I have always been a fan of social media – I believe that as the generation of fast Internet and intense hyper-connectivity, we should embrace all that it entails or face being left behind. In our present age, social media goes beyond the personal and can be utilised to bolster and promote companies and businesses. This is something that I am interested in and I am therefore very thankful for the chance to work with the NUS Office of Student Affairs (OSA) and Residential Life (RL). I have learnt loads.
As a marketing and communications intern with OSA RL, I was creating content for the RL blog, Instagram account, and Facebook page. This was a process I thoroughly enjoyed. I had many ideas, perhaps some more feasible than others. I loved writing simply – in a way that accessible for the average person, for leisure. Taking photos and designing graphics for our Instagram page was also fun and a break from regular school work and assignments.
Nevertheless, as with any situation, when there are ups, there are downs. Balancing this internship with school was a challenge. As a third year geography student, semester two meant starting on our thesis. I was basically writing all the time. Time management was crucial because a blog post cannot be churned out in an hour. You’d have to think of an idea, run it through our manager (Bell :)), start writing it, find/take photos, have it edited, and then finally upload it onto the blog. While it may seem like a tedious process, I saw it as a break from academic writing and found ways to make writing enjoyable.
In the months of May and June, I was also based in Thailand for my thesis research. Writing about NUS while being away from NUS was strange and a lot harder than I initially imagined. Internet connectivity, something I always take for granted, wasn’t particularly great where I was too. Bell helped me with posting on Facebook and was extremely patient when I submitted stuff late.
Sticking to a schedule and producing a blogpost every week was another thing I found challenging. Planning ahead and writing in advance was necessary to keep up with the weekly uploading schedule. Being creative and having ideas for interesting posts every week was tough as well – I have tried but I am still disappointed with some of my posts.
All in all, this internship experience with NUS Residential Life was fulfilling as it allowed me to try out something new and I ended up really enjoying it. It also allowed me to appreciate living on campus in NUS a lot more. If you ever have the chance to do something similar, why not try it out!
