In Conversation with Ryan and Fadumah: 2024 Internship Reflections

It’s been an amazing six weeks for us who have now finished our internships at Empower. We feel like we have come such a long way since first starting and we couldn’t be prouder of the progress we have managed to achieve. If you needed a quick refresher, read what our expectations were in the first week.

We decided to sit down and have a conversation about how we have found it all, now that the dust has settled.

Ryan: It’s crazy like how fast this internship has gone by. But I’ve loved every moment of it.

Fadumah:I can’t believe this time next week, we’re gonna be saying goodbye to everyone essentially.

Ryan: I know it’s gonna be so sad, especially with all the amazing people we’ve met.

Fadumah: Yeah, definitely. I guess I could ask first – how have you found the internship so far?

Ryan: In terms of the internship I have found it really good. I was actually surprised how well I took to some of it. I thought I’d have a lot of trouble with different aspects perhaps coming to terms with data, or maybe work applications. But everyone was so helpful and It allowed me to take to my feet quite quickly. What about you? Was there anything you found quite surprising about the internship?

Fadumah: I was surprised by the variety of tasks we had assigned to us and then also how friendly and warm the whole team are. If we were unsure about what to do, they were more than happy to answer questions and even demonstrate things  for us. Whenever they could, they would offer help so that we felt settled and we felt like we understood the task, which I really appreciated.

Ryan: For sure, I mean, especially on that team day everyone was so welcoming and nice. It was so great to get an opportunity to chat to everyone and I think that’s something I really loved. Just being able to chat to so many different people whether it be Account Executives or Managers.

Fadumah: The team day was a key highlight for me too – do you have any other favourite moments from the internship?

Ryan: That’s a good one. I guess working on the data audit would be a favourite moment of mine. Mainly because of how surprising it was for me. I didn’t realise how much fun it would be considering I usually prefer utilising my creative skills over numbers.

Fadumah: For me I have similar feelings as well about the audit just having the opportunity to independently take on such a big task be trusted and also and almost model the type of work Empower does for its clients

Ryan: Exactly! I managed to feel like I could flourish and really take to data analytics quite naturally. I’d say Jed’s mentorship of the project really helped in that regard.

Fadumah: I agree, it was nice to learn from his insights and have time to discuss our opinions too.

Ryan: Also just being able to learn in your own time too.

Fadumah: I think my favourite part was just having access to different tools as well.

Ryan: Definitely. Using some of them really feels like opening whole new worlds, it’s great (laughs)

Fadumah: For the audit, we used Falcon and then EmailOctopus for creating the monthly Empower newsletter. These were both platforms I had never heard of before the internship so I really enjoyed using them.

Ryan: Did you have a particular favourite moment in the internship?

Fadumah:  It’s not a specific moment but I appreciate that we were just given time to get used to those tools and ‘learn by doing’ which I feel like has really helped in my confidence.

Ryan: Yeah for sure, mistakes are so important in the learning process and they can be kind of scary to experience especially on an internship when you really want to prove yourself. But again I really appreciated how welcoming everyone was in letting us know that everyone is in the same boat at the end of the day.

Fadumah: Was there something about the internship that you found challenging?

Ryan: That’s a good question. In terms of what I found challenging…… I guess making the most of the internship in terms of the tasks. You really want to make the most of these six weeks internship by doing as many tasks as possible whether it’s copywriting, asset creation, or data. I’d also try to attend as many meetings as I could and even try to organise one-on-ones. Having enough time for all these things can be tough especially as there’s only so much you can do in a day. But it’s a fun challenge and really encourages you to test what you’re capable of. What was most challenging for you?

Fadumah: Yeah, I understand how you feel about time and almost wishing that the internship was longer so that we could explore more. I think, for me, the challenging part was preparing for the audit and handling the data. I’m not a numbers person at all but having the independence and being given the time to explore was really appreciated. I’m excited to present it to the team on Wednesday!

Ryan: Definitely, that’s the thing! I really enjoyed the challenge as by the end of it, it felt so rewarding and I was glad to have done it in the first place.

Fadumah: To wrap this all up, what is one piece of advice you would like to give to next year’s interns?

Ryan: I would say never be afraid to ask as many questions as possible. It’s so refreshing that you can chat to anyone if you have a concern, whether it be Catherine, Jaz, your mentor or client work team. I’d even strongly encourage asking as many questions as possible because they’re always willing to listen and the answers are always super useful. Don’t be afraid to think that you need to know everything going into one of these internships, because by the end of it you’ll be so glad that you reached out. What about you?

Fadumah: With the internship being remote, the team really prioritise having weekly check-ins and catch up calls so that you don’t feel alone so make the most of those sessions to share your concerns and to get closer to everyone. My main piece of advice is to ask about the team’s experience working at Empower as well as other jobs. It’s a great way to understand small agency life and working in a impact-led role. It has helped me a lot to understand what I want from my career and the roles I’ll be applying to.

We’d like to end this by giving a huge thank you to both Empower and 10,000 Interns Foundation for providing us with this opportunity. It has given us so much and we can’t wait to read about how the next set of interns get on!