Breaking down the filter is the first step to getting your feet wet in the workplace.
Talking about the original intention of launching the internship program, David, Assistant Principal of the Upper Grade, shared, "In running the school, we have always advocated the cultivation of 'Resilient Scholars', and one of the best ways to cultivate them is to combine theory with practice, so that the children can go out of the campus and come into contact with the real society and workplace scenarios. "
Seamlessly switching from "school mode" to "work mode", despite arriving at the law firm early on the first day of the internship, Grade 12 scholars Emma and Vivian were caught off-guard by the unexpected intensity of the work, organizing files and conducting field research, and attending court hearings.
Before the trial, the team of lawyers led the two scholars to fully search and analyze the various materials of the case, to understand the complexity of the case, to consult the relevant laws and regulations, to anticipate the other party's preparations for the process of litigation, and they learnt the methods of real investigation of the case.
"Previously, my understanding of the lawyer's profession came from a workplace variety show, on TV they were glamorous and thunderous, and in the trial court they were relaxed and calm to fight for the best interests of the defense."
Although well-prepared, when the scholars Emma and Vivian as a workplace juniors really walked into the court, sat in the courtroom, the mood is still nervous and apprehensive, every unexpected situation, can not help but secretly worry about the defense of the lawyers can come up with the most appropriate solutions, the familiar environment of the whole day in the school of the sense of security has been as if it were a world away.
During that week, they followed their lawyers and listened to all kinds of cases at different levels of courts:
Couples who used to be in perfect harmony were blamed and entangled with each other over the issue of child support arising from divorce;
A once responsible employee who was dismissed during her pregnancy went to arbitration to defend her rights;
A service-oriented agent who was once sued in court for violating the contract of sale with a homebuyer;
A home-school relationship that used to work hand in hand to educate students, but a safety accident at a sports event caused a liability dispute.
......
The solemnity of the courtroom made Vivian realize that the workplace is not as glamorous as she initially thought, and Emma even said what she felt:
"When I really went from the ivory tower to the 'adult' world, from the front of the courtroom to the back of the curtain, I realized that their professional self-confidence was due to the fact that they had put in a lot of sweat on this path of law, and accumulated enough knowledge and experience to create that calm and collected in the courtroom. "
Taking the career of lawyers as a starting point, the two scholars faced up to the hardships and difficulties in the workplace, and also reflected on how to communicate benignly, deal with disputes and solve problems when conflicts of interest and interpersonal conflicts arise.
More than an internship, it is a "social" course!
However, the scholars' thoughts and gains do not only depend on their own feelings, from the design of this program, the winter vacation off-campus internship consists of "internship interview", "internship journal", "summary feedback". "The teachers of HC give the scholars sufficient guidance and time to experience internalization.
"We never treat the internship program as a regular 'secondary school student program', but rather, we see scholars as real workplace people, let them choose industries and positions according to their own wishes, and evaluate them with the requirements of the workplace and real review, which shows our respect for the scholars, and also promotes their interest and discovery of themselves in the real-world."
What each scholar is willing to do, what kind of personality they have, and how well they tolerate physical fitness are all factors that are taken into account when interviewing for a position to eliminate as many foreseeable potential problems as possible. We hope that scholars come to the program with a proactive mindset, and that they are respected and able to express their views and opinions during the internship process.
Nemo, a scholar who signed up for an internship at the Kunshan Library with the original intention of public service, shared what he had learned at the end of each day of his internship life in the mentor group, and presented his work and summarized it in a graphic manner.
▲ Nemo Internship Log for Kunshan Library
"I seldom went to libraries before and was not too familiar with public service jobs, initially I wanted to use this internship to experience the working environment of libraries and consider the question of future career planning - what is my ideal future working life like? It will also help me to recognize the gap between myself and the actual requirements of the job so that I can rethink my planning later in my academic life."
After a week of internship, Nemo shared his insights. He mentioned that he was very embarrassed when he first started to answer the questions for the readers at the front desk post on the 4th floor, which is not like organizing books with a set of processes, and facing the inquiries of unfamiliar readers, some of the questions are random, unfamiliar, and professional, and he became more and more proficient in answering them after gradually familiarizing himself with them, categorizing them, and summing up them, and he got the readers' recognition, which made him practically feel that, as a corner of the public service, the work of the library is to serve people. The work of the library is for the service of people, but also for the service of knowledge.
"Many scholars have formed a relatively fixed circle on campus, and when they go off campus it is an opportunity for them to meet more people and make more friends. In organizing the internship program, we wanted to break scholars out of their psychological comfort zone while still making them feel that the internship was fantastic, very quick to adapt and very rewarding. "
When asked if Nemo's career choices have become clearer through this internship, he smiled coyly and said, "I think the biggest thing I've learned from this internship is that I've realized the joy of self-management of my time, and in the future I might want to become a freelancer with my own personal studio, or try out some programmer internships to better apply the skills I've learned abou. "
