our roots

The Power of an Internship
By Charlene Chelagat
To me, this is not work for I could
say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to it.
I
have never worked a day in my life!
You must already think I am lazy or spoilt, so let me set the record straight. I do not
mean helping my mother mark files in her office, or making deliveries for my aunt
who sells shoes, or running errands for my sister’s company. To me, this is not work for
I could say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to it. Secondly, I could come and go as I please, and thirdly, it was
not required of me.
But come the last year of my study
at Daystar University and internship
came knocking. This marked my entry
into the working world. The first thing
I had to learn is discipline. My working
hours were 8.30a.m. to 5.30 p.m. From
a life of selecting my classes to suit my
desires - classes that sometimes took
at most 6 hours of my day, and where
sometimes weekends would begin on
Wednesday afternoons depending on
my time table, I was now expected to
work 56 hours a week and sometimes
put in extra hours whenever required.
I had to quickly learn the discipline of
time management, and how to plan
my days well so that I can work, and
still have a social life. Did I mention
that I had to wake up before the crack
of dawn to beat the notorious Nairobi
traffic jam?
In the seven weeks of my
internship, I learnt how organizations
work. One of the things I learnt
is that the government is not the
only place where politics is played. I
discovered that office politics is an
everyday occurrence even within
departments. I also discovered that
some tasks overlap, and that there
can be miscommunication over
various activities. Most importantly, I
discovered that there is major pressure
for deadlines. This is where the ‘I am a
team player’ and ‘can work well under
pressure’ statements you had boldly
stated in your resume are tried and
tested.
One of the first statements I heard at
the organization is that 80% of the staff
were doing completely different things
from what they studied in college. This
scared me a little bit. “What then was
the point of going to campus?” I asked. I
came to the conclusion that university is
the place where our minds are exposed
and where I can learn how to think
critically. Hence, as an intellectual, I can
then apply my thinking to my passion and
head for the right direction.
I am still doing my internship as we
speak. It’s exciting and challenging, but
no day is the same as the previous or
the next. I am allowed to make mistakes,
but I must learn from them and create
something better. I am thinking of
extending my internship for another
three months, just so that I can continue
getting the practical experience I have
been thirsting for, for years. This way,
when I fully get into the job market, I will
be as ready as David when he conquered
Goliath.
DaystarConnect 2015 • 61