I came across Talent Academy for the first time when I was a first year student. Working in an industrial organisational psychologist consultancy was always like a dream come true to me. However, chances slipped away when you were not well-prepared. Undeniably, opportunity always knocked when you are most-prepared. As a second year Psychology student, I applied for the summer intern again with better equipment, and I was very honour to be accepted to become the first overseas summer intern in Talent Academy.
Working as a summer intern in Talent Academy gave me precious opportunities to experience events I wouldn’t otherwise have the chance to. Other than the administrative works such as training materials development, translation and writing blog posts, I was given the opportunity to participate in client meetings and corporate training. One of the most remarkable memories of this internship was having a reflective session with Matchy (my internship supervisor and mentor) after each meeting or training. Thanks to his encouragement in reflecting both my strengths and things to be improved on, I was able to observe and reflect more comprehensively. Indeed, we are very vulnerable to having tunnel vision on our weaknesses rather than our strengths and it is imperative for an organisational psychologist to understand his/herself before being able to act as the strength-finder of others.
My first and last projects, by coincidence, were the VMV alignment sessions for a local bank. The first training experience, expectedly, was full of nerves and mistakes. Instead of assisting, I was in charge of the backend support for my last project. By comparison to my very first training, I could see obvious improvement. There was only a minimal delay in music playing and it was motivating to be able to cooperate with other trainers as a team. This had marked a perfect comma to my journey.
A comma? Yes, a comma! Just as the motto of Talent Academy, our life is a long journey with various commas, each takes you to a whole new adventure. I am very grateful for the encounter with every person, long or short, it still adds a bit of flavour to my internship journey. With all this experiences, I am like a well-fertilized flower, ready to blossom in my future career path.
Nicole Fung, Psychology Major Student, University of Birmingham
Talent Academy 2017 Summer Intern
