The learning process is all about applying what you know!

Hi everyone!!! I am studying in the Curtin Campus.Hope you are all having a good placement so far! It has been a tough ride for everyone looking for a placement...I know it was for me! I am so lucky to have found a brilliant place to be able to do my internship this semester.

I am working as the Events Assistant at the Telethon for Speech and Hearing Centre. My role is to support the PR and Fundraising Department by assisting with fundraising events and public relations. This is a great chance for me to actually apply what I have learnt during my degree as well as gaining even more hands on experience in public relations, marketing and events management.

TSH’s main mission is teaching children with speech, language or hearing impairments to listen and speak. Families at TSH have the chance to develop a spoke language as their primary communication. They offer expert support from a team of qualified professionals. TSH allows families to be as involved as they would like to be in their child’s learning activities, and the latest technology is provided here for the children.

So far TSH has had two very big successful events. TSH’s annual Loud Shirt Day fundraiser featured David Strassman this time round, and he performed at the Regal Theatre in May 2009. Then there was Artitude which was a premier fundraising event that was held in July 2009.

I just finished my fifth day here. During my time here I will be working on a few upcoming projects such as Hearing Awareness Week, Bill and Rhonda Wyllie Early Childhood Learning Centre Launch, both in August and Golf Day which is in October. This is a great chance for me to really learn about how to prepare for events, as well as deal with the media.

On my first day here I was taken around the Centre and introduced to the great staff working here. My supervisors, Christine and Natasha are both amazing women, who never get annoyed and are always willing to help. I was given administrative work to do at first, which was great because it wasn’t as daunting and I felt much more comfortable and at ease after two days of working here.

The great part is most of the work that I have done so far has been taught in class. So even though I have the theoretical knowledge, I actually get to put into practice. I made a few mistakes here and there in my enthusiasm to get my work done, but my supervisors were always there to guide me right and show how it should be done. The atmoshphere here is really vibrant and comfortable.

I got a chance to bring out my creative side last week, I was asked to create a brochure for Clear Speech Night. This night is held for the students of the school to be able to make presentations to present to their family and friends. Thank god we got the chance to learn these techniques in our PR 200 and 250 classes. It definitely gave me the basic background to have an idea about what I’m doing and not mess up! Obviously a few changes were made throughout the process, but at the end of it we managed to publish a great booklet for families to peruse during the night of the show.

I’m looking forward to Golf Day. It will be a good chance to learn how to deal more with the media. This experience is also teaching me how to manage my time efficiently. Deadlines must be adhered to; it’s definitely not like Uni where we can get an extension if we can’t finish an assignment in time!

I can really see myself enjoying my time here! I will definitely put up more in my next blog when some more work has been done! Good luck to everyone with their placements!

=)

Sarjana