From Little Things Big Things Grow

Looking back to where it all started I remember dreading starting my internship, where do I begin, where do I want to go, can I really do this, were all questions circling in my mind.
I think I speak for a lot of students when I say I was not looking forward to working for free and that some of the intern adverts looked a little dry, not quite as exciting as Samantha's office from the Sex and the City. But could I really be picky? I'm just a university student, and I'm definitely not the only one looking for a placement, so I should just be happy with anything I can get, right? Wrong!
If you start early enough and do your research you can find somewhere that fits you as well.

Fortunately for myself whilst social butterflying around Perth I began talking to someone who worked for Rugby WA and the Western Force. This organisation was the dream for me as an internship, because of all the rugby players walking around the office? Maybe, but mostly because I had always taken extra interest in sport. Throughout school I was always the sport captain and that didn't change when I arrived at Curtin becoming their sports captain in 2014. All my work experience and volunteer work had been with sporting events so Rugby WA just seemed like the next step up for me.
Networking is a handy tool for any students toolbox and thankfully that is how I found out that they were looking for interns for the upcoming season and eagerly asked for a direct contact that I could submit my interest to. After handing in my resume and acquiring an interview I received an email congratulating me on my new role in the partnerships team at Rugby WA and Western Force.

For a moment I had a sigh of relief, the hard part was over, or so I thought. Day one rolled around and I began to doubt my ability to 'PR', the 'what ifs began to appear in my mind, what if I have to write a press release on my fist day, what if I end up sitting alone at lunch, what if I forget how to send an email, what if I make a mistake. But day one interns don't stress, most tasks are simple, like spread sheets and data entry and all my tasks always came with a set of instructions to help me along the way. I also quickly learnt that the ability to ask questions was my greatest ally, no matter how silly I thought my question might have been, my manger was never frustrated at me and never thought my question was stupid. Asking the question helped to get the job done quicker and ensured it was done to the best of my ability.

As my internship continued my confidence built and the more tasks I was given. Towards the end I was able to walk into the office, sit down at my desk and continue working without any instruction from my manager. My what if's had faded away and I realised that every mistake I made throughout my time at Rugby WA had built me up to be a better intern, learning how to fix things myself and how to avoid making future errors.

Now at the end of my internship I realise that I was never working for free. Hands on experience teaches you things that you could never pick up in a classroom and I am so grateful to Rugby WA and Western Force for giving me this opportunity to grow and develop as a PR student. I now have the confidence I needed to take me into the next stage of life beyond university and I owe it to my internship.

'The Interns' and ladies from commercial services, celebrating our final Western Force home game together

The End of the Beginning

The End of the Beginning

By Alaine Bailey-Bentley Campus

Today was supposed to be my last day at Momentum Forum but unfortunately I was not able to complete it (although I had already completed by 20 required days previously). I had been up vomiting all night and had a fever. I had to call up Barbara regretfully and tell her I could not come to work as I still had a fever and abdominal pain. After going to the doctors he told me it was food poisoning. I wish I could have made up my last day but I begin work at my new internship next week so am unable to do it but I did thank Barbara sincerely for such a great opportunity-both on the phone and in email.

Working for Momentum Forum Events I learnt many things about how to form and maintain relationships with clients, advertise yourself to the public and companies, how to research and contact companies as well as other handy tools such as using Mail Chimp, designing a newspaper advert and writing media releases. It was definitely a worth while experience and I wish Barbara all the best for her next event, the Men in Black Ball which I know will be fabulous if the International Women’s Day Luncheon was anything to go by.

As for me and my future, I have gained another internship with a food blogger. After meeting with her, she promised to help me improve my written skills as well giving me the opportunity to manage her social media accounts (something I am very interested in as a Mass Communication student). She also mentioned that I will be involved in helping her created EDMs, a marketing calendar for her Crust pizza shop that she owns, as well as creating emails and contacting local sponsors for both her blog and her shop. I will always fondly remember Momentum Forum Events as a place that introduced me to the working environment and professional environment and for that I am eternally grateful. This internship has definitely been a worthwhile experience and my advice to future student of the unit is to choose somewhere that is in your desired field as you never know, but it may lead to a job opportunity after your internship completion!

Miri City Day 10th Anniversary 2015 Celebration

Hi everyone, once again I'm Diyana! This will be my final blog post about Miri City Council. I am very glad to be able to complete the minimum 20 working days at Miri City Council. Below are the pictures of Miri City Day 10th Anniversary 2015 Celebration. During this day on the 20th of May, I was assigned as one of the cameraman to take pictures of the event for Miri City Council.

The Enforcement Section are getting ready for the arrival of YB Datuk Bandar, Mr. Lawrence Lai Yew Son.

A few MCC workers I got acquainted with.

Some of the invited guests starting to fill in empty chairs.

The arrival of YB Datuk Bandar, Mr. Lawrence Lai Yew Son.

The Miri City Mayor gave his speech about developments of Miri for 10 years after it became a city in 2005.

Prize giving ceremony for the winners of The Most Beautiful Garden 2014/2015 contest

The opening of the Curtain of Seahorse Replica

Miri City Mayor taking photos with Miri City Council's staffs for their continued service.

I am very thankful to Miri City Council for taking me in to do my internship there at Public Relations Section. I have learnt a lot of things during my internship there, such as:

1. How to answer telephone calls,
2. How to entertain the customers,
3. How to deal with customer complaints
4. How to write official letters according to MCC's format
5. Informing organizations about event meetings
6. How to use a photocopy machine and fax machine
7. Key-in customer complaint in the TALIKHIDMAT online system
8. Maintaining a good relationship with the colleagues

 It was truly a wonderful experience, and it boost my confidence to perform better in the future in my selected career. This event will create more positive relationships with the stakeholders in the future.

Goodbye Corporate Communications

Yesterday marked my final day of internship with Corporate Communications. It was also Curtin Sarawak Open Day 2014. It was a fun-filled day, and I was exhausted from running around with a camera taking videos for Corporate Communications to use as promotional material.

Filming during Curtin Sarawak Open Day 2014

Sitting at home now I can’t help but reflect on my experience being a Public Relations Intern. I learnt more about how PR tactics are applied in the corporate world. I could link whatever I have learnt in class to what I experience or witnessed at work. Such as the importance of media clippings (at least my fingers will be ink free now), stakeholder management, media relations, communication plans, media kits and being professional at all times.

It has been a fun and educational journey that seem to end a little too soon. I’ll miss the daily jokes and laughs in the office but since I will still be on campus I’m told to just pop in anytime I am free, as they would love the extra help. I’ll also be assisting Marcella for the Curtin Media Appreciation Night 2014 to be held in November. Planning for that starts in October. Such excitement! For all those still doing your internship, have fun while you’re doing it and for those who completed and are struggling with the report, I feel your pain! Hahaha. 

For those finishing this semester, Happy Graduating! For the rest, hang in there.

Cheers,

Josephine Joeyna

The importance of Board Approval in Not-For-Profit organisations

So as we were coming close to the launch date of our new fund raising campaign 50K in 50 Days we have reached a massive obstacle that has stopped us from proceeding any further - Board Approval.

angelhands Inc. is a not- for-profit organisation and relies heavily on funding from sponsors and donations in order to sustain the services that they provide to the community. However the organisation is running on a $100,000 shortfall and needs to make at least $50,000 to cover themselves for a short period of time. Thus the need for the 50K In 50 Days campaign.

The board has put the campaign on hold due to some disagreements among board members and other issues pertaining to the campaign. Till then the launch date is yet to be confirmed. This is quite frustrating as my supervisor and myself have been working together with our team to ensure that we have the necessary ready within the previous launch date. However I have been made aware that such hindrances are commonplace in not-for-profit organisations due to the lack of resources and the need to wait for overheads for approval when making major decisions.

Although next week will be my final week with angelhands Inc. as part of my placement unit, I will continue doing PR work experience for them and will still be very much be involved in the work for the 50K In 50 Days campaign in the future.

So this is my final blog post, thank you for sharing your experiences. I wish you all the best for your future endeavors.

Till later,

Anastasia Arasu

Bentley Campus

15483214