Internship Experience - Serangoon Garden Secondary School

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From 3 to 7 November 2025, four students from Serangoon Garden Secondary School joined Make The Change for a five day internship attachment.

The week began with an introduction to Make The Change and the role of social enterprises in creating both social and economic value. Through examples of local initiatives, the student learnt how businesses can support communities while operating sustainably.

Building on what they had learnt about empathy, the students explored the challenges faced by persons with disabilities seeking meaningful employment. They researched workplace barriers, existing support in Singapore and possible ways to make employment more inclusive.

Juvan, for example, developed the idea of an application that support persons with disabilities. Aloysius reflected on how employers could improve the quality of life of persons with disabilities by recognising their abilities, experiences and passions.

The students also had opportunities to exercise their creativity through digital tools. Using Procreate, they created visual collages before applying mind-mapping techniques to investigate everyday issues. They were challenges to examine the causes and effects of these problems before proposing possible solutions.

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  Aloysius

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  Arienna

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  Juvan

One of their key highlights will be the visit to Foreword Coffee at Temasek Shophouse, where they witnessed an inclusive social enterprise environment firsthand. They explored the space, learnt about its mission and considered how businesses can create employment opportunities for persons with disabilities and other marginalised communities.

To conclude the internship, the students consolidated their observations into a final presentation about the visit. Across the five days, the students strengthened their research, presentation, communication and digital content creation skills. Most importantly, they developed a deeper appreciation of empathy and its role in creating thoughtful, inclusive solutions.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/ba6428_0c8e4940302e41b382e7df40a9460bf5/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Learning Takeaways

"I got to learn about social enterprises and how they make a great impact in society" - Arienna

One of the other student, Juvan, his reflections showed a willingness to challenge his own assumptions. He recognised that having prior experience did not mean there was nothing more to learn. His curiosity about social enterprises also grew as the week progressed.

Their inputs remind us that changemaking begins with a willingness to listen, question our assumptions and remain open to learning!