Internship at Pegipegi: Aiming Higher
It was sunny, this one day in May. North Jakarta was at its hottest mid-year 2019. It was the day this journey started, the day I met my new family.
Hi, nice to know you. I’m Kana, former Corporate Communications Intern here at Pegipegi. I’ll start this story by making a two word-inspiring-life quote:
Aim high — And here’s why.
You’re probably wondering, “Why is former intern writing this medium article for Pegipegi? Does she still work there or something?” The answer is… yes, today, I am Pegipegi’s Corporate Communications Officer (or to made me sound even cooler, I was promoted).
My internship days at Pegipegi weren’t even close to what I would imagine. I’m not gonna sugarcoat anything; things were quite busy. Under my team, I was the only ‘child’ to handle Internal Communications, and some huge adjustments were about to be made, within me, professionally. I have never done this, never done that, contribute in this, contribute in that. I knew no one from the company yet my role is to constantly communicate with the whole internal team. Can you sense my fear?
I remembered a few times that I made typos, inserting the wrong picture, or writing the incorrect grammar. I might have felt slightly incapable, but I got up, and realized that it was a huge part of learning. Like it or not, you need to make mistakes. Matter fact, so much learning and involvement has brought me closer to the family. My internship was an eye-opening experience, exposing me to the real startup world.
Those three months at Pegipegi was when I knew; I wanted to involve more. There were so many boundaries and capacities that I wanted to explore. My vision then changed. “I will let this internship opportunity be the best one yet” — has evolved into “This is where I wanna work when my internship ends.”
Let’s dive in into five ideas why
First, I like the idea of being in a fast-paced working environment. People are always moving, ideas are always flowing. Everyone needs everybody to move forward. There’s no ‘I’ in team, instead, there’s always ‘us.’ One moment the team finished working on something, something new always comes along. It’s an environment where you can mix fun and determination into successful projects.
Second, a great culture: the support, the teamwork, the jokes, even the affection. We celebrate birthdays, milestones, go on after office hangouts, and we do a lot of things together, too. When you think it couldn’t get better, Pegipegi is also a very great place to learn. As a fresh graduate, it can sometimes be intimidating to be surrounded by experienced, smart colleagues who are the best at what they do. But its these years that I need to step up my game and extract as much knowledge from “the experienced” as possible. I always find myself wondering about new things, thus wanting to learn about those things as well.
“Everything starts with an initiative, and expansion begins with myself,” I thought.
Third, a BROAD space to grow. When they say “Grow Together”, they really mean it. It’s unbelievable how many new skills I’ve gained since my first day at Pegipegi. Being promoted to a full time employee from an intern of the same role was a bit more complex in terms of stepping up my skill game. At first, I thought a role of Corporate Communications was self-explanatory: doing communications; period. But it was way far beyond my expectations. I feel my capabilities being stretched: Involving in projects creatively, writing intellectually, and many more things in between.
Moving on to the next reason which probably is my favorite of all: four, a medium to practice my hobbies. A bit of background story here — for some years now, my interest in photo and videography for aesthetic purposes have grown. I always find taking photos of people’s expressions beautiful. I wanted to dive in more. Luckily, my role at Pegipegi was more than just the title. I became a part of projects that require taking photographs, shooting videos, and being in touch with the externals that have to do with cinematographies. How great is it to work while implementing your hobbies once in a while?
Last but not least, a place of trust. You do what you do, regardless of your roles and age. We rely on each other, in need and in help of each other as well. When I consider my internship as a ‘tiny’ role, the company I work in doesn’t. I was given full responsibility for all of my tasks since day one. My team lets me know that I am hired because of my capabilities, and there are still so many more things to explore. In an environment like this, learning seems alluring — because there’s always someone who’s willing to share.
Well, so much is there to explain when you love what you do.
People end their writings with summary; I end mine with recommendations: As a fresh graduate, I might have come to a point where it’s confusing who and where I wanted to be — worst, figuring out who I should end up to be. When you start comparing yourself to your surroundings, try and get back to yourself. It could be overwhelming, but the most important thing is to give your 100%. In a completely new place, meeting completely new people, being in a completely new environment — facing fears are kind of crucial. Let’s just see them as something exciting, rather than frightening. Every opportunity is a new chance to expand: your connections, skillset, and knowledge. Try and surround yourself in a supporting environment. The one that changes those fears into meaningful challenge. In a period of time, you’ll figure out what you like or what you don’t like.
Grow from that.
Are you interested in making traveling more accessible for all Indonesians? Find your journey on Pegipegi’s Career Page and let’s #GrowTogether. And stay tuned for the next episode of #PegipegiLife.
