Secondary School Internship Experience at Make The Change — Christine and Kelly

From 18th November, we interned at Make the Change, a social enterprise that empowers the community through creative services and change maker programmes. Here are some of the experiences and takeaways we had. 

We also participated in a class at the Down Syndrome Association. During the classes, we not only taught them digital art, but we also went through topics relating to media literacy and internet safety. Although each session was no longer than 3 hours, it really touched our hearts when we saw how we could reach out to the community and make the days of the children and adults better while teaching them a new skill :) We could truly see how art can bridge communication between different people, and we certainly had a meaningful and memorable experience! 

On our very first day of work, we had the chance to familiarise ourselves with Procreate on the iPad Pro, where we created digital drawings. We grasped the basics of Procreate, learning how to use the wide variety of functions on the app. Here are some of our works! 

We got the chance to apply our new skills when we attended Digital Arts for All (DAFA) sessions, where we went down to a Life Community Community Activity center to help facilitate digital art classes for the children at the center. The classes were very fun and enjoyable, as we could interact with the children and create artworks together with them. 

We have also been doing research work throughout the internship, to collate contact details of companies and organizations in spreadsheets. For example, we were working on the contact details of women-ran restaurants and cafes in Singapore, to kickstart a partnership to help the beneficiaries of the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA). In the second week, we were gathering information about all 185 primary schools in Singapore, which would be used to reach out to these schools to implement programs relating to design, digital art, and marketing. Though research work can be dry at times, we better understood the importance of sourcing for contacts and understanding our target clients, so as to build a foundation for possible collaborations and projects. In addition, we also had the chance to sit in during a meeting with a client. We learned more about how ideas are pitched and how discussions between stakeholders progress. 

Photography (1st + 3rd week)

The first week was filled with many creative opportunities for us. A memorable one was the photography lesson we received. We were taught how to use a digital camera, photography and editing techniques, and had plenty of hands-on experience to get familiar with adjusting shutter speed, exposure and aperture in various settings. At the end of the lesson, we had to take photos of a product of our choice, edit them, and practise pitching the product to our superior (our teacher!). Here are the photos we took of a digital camera :)

In addition, we were given opportunities to apply our knowledge in a real-world setting, as we were entrusted with the responsibility of taking photos to cover Giving Week’s Giving Marketplace event at Marina One, where non-profits and social enterprises sold goods to support their cause. Although this was originally daunting since we did not expect to have to cover a real-life event with our amateur photography skills, it quickly turned into a very meaningful experience as we connected with people and came to understand the stories behind the social enterprises and NGOs there.

Filming (1st & 2nd week)

We were also involved in videography work with our superior, whereby we helped to shoot video messages of some clients. We used several pieces of equipment previously foreign to us, like the tripod stand, lights, and mic. One of us also used a secondary free-moving camera to provide B-roll footage which would have been intercut with the main footage from the fixed camera. Throughout this experience, not only did we learn about post-production processes and camera work, but we also understood the importance of communicating with the client and being professional at all times.

Research work (all 3 weeks)

We have also been doing research work throughout the internship, to collate contact details of companies and organisations in spreadsheets. For example, we were working on the contact details of women-ran restaurants and cafes in Singapore, to kickstart a partnership to help the beneficiaries of the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA). In the second week, we were gathering information about all 185 primary schools in Singapore, which would be used to reach out to these schools to implement programmes relating to design, digital art, and marketing. Though research work can be dry at times, we better understood the importance of sourcing for contacts and understanding our target clients, so as to build a foundation for possible collaborations and projects. In addition, we also had the chance to sit in during a meeting with a client. We learnt more about how ideas are pitched and how discussions between stakeholders progress. 

All in all, we had an extremely eye-opening experience, where we were exposed to many new opportunities. We acquired new skills, met new people, and gained a better understanding of how social enterprises work :D