Hi all,
Just posting up the last entry for my internship at Kaplan Aspect! :)
Week 4, 17th August 09
My last day at Kaplan Aspect was a surprisingly busy one. Being unable to head down to work everyday since semester 2 started, I really had my work cut out and waiting for me on the final day of my internship. As it was going to be the last time that I would be doing any more work for Kaplan, I really wanted to perform my duties to the best of my abilities and leave the company and my boss on a good note. The things that needed to be completed before I left were: the creation of a full-colour A3 size scoreboard to keep track of the current leaders of Kaplan Aspect's 'Masterchef' students, 2 informational brochures advertising Kaplan Aspect's new courses, 1 visual based newsletter for a recent Kaplan excursion to Kakulas Bros; which is a huge wholesale shop selling exotic Mediterranean and Continental food, as well as create a personalised 'Thank You' card for Kakulas Bros, the kind sponsor for our excursion to their awesome gourmet and speciality food shop located in the heart of Northbridge.
As expected, I was under a tremendous amount of stress trying to finish all of the above mentioned by the end of the day. Also, I am a bit of a stickler for detail, so I really wanted everything to be absolutely perfect before giving it to my boss. Thank goodness it all worked out well and I even managed to surprise myself by getting all the work done by 5pm that day! My boss (Julianne) was really sweet; before I left for the day she bought me a little muffin and wished me the best of luck in my future endeavors... and told me that I could call her anytime if I ever needed anything! :) This truly touched me and I'm ever so grateful for having such a wonderful mentor and boss during the course of my internship. The 20 days that I spent at Kaplan Aspect were very meaningful to me and definitely counts as one great life experience that I'll remember and cherish for a long long time. :)
________________________________________________________
reflection
Before I began my internship, I was a little apprehensive about it as I've never worked in a professional environment before and did not have any prior knowledge of the corporate world. Looking back, I now find it a little funny how I was so worried about my interview that I practically lost sleep over it! I think that PR 393 has really helped to prepare me for the working world; I am no longer afraid of going for interviews since I now know what to expect as well as what is expected of me. I can safely say that I have more self-confidence now; after working in an environment and country so completely different to the one I grew up in (Asia), I definitely think that I am ready to face the corporate world head on after I graduate and move back home. :) Being around so many students from all over the world has been the best part of it all - I love getting to know different kinds of people as well as learning about the many cultures and languages that they bring along. Most importantly, working in an international organisation has taught me how to be more understanding and tolerant of so many things that I've never given much thought to before. :)
I hope all of you have enjoyed your internships as much as I did! Best of luck to those who are still in the midst of it! Thanks for reading my reflections :)
Claire Heng
Curtin University Bentley
Showing posts with label Kaplan Aspect Perth - Claire Heng. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kaplan Aspect Perth - Claire Heng. Show all posts
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Kaplan Aspect Perth (III)
Hello all,
Again, picking up from where I last left off with my blog reflections :)
Week 3, 5th August 09
Can't believe it is almost the end of my internship at Kaplan Aspect.. semester 2 has already started and I have switched from working every day of the week (I was working mondays - fridays during the July holidays) to working about twice a week.. only a little bit more to go till I complete my 20 days. And just when I've grown accustomed to working 9-5s!It is a somewhat bittersweet feeling, knowing that I soon have to leave Kaplan. I've grown so attached to it, even though eating lunch in West Perth on a daily basis has really burnt a big hole in my pocket! :P Seriously though, I am truly grateful for the time I spent there and will most definitely be sad when the time comes for me to leave.
Speaking about leaving and bittersweet feelings, this Saturday my Taiwanese group of students will be heading back to Taiwan. Already their one month study/excursion course is over and I have to say, their spoken English has definitely improved by leaps and bounds.. their command of English has become so much better during this one month! I'm really happy for and proud of them as I know how hard it can be. :) This semester, I am taking Japanese as an elective so I can totally relate to the difficulties of learning a foreign language. In all honesty, I didn't expect that I would make so many new friends within the Taiwan group.. perhaps from the start there was a sort of affinity between us; we were both only at Kaplan for one month and because we also shared a common tongue - Mandarin - it somehow brought us closer to each other. Again, I am really thankful for all the wonderful things that have happened during my internship. Who knew I'd actually make so many good friends during that short period of time? :)
This week has been a busy one at work as we are preparing for the graduation ceremony and farewell barbeque lunch at King's Park for the Taiwanese students. I have been working very closely with my boss, Julianne and the events coordinator (Keeley Nut) to organise and plan the whole process.. it is extremely important that everything goes according to plan on their final day here. We must ensure that they leave with a good memory of Kaplan and of course Perth! This is why we are planning to take a walk from West Perth to King's Park after the morning graduation ceremony - it will give the Taiwanese students some time to soak in the sights and hopefully be able to see how beautiful King's Park is now that the worse of winter is finally over. For this event, my main duties will be taking care of the graduation ceremony - I have to make sure that all the Certificates of Attendance are in order and that the correct names (both in English and Mandarin) are written on properly. As I am the only one in Kaplan that has a relatively okay (but not fantastic at all!) command of Mandarin, my boss Julianne has put me in charge of handling the many details of the Taiwanese group throughout the month, from making sure that their allowances are handed out promptly on time, to finalising passport arrangements, to handling their Taiwanese survey forms (completely written in Mandarin, I might add!) and now making sure that their Certificates are good and ready to go. I just hope everything goes according to plan and that their last day in Perth will be a happy one for all. Most importantly, I am glad that I am of help to my boss and that she trusts me enough to let me handle such important aspects of Kaplan.
___________________________________________________________
Reflection
It has been 2 months since my Taiwanese friends left, and we still often talk through MSN and Skype. My internship has taught me the importance of 'networking', which in this context is, making new friends that will hopefully help you during the course of your working life. I think that maybe when we all graduate from university and have found our first job, there will come a period of time when we will be very occupied with work and our professional lives that we might not have time to actually go out and 'meet people'. Therefore, in my opinion, we should grab every opportunity that arises and make the effort to actually build lasting relationships whenever we can; you never know who or when can help you and vice versa. It is a comforting thought to know that if I ever decide to head to Taiwan to work, I would not be alone over there. :)
I hope all of you are enjoying your placements!
Claire
Curtin University Bentley
Again, picking up from where I last left off with my blog reflections :)
Week 3, 5th August 09
Can't believe it is almost the end of my internship at Kaplan Aspect.. semester 2 has already started and I have switched from working every day of the week (I was working mondays - fridays during the July holidays) to working about twice a week.. only a little bit more to go till I complete my 20 days. And just when I've grown accustomed to working 9-5s!It is a somewhat bittersweet feeling, knowing that I soon have to leave Kaplan. I've grown so attached to it, even though eating lunch in West Perth on a daily basis has really burnt a big hole in my pocket! :P Seriously though, I am truly grateful for the time I spent there and will most definitely be sad when the time comes for me to leave.
Speaking about leaving and bittersweet feelings, this Saturday my Taiwanese group of students will be heading back to Taiwan. Already their one month study/excursion course is over and I have to say, their spoken English has definitely improved by leaps and bounds.. their command of English has become so much better during this one month! I'm really happy for and proud of them as I know how hard it can be. :) This semester, I am taking Japanese as an elective so I can totally relate to the difficulties of learning a foreign language. In all honesty, I didn't expect that I would make so many new friends within the Taiwan group.. perhaps from the start there was a sort of affinity between us; we were both only at Kaplan for one month and because we also shared a common tongue - Mandarin - it somehow brought us closer to each other. Again, I am really thankful for all the wonderful things that have happened during my internship. Who knew I'd actually make so many good friends during that short period of time? :)
This week has been a busy one at work as we are preparing for the graduation ceremony and farewell barbeque lunch at King's Park for the Taiwanese students. I have been working very closely with my boss, Julianne and the events coordinator (Keeley Nut) to organise and plan the whole process.. it is extremely important that everything goes according to plan on their final day here. We must ensure that they leave with a good memory of Kaplan and of course Perth! This is why we are planning to take a walk from West Perth to King's Park after the morning graduation ceremony - it will give the Taiwanese students some time to soak in the sights and hopefully be able to see how beautiful King's Park is now that the worse of winter is finally over. For this event, my main duties will be taking care of the graduation ceremony - I have to make sure that all the Certificates of Attendance are in order and that the correct names (both in English and Mandarin) are written on properly. As I am the only one in Kaplan that has a relatively okay (but not fantastic at all!) command of Mandarin, my boss Julianne has put me in charge of handling the many details of the Taiwanese group throughout the month, from making sure that their allowances are handed out promptly on time, to finalising passport arrangements, to handling their Taiwanese survey forms (completely written in Mandarin, I might add!) and now making sure that their Certificates are good and ready to go. I just hope everything goes according to plan and that their last day in Perth will be a happy one for all. Most importantly, I am glad that I am of help to my boss and that she trusts me enough to let me handle such important aspects of Kaplan.
___________________________________________________________
Reflection
It has been 2 months since my Taiwanese friends left, and we still often talk through MSN and Skype. My internship has taught me the importance of 'networking', which in this context is, making new friends that will hopefully help you during the course of your working life. I think that maybe when we all graduate from university and have found our first job, there will come a period of time when we will be very occupied with work and our professional lives that we might not have time to actually go out and 'meet people'. Therefore, in my opinion, we should grab every opportunity that arises and make the effort to actually build lasting relationships whenever we can; you never know who or when can help you and vice versa. It is a comforting thought to know that if I ever decide to head to Taiwan to work, I would not be alone over there. :)
I hope all of you are enjoying your placements!
Claire
Curtin University Bentley
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Kaplan Aspect Perth
Hello everyone,
Its been awhile since I posted up entries, I was in the midst of moving house and have been living without the internet for a month or so! Thankfully i'm back on track now :) My internship at Kaplan Aspect has already been completed and while I didn't get a chance to blog during that time, not to worry, I did do my reflections on soft copy.. hehe.
so let's see where I left off!
Week 2, 27th July 09
I am about halfway through my internship and I am really starting to love every moment of it! The pace is definitely picking up and I am motivated to do my job well at work. This week, our office is buzzing with excitement because we are getting ready for our monthly "Quiz Night" event, created specially for our international students to be able to have a fun night out while having an opportunity to practice their English. :) Although the Quiz Night (QN) will be taking place at the end of the month, preparations have to begin now, and everyone is busy running around trying to get the extra QN workload completed on top of the normal duties that they already have.
My duties for Quiz Night include the designing of QN tickets, QN menus and drink lists, QN posters and road map directions as well as the creation of name badges for Kaplan Aspect staff members. Of course, this can only be done in the office for a few hours a day before lunchtime as after that I have my event coordination duties (bringing the group of Taiwanese students around Perth) as well as my visual-based newsletters to complete. A busy period indeed! But how quickly time passes - Mondays to Fridays at work seems to go by in a flash; it really feels completely different to a week at uni :P
However, it also goes without saying that the stress level at work has also increased. With a lot on my plate to handle, there is a certain pressure on me to make sure that things are done correctly, done nicely, done on time, and most importantly, done only once. I learnt this the hard way - a couple of days ago, I was asked to create an A3 full-colour poster advertising "DVD Friday", which is a weekly screening of 3 English movies held at Kaplan that aims to help students improve their English. After spending a whole morning on the poster, I printed it out.. only to realise that I had forgotten to change the printer's paper to A3 and the poster got printed on an A4 sheet! This was a huge waste of color ink and although my boss was really nice about it and told me not to worry, I felt quite bad and have thus decided to be more diligent, in order to avoid making these mistakes again, especially when all of my work (newletters, posters etc) involves Publisher and the use of color ink.
________________________________________________________
Reflection
Looking back, I have come to realise that as a PR practitioner, the quality of the work you produce is equally as important as the work itself, if not more. I can't emphasise enough just how necessary it is to always proof read and double check everything before sending it to print, and always make sure that every detail is correct and done as professionally as you can; because that piece of work will be a reflection of you, as well as a representation of your organisation. My internship has taught me many valuable lessons that money can't buy, and I am really grateful (still) to have been able to work under such an understanding boss and mentor. :)
I hope all of you are having a great time with your internships!
Claire Heng
Curtin University (Bentley)
Its been awhile since I posted up entries, I was in the midst of moving house and have been living without the internet for a month or so! Thankfully i'm back on track now :) My internship at Kaplan Aspect has already been completed and while I didn't get a chance to blog during that time, not to worry, I did do my reflections on soft copy.. hehe.
so let's see where I left off!
Week 2, 27th July 09
I am about halfway through my internship and I am really starting to love every moment of it! The pace is definitely picking up and I am motivated to do my job well at work. This week, our office is buzzing with excitement because we are getting ready for our monthly "Quiz Night" event, created specially for our international students to be able to have a fun night out while having an opportunity to practice their English. :) Although the Quiz Night (QN) will be taking place at the end of the month, preparations have to begin now, and everyone is busy running around trying to get the extra QN workload completed on top of the normal duties that they already have.
My duties for Quiz Night include the designing of QN tickets, QN menus and drink lists, QN posters and road map directions as well as the creation of name badges for Kaplan Aspect staff members. Of course, this can only be done in the office for a few hours a day before lunchtime as after that I have my event coordination duties (bringing the group of Taiwanese students around Perth) as well as my visual-based newsletters to complete. A busy period indeed! But how quickly time passes - Mondays to Fridays at work seems to go by in a flash; it really feels completely different to a week at uni :P
However, it also goes without saying that the stress level at work has also increased. With a lot on my plate to handle, there is a certain pressure on me to make sure that things are done correctly, done nicely, done on time, and most importantly, done only once. I learnt this the hard way - a couple of days ago, I was asked to create an A3 full-colour poster advertising "DVD Friday", which is a weekly screening of 3 English movies held at Kaplan that aims to help students improve their English. After spending a whole morning on the poster, I printed it out.. only to realise that I had forgotten to change the printer's paper to A3 and the poster got printed on an A4 sheet! This was a huge waste of color ink and although my boss was really nice about it and told me not to worry, I felt quite bad and have thus decided to be more diligent, in order to avoid making these mistakes again, especially when all of my work (newletters, posters etc) involves Publisher and the use of color ink.
________________________________________________________
Reflection
Looking back, I have come to realise that as a PR practitioner, the quality of the work you produce is equally as important as the work itself, if not more. I can't emphasise enough just how necessary it is to always proof read and double check everything before sending it to print, and always make sure that every detail is correct and done as professionally as you can; because that piece of work will be a reflection of you, as well as a representation of your organisation. My internship has taught me many valuable lessons that money can't buy, and I am really grateful (still) to have been able to work under such an understanding boss and mentor. :)
I hope all of you are having a great time with your internships!
Claire Heng
Curtin University (Bentley)
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Kaplan Aspect Perth (1st week)
Hi all,
I started my internship with Kaplan Aspect Perth on the 3rd of July.. which was very exciting for me due to the nature of the organisation - Kaplan Aspect Perth is an international English school that offers courses to students who wish to learn English in Australia while experiencing Australian culture at the same time. Being an international student myself, I immediately felt very much at home in Kaplan's multicultural and diverse environment. I was also very pleased to be given tasks straight away, which includes the creation of newsletters and posters as well as events coordination duties.
At Kaplan, the newsletters are to be mainly visual-based because they will be distributed overseas to our target audience and market, which are predominantly non-English speaking people or countries, therefore it has to contain more photos and simplified text for easy understanding. This was challenging for me because I've never done anything like that before, but it was great fun to be able to use my creativity to convey stories through visuals. I am also very happy that I was allowed the freedom and space to use my initiative for the assignments given to me.
However, the highlight (or highlights, there were several!) of my week were definitely my event coordination duties. A group of 20 students from Taiwan has just arrived in Perth for a one month study/excursion course with Kaplan and my duties include assisting the events coordinator with the planning and execution of daily activities as well as snap photos of the students on their excursion trips for the newsletters. So far we have visited the animals at the zoo, gone roller-skating and played ten-pin bowling - while it is a challenge having to plan and execute these activities every day for a whole month, I am definitely not complaining! It's awesome that I get to see more of Perth while working. :) I am surprised at just how much I am really enjoying my internship at Kaplan because it is so much more than a desk bound job.
All in all, I had a great first week!
Let's hope it will be good till the end... :)
Claire Heng
Curtin University (Bentley)
I started my internship with Kaplan Aspect Perth on the 3rd of July.. which was very exciting for me due to the nature of the organisation - Kaplan Aspect Perth is an international English school that offers courses to students who wish to learn English in Australia while experiencing Australian culture at the same time. Being an international student myself, I immediately felt very much at home in Kaplan's multicultural and diverse environment. I was also very pleased to be given tasks straight away, which includes the creation of newsletters and posters as well as events coordination duties.
At Kaplan, the newsletters are to be mainly visual-based because they will be distributed overseas to our target audience and market, which are predominantly non-English speaking people or countries, therefore it has to contain more photos and simplified text for easy understanding. This was challenging for me because I've never done anything like that before, but it was great fun to be able to use my creativity to convey stories through visuals. I am also very happy that I was allowed the freedom and space to use my initiative for the assignments given to me.
However, the highlight (or highlights, there were several!) of my week were definitely my event coordination duties. A group of 20 students from Taiwan has just arrived in Perth for a one month study/excursion course with Kaplan and my duties include assisting the events coordinator with the planning and execution of daily activities as well as snap photos of the students on their excursion trips for the newsletters. So far we have visited the animals at the zoo, gone roller-skating and played ten-pin bowling - while it is a challenge having to plan and execute these activities every day for a whole month, I am definitely not complaining! It's awesome that I get to see more of Perth while working. :) I am surprised at just how much I am really enjoying my internship at Kaplan because it is so much more than a desk bound job.
All in all, I had a great first week!
Let's hope it will be good till the end... :)
Claire Heng
Curtin University (Bentley)
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