The sweetest hello yet the hardest goodbye.

Greetings to all. 

A wise man once said, "Good things come to an end, but every ending is just a new beginning." I bet most of you have heard or read this somewhere. In just a blink of an eye, twenty days has passed by.  I admit when I stepped into this organization on my first day, I thought it is going to be a long and exhausting twenty working days of my life. How am I going to survive  9 hours of work in a public sector organization when I could not even put a 100% concentration on a 3 hour seminar? 

However, the first day of my internship ended without a single yawn from me. I was amazed with myself. I guess my perception about working in a public sector is totally wrong. Each and everyday I practice most of the things I learned in PR 220 and PR 250, in real life. I realized that this is not assignment-based  where I get low marks if I do not do it properly. I could not afford to make mistakes during my placement. I am dealing with a real client, a real boss, a real working environment. 

In my last post, I have shared about my preparation for the Annual Donation event. The event was held on the last day of my placement. There was no farewell gatherings for me as everyone in the  Corporate Affairs Department was as busy as bees, including myself. I came in half an hour earlier because I have to double check to enaure that the Seminar Hall is ready for the event. I had to make sure that the VIP sitting is in order, inform the emcee to be at the Seminar Hall 15 minutes before the event, get the name list prepared at the registration table and take attendants of the guest. Besides that, I was assigned to usher all the guest to their seats that I have labeled earlier. 

That day was the busiest day of my twenty days placement. The event ended smoothly as plan. There were no complications, no mistakes. Everyone in the Corpoate Affairs Department is not only a team,. They are a family. Even though I was here for only twenty days, it felt so hard to say goodbye. Working in a public sector area is not as dull and boring as i thought. This twenty days of placement is totally an eye-opener for me. 

I am grateful to be given the opportunity to work  in STIDC. I gained more knowledge and experience out of it. I guess i can say that I am totally prepared to face the working life soon. Even for a short period of time, it was very hard for me to say goodbye to everyone in STIDC.  I could not imagine saying goodbye to all my classmates, friends and even lecturers in Curtin soon.  All of you have assisted and guided me throughout my journey in Curtin Sarawak. I would not be where I am without everyone's help. Saying goodbye is not always easy right?

To all students who are graduating this semester, congratulations and good luck for entering a new level of life; the working life. 

All the best,

Nadea Melissa

14914247/7D8B6011

Curtin Sarawak

Hectic Week!

Hello soon-to-be PR practitioners!

As an intern in STIDC, I have learned that not everyday is a busy day. Usually, after I am done with doing media clippings, I only answer calls or help the others doing photocopy and filing. However, the third week of my internship have been a very busy week. We have an event coming, which is the "Annual Donation from STIDC's Subsidiaries". 

I was assigned to prepare a draft invitation for the Board of Management. I had to make few corrections before I could produce the perfect invitation. Then, I was asked to fax all the invitations and make follow up calls to confirm their attendance. This is where I learned about telephone ethics. I was taught by my colleagues that I must identify myself at the beginning of all calls. Secondly, I have to be sensitive to the tone of my voice because it conveys authority and confidence. Lastly, I have to think through exactly what I plan to say before I place a call.

After all the confirmation is done, I was assigned to print put the guest list and the VIP list to paste on the chairs in the Seminar Hall. It is my task to ensure that the hall is ready for the event. I was also asked to cut out all the envelopes for the donation and make sure that all the envelopes are paste properly with the label of the receivers. I had to carry around scissors and glu wherever I go.

I highly hope that the event will run smoothly.

Best Regards,

Nadea Melissa

7D8B6011/14914247

Curtin Sarawak.

Radio Announcer.

To all Muslim students, Selamat Menyambut Awal Muharram. :)

 STIDC has its own television in the company which all the news about timber products or any issues, events or important announcement will be aired at 11 a.m. everyday. This news will be recorded in the studio at STIDC itself. Besides that, there is also radio announcement. All this are under the Corporate Affairs Section.

On my second week of internship, I was given the task to write a script for the radio announcement and it has to be in Bahasa Melayu. I find it a little challenging because I have not written anything formal in Bahasa Melayu since high school. I had to write it in English first then I translated it using Google Translate. (I just realized that I am only good in conversing in Bahasa Melayu but not good at writing it).  Kak Lista proof-read my script then asked me to do the announcement.

I was quite nervous at first because it is a live announcement and if I make a mistake, the whole company can listen. It took me around 15 minutes to practice the script. After doing the announcement, I went back to the Corporate Affairs Department. As I was walking towards my table, the whole department gave  a round of applause. That actually made my day because everyone in my department were very supportive and they do not take me (an intern) for granted. They made me feel welcomed. 

Two weeks working as an intern, it totally changes my whole perception and judgement about working in a government organisation. It is not bad after all. If I were given the chance to work here after I graduated, I think I would totally give it a try.

I hope everyone enjoys their placement like I do too.

Best Regards,

Nadea Melissa

7D8B6011/14914247

Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation

Hello everyone! 

I am Nadea Melissa, a final year student in Curtin Sarawak. In order to graduate, it is compulsory for every PR student to complete PR393 (Internship) unit. I had a hard time looking for placement. Well, I guess I am not the only one experiencing this. It is obviously not easy to search for a placement that will accept interns who works for twenty working days. I have sent my resumes to quite a number of company or organisations such as hotel industry, tourism industry and event management. However,  their internship duration is at least three months and above.  I ended up sending my resume to Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC). STIDC is a State government statutory body that manages  the promotion of timber products and the establishment of the timber industry. 

I consider myself lucky that STIDC is willing to hire an intern who can only work for twenty days. I was placed in the Corporate Affairs Section. I admit that I have never imagine myself working in a government organization. It have never seem like an interesting environment to work in but I know at this moment, I could not be picky and I have to accept this challenge, take it as advantage with hope that  this placement would change my personal judgement on a career in the public sector.

My first week of internship, I had to attend a four days Induction Program. This induction program is to ensure that all the interns are familiar with all the departments in the organization. Every department sent in one representattives to give a brief presentation about their department. On the  first and last day of the induction program, all the interns were given a quiz . From there, we then compare how much we know about the organization before and after the induction program. 

Besides that, I was given a task to do media clipping . After the induction program,  I had to rush back to the office to read all the newspaper provided to me and do media monitoring. Kak Lista, one of the assistant in the  Corporate Affairs Section guided me on what kind of news I should monitor and how to arrange it in the  right file. 

I am looking forward to experience a more challenging work in the future. That is all for now.

Cheers, 

Nadea Melissa Davani

7D8B601/14914247