Teachings of a Senior

Senior Moments, an event in which the BA Comm seniors impart their valuable knowledge onto younger communicators, was held last Wednesday on July 5 via Google Meet. Many juniors, as well as some of the lower years, were able to attend the session. As the HTE talks come to a close, here are a few of the memorable advices I have gathered from the event:

Have Manners
- In terms of decorum, this one’s the most important because it shows what kind of person you are. As a future intern, brushing up on one’s good manners and right conduct is a must as this is going to be the attitude you’re showing your peers and superiors. Make sure to greet everyone with a smile and a cheery good morning/afternoon/evenings, regardless of their position at your internship. Whenever you have to use a facility or equipment, handle everything with care, clean up after yourself, and return them to their rightful place. Last but certainly not the least, look the part of a professional intern by being presentable both on face and outfit.

Be Respectful
- Being respectful, especially to your superiors, is a crucial thing to remember. As you’re just a student-turned-intern, being mindful of the hierarchy should be taken into account whenever you talk with anyone at your internship. Make sure to address the people with their respective titles that come with their position as well as use the customary “po” and “opo”.

Be Early
- As an intern, you’re going to have a lot of responsibilities to fulfill and being early can help a lot with that. The more time you have to start your duties, the early you’re going to finish so being late during your internship is detrimental. Consider your time in preparing yourself, what transportation you’re going to take to get to your internship, and the traffic you might experience when getting there.

Coordinate with fellow Interns
- Your internship may be about passing your 4th year and graduating but it could also be a group effort in terms of coordinating with your fellow interns. Your duties should not be shouldered by yourself alone, you can find help and companionship with the people you went there with. Collaborative projects require coordinating with others so make sure to be open to the idea of teamwork.

Be Open-Minded
- For the tasks ahead, being open-minded to every idea and change can help quite a lot. This means your creative process is not limited to anything and has room for better ideas in regards to your duties.

Be Confident
- Being shy about anything will get you nowhere and knowing what you want and need to do helps you in overcoming that aspect. Whenever your task requires you to ask for something or to interview someone, your confidence can help boost you as an intern.

Be on Call
- Being ready and alert does wonders as intern because this means that you are already expecting the messages and tasks you’re eventually going to get at your internship. Everyone is able to contact and reach you faster in regards to you duties if you’re alert.

Be Versatile
- Last on the list but certainly something to keep in mind: Being versatile when your roles and tasks may change can greatly make a difference because that means nothing can catch you off guard, which in turn cannot throw you off focus as an intern. Being grounded is a sign of a strong character as well as a dedicated one.

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