A Relationship to remember.

My internship is coming to an end soon and this also marks the end of semester and the end of my University life, YES I AM FINALLY GRADUATING. Should i leap up and do a victory dance or should i really sit down and start to map out where and which direction i want to follow and be at, after all this concerns my future. 

Before i delve into my last couple of weeks at the City of Stirling, i want to share with all some of my past experiences (there is honestly, so much you can write if you work at a government council and the media releases, speeches newsletters etc writing and writing just keep flowing in) but hold on, what you are going to read is still related to my experience and journey as a Public Relations student. 

When i turned 18, oh the magical age, i took a very unconventional road and chose to 'postpone' college for two years. During this time, i took up a teaching diploma course at The British Council, "Teaching Instructor Diploma" for 3 subjects- Creative Writing, Phonics and Phonetics and Speech and Drama. (I guess i was inspired by my mom who runs her own education business)

I graduated a year later as a certified out-of-curriculum teacher and basically got hired at Elite Business sphere- a company that sends out trainers like me to schools for specific courses. My company usually signs a contract bond with the school and when the students have their weekly 'extra activity seminar etc', that is when i appear. I started off as a nobody, HELLO who was i kidding, i had no experience in the teaching industry and i looked like a kid. To prove my point, let me show you a picture of me teaching. My mom says "you're like a kid teaching a kid".

I could not project my voice loud enough for my students to hear, i had to answer embarrassing questions all the time and i had to lie about my age. BUT, i guess i could say teaching runs in the family and as a speech and drama teacher, your voice and your personality should sit on the animated side. And there i was, at age 19, teaching more than 50 schools, had students from ages 4-23 and earning $70 sg dollars per hour. I was happy, happier when i got called on by another two companies requesting "Jolyn Law to host a outdoor dining etiquette class in a fine dining restaurant SOLO". And my career took off. I started working with my managers and organising events and booking restaurants, pool side cafes and for the young ones- a spot at the Singapore Zoo bouncy castle eating area. Suddenly, i was teaching everything and anything, from Money Management, Time and Financial Management, Dining Etiquette, Social Etiquette, Personal Grooming (where i drag a 35kg luggage with my grooming tools everywhere i go), i even conducted salsa classes because i trained competitively when i was in singapore. Suddenly, i spoke louder, carried myself better, had excellent public speaking skills and was never second guessed (age-wise).

I was so, so tired, my legs ached everyday, id give anything everyday for a foot massage and 6hours of sleep but i was happy, i was satisfied, i was complete. THEN, i had questions of another sort fired at me (usually during festive gatherings by the nosy aunties) "Oh jolyn, why don't you finish your diploma and get a degree in Mass Communications?" I brushed it away once, twice, thrice, four times, five times, then the final straw came when a loved one started comparing me to other people of similar age. So in a nutshell, after two years, one year and 8 months to be exact, i quit teaching and flew to Perth. 

When i enrolled in Curtin College, everything felt so new, assignments, tests, deadlines and the dreaded presentations and group work (because you never know who you end up with). THEN, i realised, i had a gift. Presentations came like snap, 1,2,3 and a,b,c to me. I was never nervous, was completely proper and time savvy and i swear there were moments when i just stop and thank God for my teaching experiences. 

Today, when i sit at my desk at the City of Stirling, writing up my next speech for the City's mayor and drafting media releases and listening to the team discussing the posters' locations for the next event and the possible outcomes, i can only smile and go hehehe, count me in! 

So after being extremely long winded and filling you guys with a lot of useless information, i realised the gist of being a good public relations practitioner is not about how many contacts you can pull because trust me if you're particularly good at something and known for it, people will come coming to you, for you. It is also not about how well you can write and how familiar you are with the topic. All these are basic skills that all pr students have and can be worked on and improved with experience. Truth be told, your personality, how you carry yourself in public, how well you mingle with your teammates, your office fellows, even the cleaning lady, the guy who heats up fish in the microwave during lunch break and all you can think of is fish for the next whole week you're in office, MATTERS the most. 

Have you ever met a fellow PR student/friend who is not nice or outspoken or confident or trendy. Very rare. I for one, have not. So today, in my post i would like to thank all my teammates who have been with me in every single PR class for three years and have taught me something no other can. Working in a team makes you understand and value differences. I went into the City of Stirling worrying that i might be outcasted because i am Asian, but i found out not only do everyone embrace my race, they welcome me with open arms, admit it, doesn't it feel nice to be included in team meetings and have your boss leaving scones with jam for you on the table "for jolyn". It makes me want to love you more, do more work for you and give 200% in everything i'm assigned to do. Also, in the world of public relations,

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success-Henry Ford”

Every employee is dependent on his fellow employees to work together and contribute efficiently to the organization. No employee can work alone; he has to take the help of his colleagues to accomplish the tasks efficiently. The outcome comes out to be far better when employees work in a team rather than individually as every individual can contribute in his best possible way. In organizations, individuals having a similar interest and specializations come together on a common platform and form a team.

To my COS crew, although we are all have different job scopes, i am very thankful i am 'stuck with all of you' in such a cheery environment and am given a chance to work further on my relationship building skills and i know this is definitely taking me for a ride in the long run. A very good ride at that. 

Happy working in a team yours truly,

Jolyn Law

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