-01.png)
From Switzerland to Singapore: Lea’s Action-Packed Internship Journey at Make The Change 🇸🇭✨🌏
When Lea traveled all the way from Switzerland to join Make The Change (MTC) in Singapore for a month of overseas internship experience, she stepped right into a vibrant world where creativity, digital tech, and community impact meet head-on. From 9 March to 4 April 2026, Lea immersed herself in everything Make The Change and our Young Changemaker Programme had to offer, discovering firsthand that making a positive difference in society takes many shapes, styles, and skills! 🌟💡🌱
The next day after she landed in Singapore, Lea jumped straight into real-world projects from her very first week. She kicked things off by diving deep into empathy mapping and design thinking challenges, learning how to walk in the shoes of diverse communities to craft meaningful social initiatives, alongside with her intern friend — Rithika from Singapore Polytechnic.
Working together, Lea and Rithika found out more about the visually impaired community and learnt about what is the social needs and the kind of challenges the community face by using an empathy map. In their presentation findings, they proposed a solution where advanced technology digital application development was involved. The task of understanding a marginalized community gave them the opportunity to organize thoughts, communicate ideas and truly understand why empathy plays an important role in today's society.
An internship experience at Make The Change is never confined to just the four walls inside offices, Lea also had the opportunity to take her learning out into the different communities in Singapore. In her first week with us, Lea supported our Digital Drawing Workshop for seniors at Goodlife Studio by Montfort Care at Tiong Bahru.
Before being deployed as a facilitator and supporter, Lea was introduced to the basics of Procreate and the basic features such as the different brushes, the quick shape tool, and how to draw on different layers. Working directly with the seniors encouraged Lea to develop patience, communicate instructions clearly and adjust her support according to each participant's learning pace. More than simply just teaching them how to use a digital tool, the digital drawing workshop showed Lea how technology and creativity can create opportunities for seniors to learn, express their creativity digitally and connect with others. Lea shared that "It was a very fun and memorable experience to be able to interact with the seniors and seeing how they enjoyed themselves during the workshop makes her feel happy and satisfied!". Despite that Lea may not have much experience in working with senior communities, she showcased good interpersonal skills and was able to confidently guide our senior participants in accomplish their digital artworks!
Additionally, Lea also helped facilitate a Cyberwellness and Videography programme at Children's Wishing Well @ Bukit Merah Community Hub for primary-school leveled children. She guided our participants with patience in coming up with their storyboard and video-making on the topic of cyberwellness using iMovie.
Besides Montfort Care and Children's Wishing Well , Lea also had the opportunity to assist and facilitate in our learning programmes in local secondary schools such as Bukit Merah Secondary School and Canberra Secondary School — where she supported students in our digital media literacy, photography and videography and changemaking workshops.
Apart from our on-site programmes and visits, Lea also brought her creative flair to the table by designing guest speaker EDM posters and presentation slides, turning key ideas into eye-catching digital content. The poster assignment involved bringing together the different speaker backgrounds, our event information and an invitation for youths to participate in our Youth For Change (YFC) Workshop earlier this March 2026. It offered Lea an opportunity to think about how design and media communications work together to establish a clear message that is engaging and relevant to its audience.
Guest Speaker EDM Poster Designs made by Lea and Rithika.
Lea also became involved in the practical preparation behind our learning programmes. She helped set up workshop logistics and supported administrative tasks in our Apple New Media Programme. Her tasks included creating final-report Padlets, organizing our admin databases and folders for secondary schools in Singapore. These responsibilities gave her a closer look at the coordination needed to keep information accessible and support the team's day-to-day work.
A major highlight of Lea's internship was also her hands-on involvement with our Youth For Change (YFC) Workshop, where she stepped into the role of a workshop facilitator and mentor. Over multiple sessions, Lea worked with other youth participants as they brainstormed, developed, and refined their own ground-up social initiatives. She brought positive energy to the room — guiding students through brainstorming sessions, helping them translate bold ideas into clear project plans, and encouraging them to think critically about community impact.
For Lea, guiding these young minds through the innovation process wasn't just about sharing design thinking tools, it was a rewarding, two-way learning experience that highlighted the power of youth-driven social change. Watching the youths grow in confidence and presenting their final proposed ideas during the workshop was an unforgettable milestone that truly captured the heart of Make The Change's mission.
Looking back on her time in Singapore, Lea shared a heartfelt reflection on her journey: "I am grateful for my internship journey at MTC . I was able to be involved in many experiences, interacting with different communities. It was definitely an eye-opening experience for me, especially when this is my first time interning abroad from Switzerland. The MTC team -- Ashley, Nabilah and Pedro, was very friendly and helpful in accommodating my needs and expectations for this oversea internship experience. Not only that I was able to explore Singapore and visited many landmarks, I truly appreciated my time with MTC and gained insights in making positive change! "
Looking back on her internship journey, Lea expressed appreciation for her time at MTC nad the chance to experience many different areas of work. That sense of discovery ran throughout her journey, as she explored unfamiliar activities and took part in learning experiences alongside different communities.
Thank you, Lea, for joining us and contributing to our work! It was a pleasure to have you as a part of our team, and we hope your time in Singapore leaves you with meaningful memories, fresh perspectives and inspiration for future opportunities in making positive change! 💫🔥👏
