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Internship Experience - Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary School
- 6 hours ago
- 2 min read
From 24th November to 12th December 2025, we had the pleasure of hosting Genevieve from Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary School as part of the Young Changemaker Programme at Make The Change (MTC). Over the course of her internship, Genevieve immersed herself in a wide variety of projects ranging from social innovation research and content creation to community workshops and operational support. Through these experiences, she gained a deeper understanding of empathy, resilience and collaboration in a real-world working environment.
One of the most meaningful parts of Genevieve’s internship was contributing to the Citronella Oil Project, an initiative supporting Pulangiyen women in Bendum, Philippines by creating sustainable livelihood opportunities through handmade citronella oil products.
Behind every bottle sold was a great deal of unseen work. Genevieve spent hours cleaning oil spills, checking damaged inventory, carefully pasting labels, packaging products and handwriting personalised thank-you cards for customers. While physically and mentally demanding, these experiences gave her a deeper appreciation for the realities of meaningful work behind the scenes.
Reflecting on the experience, Genevieve shared:
“Not all meaningful work is glamorous. Sometimes it’s tedious, repetitive, and tiring, but that experience sharpened both my endurance and my work ethic.”
Throughout the internship, Genevieve also learnt how to adapt quickly in unfamiliar situations. Whether it was troubleshooting technical issues during presentations, learning entirely new digital tools, or navigating group disagreements during collaborative projects, she consistently pushed herself beyond her comfort zone.
One particularly meaningful takeaway for her was learning how to remain composed and solution-oriented under pressure.
Beyond technical and operational work, Genevieve’s internship also deepened her sense of empathy. Through supporting seniors and hearing-impaired participants during community workshops, she learnt the importance of patience, accessibility and communication.
These experiences helped her understand that impactful work is not only about completing tasks, but about understanding people and meeting them where they are.
Teamwork was another major part of Genevieve’s journey at MTC. Working closely with interns from different schools and backgrounds taught her how to collaborate effectively, adapt to different working styles and remain open to feedback.
Her final reflection captured her growth best:
“Overall, this internship gave me a clearer picture of what it means to contribute in a professional environment: stay adaptable, work well with others, remain resilient when tasks get tough, and treat every piece of feedback as a step forward, not a setback.”
