Over the last 3 months, Student Hubs has had the pleasure of working with four interns across the organisation. To wrap up their time with us, Alice, Zara, Liana and Sapthi wanted to share their experiences of being part of the team.
Their time at Student Hubs
Throughout their internships, the four interns achieved a lot. As Sales and Marketing Intern, Alice assisted our Partnership and Development Director, Fiona Walsh, with researching potential partners, working on our local Hub impact reports and creating a social media calendar for 2021-22. Meanwhile, Liana planned, promoted and Chaired the virtual youth board at Southampton Hub – an opportunity for students in the city to make their voice heard. Zara and Sapthi focused on our youth programmes, with Zara creating summer activity packs and Sapthi planning and delivering activity days for the young people on our Branch Up programme.
We asked our interns to tell us about their experience at Student Hubs. Alice shared:
“I myself feel prepared and confident to take the next step in my career aspirations in charity-work, marketing and communications, all because of the guidance and support of the Student Hubs team. I count myself lucky to have had this opportunity, in that I had the support I needed, but was also given the space to think independently and come up with my own ideas.”
Liana said:
“As an intern, I did not feel like I was ‘just’ an intern; I very much felt part of the team and respected by Student Hubs. My work was interesting not only because it was varied and tailored to my career goals, but also because of the real impact it had on students.”
Zara’s favourite moment was getting to pick up the printed activity packs they had put so much work into.
“I really enjoyed the process of making the packs and getting the chance to be really creative and work with an age group I am not familiar with!”
Finally, Sapthi shared:
“What I have really appreciated from my conversations with Student Hubs staff is that transparency and integrity is always maintained. This has made it so easy for me to approach members of the team for advice, support or just a casual chat! This experience has also taught me what it means to have a healthy and supportive work environment, which I really value.”
Their next steps
Each of our interns is going on to exciting things. Zara will be returning for their second year studying French and Spanish at the University of Southampton. They will be involved with the Hub as their new Branch Up Coordinator. Liana will be going into their third year of Geography and International Relations and has secured a job working as a Digital Communications Officer at Public Policy Southampton.
As a new graduate, Sapthi is looking to continue their journey working with young people through volunteer roles as a mentor and independent visitor. Alice has also recently graduated and will be spending the next few months travelling around the UK, continuing to work freelance as a journalist and creative writer.
Thank you
Sapthi, Liana, Zara and Alice have added so much capacity, energy and joy to the Student Hubs team this summer. Not only is the work they have created going to have a huge and long-lasting impact, but their fresh perspective informed so much of what we do and it was a pleasure working alongside them. All the best in your next steps and from all of us at Student Hubs, a huge thank you.
We also owe a big thank you to the Careers and Employability Service at the University of Southampton for supporting us with these internships. If you interested in working with a UoS intern, find out more on their website.