Today we say farewell to our intern Naphtali as she goes on to continue her studies. Here’s a little snapshot of her life at Pepper, in her own words.
Secondary school life ended for me in June 2017. I was finally free and able to make up for all the sleep I lost. I chose to take a gap year. Unlike most of my friends, I did not know what exactly I wanted to do with my life. However, I did know that I wanted to experience new things. Having lived a very sheltered life, I wanted to jump into the world of work but I still wanted a safe environment. I was very fortunate to be offered an internship at Pepper.
Day 1
My first day was quite a day. Lucky me mixed up the address and sat outside the wrong office for almost an hour. It wasn’t until I checked an email that I realized I was wrong. After that ordeal, I made it in time. As I walked into the colourful office, I was greeted and given my own desk. My very own desk. I don’t know why I was excited about it but I couldn’t help it.
Within the first month I felt safe but challenged. Each new task allowed me to learn. I had to force myself out of my comfort zone. As an introverted person, I dreaded phone calls and interacting with clients. This job forced me to accomplish tasks that seemed insurmountable. To be honest, I didn’t grasp certain things until much later on. Eventually, I became relatively competent in the practice of human interaction in the work environment. Trust me, I still get a mini heart attack before I have to make a call.
The Teachable Moments
This internship was not just an internship. It was learning to interact with different people. It was learning how to react to different situations. It was problem solving. It was about taking initiative. It was time management. It was developing perseverance. It was working in a fast paced environment for time to time. It was about knowing your purpose. It was learning to speak up. It was about going brave. It was good laughs. It was communal lunch. It was about being open. Even though I had my daily responsibilities, every week was something different. One day I was delivering packages and the next day I was on a real set with actors and a crew.
During this internship, there were many teaching moments. These lessons were not necessarily in front of a black board, but they were very engaging. I learned how to complete clerical tasks such as filing, data entry, spreadsheets and my favourite thing on this earth, phone calls. I was also taught some of the basic concepts of marketing for a competitive world. I was able to improve my writing skills as I was often prompted to write little things like press releases or product descriptions.
From this experience I learned the importance of marketing/advertising in today’s world even though I don’t intend to pursue that path. Personally, I would like to study something very science based but I now see the benefit of incorporating business and/or marketing into my future endeavors. I learned so many things that I will never forget.
