It was that time of the year where students had to get away from school for months and be surrounded by work environment and professionals for their training and preparation for the “real world” after graduation. Yes, the time for internship had come.

After almost three weeks of searching and applying to different companies that could best help with improving my skills and potentials for my chosen future career, I finally decided to take the opportunity of becoming an intern at Origo. Sure enough, I was fortunate to be part of the team even in just a very short period of time.

Here are the surprising things I have experienced inside the company:

TREATED LIKE A REAL TEAM MEMBER

Internship can be very difficult for students. With all the adjustments and the expected “terrifying” new tasks, you’d think you would not survive the internship for the next two weeks. But not for me. Origo made my internship somewhat lighter than I expected without sacrificing the quality, and that’s because of the people or the team members I got to work with during my internship. Almost everyone treated me like one of their own, and that added to the confidence I needed. Just the little “Hi’s” and “Hello’s” and the invitations to some activities from the team made my days better.

WELL-PROVIDED FOR

During the search for the company that I would be interning at, I dreaded that some of the companies I applied for would require personal laptop and corporate attire. True enough, some of the companies did require them. That was somewhat difficult for me as my brother and I share a laptop for school purposes, and the corporate attire would only add to the struggle. Worse, some of the companies informed that I would not be getting my hands on any of their computers for the tasks. As an intern expecting to be trained with tools needed for my growth, that was a bit disappointing.

Here came Origo! At the end of my interview, I was waiting for them to  require the things that the previous companies did. Surprisingly, nothing was required from me. I came on the first day of my internship and they set up my computer/workstation immediately, with notebook and pen on the desk. They even gave me a locker I could use for my personal stuff. A weekly allowance was also granted to me, something that my fellow classmates were not given by their companies. For a student who was on a tight budget, the allowance was favorable. Also, having a shuttle service I could join anytime was one less thing to worry about when it came to transportation.

A SENSE OF PROFESSIONALISM

Coming from an environment where everything is usually casual, I immediately observed the sense of professionalism at the company. The way their teams carried out their tasks was something overwhelming to me. From sending emails to attending small meetings, I learned to cope with the kind of culture Origo has even in the smallest way possible. I took this as a very good opportunity from the company to prepare myself for the corporate culture I could be working at someday.

IMPROVED MY SKILLS AND POTENTIALS

To prepare me for the kind of career I want to pursue in the future, I decided to be trained for something that I was passionate about, although many people would call it a stray from the type of course I was currently taking up during my internship. However, I can proudly say that the internship I took at Origo was worth it, considering I improved the skills and potentials I had while I was interning at the company. I may not have done a perfect job, but the assistance, encouragement, and the constructive criticism from the manager and the team helped me achieve a more improved work.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Taking an internship is a good opportunity for students to prepare and improve themselves for the career they want to pursue after graduation. In my experience at Origo, I had a really good training not just in the career itself, but also in the way I needed to present myself. Just like what Country Manager Hart Dizon said, I landed in a very good company.  Indeed, it was true.