Hello! We are Empower’s summer 2024 interns and have joined through the 10,000 Able Interns programme. Following the success of last year’s first internship for Empower, we are excited to be their second cohort of interns. Read on to learn more about us and what we’ll be doing.About usRyan – Hi, my name is Ryan and I’m a recent graduate from the University of Exeter with an MA in Creative Writing. Alongside writing my own personal projects, I take the time to always enjoy a good story, whether it be a book, film, show, or game. Since graduating, I’ve been eager to apply my creative skills to anything I might get the chance on, which has thankfully led me here to Empower Agency.Fadumah – Hi, my name is Fadumah and I am going into my final year at the University of Birmingham studying International Law and Globalisation. My interests include travelling and film photography which I often combine as a way to express my creativity. I also love getting involved with important initiatives at my university such as working as a mentor for Year 12 students or being involved with societies on campus such as Black Law Students Society.About 10,000 Able Interns10,000 Able Interns is an organisation which aims to provide disabled students and graduates with internships that span across multiple industries, ranging from Marketing and Advertising to Corporate and Investment Banking. Alongside this, 10,000 Able Interns provides training on how to excel at applications and interviews as well as how to ensure you gain the most out of your internship experience. At Empower, we’ve been paired up with individual mentors (Jed and Ally) who have received training from 10,000 Able Interns to support us throughout our internship with weekly mentoring sessions.Why we chose Empower and how we preparedRyan – The 10,000 Able Interns Programme offered the chance to work in many different industries, but it was marketing especially that appealed to me the most. As such, they got me into contact with Empower for the opportunity of an internship with them. Empower already stood out with an accommodating interview process, as well as further introductory calls to offer more context on the company itself. It seemed clear that Empower was the right choice at this point of my early career, with both its chance to further develop my skills and manageable preparation.Fadumah – Marketing is an industry I wanted to explore as I am considering careers outside of Law and Empower seemed like the perfect mix between aligning with my desire for an impact-driven role and a new industry to try out . Initially, I really appreciated how committed Empower was to making the interview process as smooth and as accessible as possible. Before my interview, I was given time in advance to prepare for the set task which involved presenting my social media content ideas to the team. It was clear that, after the interview, Empower could see my interest in their commitment to positive social impact and that my lack of marketing experience was not an issue as they had a structured 6-week internship ready to help me learn as much as possible.What are we most excited about experiencing?Ryan – There are so many exciting things to choose from that it’s hard to just pick one! If I did have to choose though, it would be the chance to do some video creation and editing for clients.Fadumah – I am most excited about improving my copywriting skills and developing my proficiency with key platforms in digital marketing. I would also like to use this internship to get to know the team better to understand how they approach career planning, upskilling and navigating the world of digital comms. How was our first week at Empower?Ryan – What stood out to me most in my first week was how friendly and welcoming everyone was. Especially on our in-person Team Day, it was so great to get to know everyone on the team. They were so reassuring and willing to answer any questions I had concerning the weeks ahead. If I had any doubts about my position in the company, they were definitely cleared up by then. It makes me so excited for what’s coming next.Fadumah – My first week at Empower was really fun and interesting as this is my first time working for a remote-first company. The team made a great effort to make us feel welcomed with 1-2-1 intro chats and check ins as well as a whole Team Day on Wednesday for us to meet everyone in person. So far, we have had a lot of reading and training sessions to fill in gaps in knowledge and I am excited to apply it all in the upcoming weeks.We are really excited to engage with all the upcoming training we have and get involved with client work and marketing tasks. You can look forward to our work across Empower’s social channels as well as our follow-up blog post in July.“It’s been such a joy welcoming Fadumah and Ryan to Empower already, they’ve made such an impressive start, communicating, jumping into tools and onboarding – even presenting their Manuals of Me, to the whole team in person on their third day with us! We learned a lot hosting David and Sena are last year, and are excited to build on those foundations.” Jaz Cummins – Empower Co-FounderLearn more:What’s it like to be an Empower intern? David and Sena tell all 10000 Interns Foundation
