunity to get to know the establishment better. I was taught how they check in and check out guests, got to know the rooms available in the resort, toured around the establishment and was introduced to the different departments (and met much more associates along the way), met the managers and supervisors, including the general manager himself, Mr. Mark. 

For this first week adventure, I was reminded how to always humble oneself. Humility, to me, is such a word that is hard to comprehend. I was completely moved and beyond inspired by my fellow associates at the front desk. At times when guests scold them, even when it is not their fault, they just smile and apologize. So, being a curious person I asked one of the GROs, Ms. Nariea, whether they get offended and what do they do if such situations happen. Her exact words were, "we just let go". that literally wow-ed me because as human beings we tend to hold on to situations like these. This lesson and teaching was far beyond what I imagined to be one of my learning in this journey. I knew I should always be humble, but this was more of a revelation, something to grasp with the heart and not just the mind. 

My first week was filled with introductions, making new friends, learning new things and have hands on experience with guests, and relearning humility, perseverance and genuine smile. It was a good start and I am looking forward for the next. 

"I truly believe that everything that we do and everyone that we meet is put in our path for a purpose. There are no accidents; we're all teachers - if we're willing to pay attention to the lessons we learn, trust our positive instincts and not be afraid to take risks or wait for some miracle to come knocking at our door. 

- Marla Gibbs"

Best regards,

Ivy Ong         

17314578,
Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication,
Curtin University Sarawak.