Yasmin, Master's in Public Administration,
Alternatives Montréal,
Teachers' Creativity Center (TCC),
Palestine.
I am currently working at the Center for Teacher Creativity (CCE), a Palestinian NGO that deals with education-related issues, in collaboration with Alternatives, a Montreal-based NGO that aims to maintain and strengthen collective rights. Due to the global pandemic, it was obvious that I was going to carry out my internship with unprecedented procedures, in other words, a rapid leap into working remotely.
At the start of my internship, I unfortunately came down with COVID-19, so my internship was rather slow and didn't progress as instrumentally on my side. Despite this setback, it has enabled me to gain professional experience, learn on the job and expand my network from the comfort of my own home. I'm currently in charge of conducting interviews with educators and other stakeholders over the coming weeks. Even though the work I'm doing is online, I can use my research skills and academic knowledge and apply them to my internship assignments.
Without a doubt, I would have preferred to do my internship abroad if it weren't for the fury of COVID-19. However, working remotely gave me new challenges that I hadn't expected. One important skill I mastered during my internship was time management and accomplishing heavy workloads, while completing my graduate degree. This internship is an important experience for me, which has great repercussions on the rest of my work and career. Skills such as decision-making, risk management, communication, teamwork and team spirit will serve me well throughout my life. In other words, this experience won't necessarily stay with me only during my internship contract, but it will stay with me for my entire career to come.
Take heart: the pandemic will come to an end. Its legacy will be long-lasting, but not entirely bad; the progress, social services and systems we develop can be used for the good of all. If I draw on the successes and lessons of this international distance learning course, I can apply what I've learned to my career and be ready for what lies ahead in the job market.