Internship Experience - Anderson Secondary School

How do we create something that truly helps others? For Abigail from Anderson Secondary School, her week at Make The Change offered a chance to explore this question through conversations, teamwork and a closer look at the experiences of people around her and the community.

From 16 to 20 March 2026, we welcomed Abigail for a one-week internship experience at Make The Change as part of the Young Changemaker Programme. Stepping into a week of community research, creative learning and new connections, Abigail's journey began with an introduction of how a social enterprise like MTC operates and went straight into an empathy-mapping activity with her fellow intern peers.

Abigail worked with her teammates to research the challenges faced by people returning to the workforce. The topic held a personal connection for the group, as there were members who shared their mothers' experiences of finding employment after taking time away to care for their children. These stories encouraged the team to explore an issue they felt was not often discussed. Together, they developed and presented their findings, considering the circumstances and needs of workforce returnees. Abigail took pride in their research and presentation, while also appreciating the friendships formed through working towards a shared goal. The experience reinforced her understanding that meaningful solutions begin with the perspectives of the people they aim to support. During the week, Abigail also participated in Make The Change's Youth For Change Workshop, helping with our venue preparation and participating in the group discussions. She exchanged thoughts and views with other participants on building an empathetic society and explored questions around equality, equity and fairness in education. Through these conversations and a small-group interaction with Make The Change's founder, our CEO — Michelle Lim, Abigail encountered different perspectives on community issues and purposeful work. She reflected on the importance of pursuing opportunities that align with her values and remaining open to viewpoints beyond her own.

Alongside these activities and task, Abigail supported our task research on social service organizations in Singapore for future outreach and helped identify potential guests for our Conversations of Change Podcast. These assignments offered a glimpse into the research and preparation that support Make The Change's community engagement and outreach efforts.

Abigail's Reflection

" Despite it being just a week of experiencing internship with MTC, I believe that it was immensely beneficial to me and the knowledge gained will be imparted onto me for a long time to come. With such insightful sharing and research assignments, I've learnt that we should not be afraid to take risks, and to follow our hearts in doing things that are actually meaningful to us and meeting our values, to not simply be blinded by monetary gains. I've met so many diverse people from the YFC workshops, and my perspectives on things have been widen."

Looking back, Abigail's strongest takeaway was the importance of understanding people before creating solutions for them. An idea may be well intended, but it can still miss the mark if it overlooks someone's circumstances, needs or perspective. We are glad to have been part of Abigail's learning journey. Across the five days with us, Abigail made new connections, explored less familiar social issues and reflected on what purposeful work means to her. We hope she carries this curiosity forward, continuing to listen closely, question assumptions and discover how she can contribute to the communities around her in the future!