Safa on her work experience at the Mayor’s Fund for London

By Safa, a student at London South Bank University

I am studying Politics and International Relations at London South Bank University. After months of relentlessly trying to find a summer internship that I would be interested in as there seemed to be a huge number of finance and computing ones but none to my interest.

I finally found one – as soon as this Internship opportunity came into my inbox I instantly applied as it was exactly what I was looking for. I had wanted to gain experience working in a charity whilst also working with young people, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity for me.  

So far whilst I have been an intern no week has been the same. In fact, no day is the same! One day I was in Canary Wharf attending an event encouraging young people to delve into the world of apprenticeships and the next day I was in a school in East London helping facilitate mock interviews for Year 12 students.  

:I really connected with the students there as I know exactly how they are feeling as I was in that position not long ago.”

There are so many things that I have enjoyed during this internship, but my favourite thing so far has been connecting with young people. When I went to help facilitate the mock interviews for students, I really connected with the students there as I know exactly how they are feeling as I was in that position not long ago.

A lot of the students were telling me they are feeling anxious about their future, but I felt I was able to reassure them due to me telling them about my own academic journey and how everything works out in the end.  One student came up to me at the end and said they found my advice helpful and felt relieved after talking to me which was very rewarding. 

“Confidence is key!”

I had the opportunity to build on a weak skill of mine which is the ability to network confidently, during one of the events there was a period allowed for networking which I found a little bit of a struggle at first but after some advice I began to find a little bit easier, confidence is key! 

I have gained so much from this experience already; it has taught me many skills that I can use in my future workplace, and I am so glad I undertook this internship.