A Journey's End - The PR Journeyman IV

Hey fellow interns,

This is Blade finally signing off from my internship at Volunteering WA, with my last day being on the 20th of May. My last day was relatively quiet, but when I arrived at the Office I was greeted with a gift bag on my desk containing wine and chocolates as a thank you for the work I had put in over the course of my internship. To be honest, it was quite touching that their appreciation had reached that far - I was simply happy to just help out.

When I reflected back upon from when I'd started there, and leaving on my last day - the one thing that really stood out to me that had changed was how much more comfortable I was in the office. It was much easier to chat casually with the staff, who had been nothing but friendly and invited me into their close knit family. It felt awkward to be saying goodbye, but I suppose one can't intern forever! As a small token of my appreciation, I purchased 2 bottles of wine for the office - it had been somewhat of a dilemma trying to decide between getting something for everyone or specifically my supervisor, but everyone had been far too welcoming and nice to me so I wanted to say thanks to everyone.

Although Volunteering WA wasn't necessarily where I pictured my first internship being, it was a pleasant surprise that completely surpassed my expectations. To be able to work alongside people whom so tirelessly dedicate their time and effort to furthering the community in such a positive way was a real honour, and to any future interns looking for placements I would highly recommend VWA without hesitation.

Now, although I don't think I was perhaps the perfect intern - I was pretty pleased with the outcome of the work I had produced for them, and it was a positive learning experience of some of the occurrences I should expect as an upcoming professional. Things such as reporting to a supervisor, thoroughly editing your work and comprehensive attention to detail are sometimes easy things to forget or process with varying levels of effort - but in PR we should always be striving for a high standard of communication and enthusiasm.

Funnily enough, the Gala Dinner and Awards Night had left me with another situation. I've previously done some volunteering work before, but it has been a considerable time since my last commitment. However, there was a particular award recipient called the YMCA Big Brother, Big Sister program - which essentially recruits volunteers in a buddy program with children from diverse backgrounds. This was something that really resonated with me, so I decided at the close of semester I would apply to be taken into the program.

I just want to give a particular mention to everyone at VWA - especially Jen Wyness and Felicity Stevens who I worked so closely with over my internship. To say thank you for allowing me the freedom to be creative and explore my ideas, and also for making me feel like a part of the team - it was really fantastic.

To all my fellow interns, we're almost there! And to those finishing up their placement, or those who are just working on their reports - good luck, and god speed. Thanks for reading my posts over the semester, and I look forward to seeing how everyone else finished up.

Blade Shaw
14755556