Written by Sarah Nasir

Being an international student, life becomes unpredictable and you never really know where it’s going to take you.  You say yes to an opportunity, not entirely sure where it'll take you, and sometimes it takes you somewhere that genuinely changes you. For me, that somewhere was an internship at Sunderland Software City, and it turned out to be one of the best unexpected chapters of my journey so far.

Starting my internship was both exciting and nerve-wracking. I remember starting off my first day with a lot of mixed emotions as it was my very first professional job. I didn’t know how memorable my experience would turn out.

As I began to work as a social media intern, my main objective was to support a programme called Digital Pathfinders, a fully funded programme delivered to help out businesses, charities and social enterprises across the North East to adopt new technology to boost their productivity and performance. Understanding the programme’s purpose was one of the first tasks I assigned myself, and the more I learned about it, the more I appreciated the impact the programme was having on organisations across the region.

Responsibilities

My role involved managing Digital Pathfinders' social media presence across Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. At first, that felt like a huge responsibility as I was being tasked to handle the content of a programme that would be perceived by various organisations looking for support.

In the beginning, I spent a lot of time tweaking and editing the posts before scheduling them and kept wondering if my content was good enough and whether I was managing to reach the target audience. But gradually, I started to find my rhythm, develop a better understanding of the programme's voice, and began to look forward to creating content for the social media handles.

As my confidence grew, so did my responsibilities. I was tasked with developing a social media strategy to post the content which made me analyse the recent posts, find a tone of voice and reach out to the target audience.

Moreover, I was also asked to create an analytics report based on recent engagements. It was the kind of task where I could implement the knowledge I gained through my computer science degree.

Beyond social media, I also got the opportunity to write blogs about a few events organised by Digital Pathfinders including a blog on automation and podcasting for professionals which helped me to gain a deeper understanding of the topics the programme covers and the organisation it supports.

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Hitting a Roadblock

It is also worth mentioning that the journey wasn’t always smooth. During a particular week, I was not satisfied with the structure of my content. It was discouraging and left me disappointed with my skills. But I managed to learn from that week that it is completely normal to reach setbacks. I took a step back, received feedback and gave it another try with a clearer mind. Since then, I felt satisfied with the structure of my content.

Attending Events

One of the most unexpected highlights of my internship was being given the opportunity to step into the role of an event photographer at a few events, including an XR Meetup. That event made me discover about virtual reality and augmented experiences and opened my eye to a whole new path.

I also had the privilege of attending an International Women's Day event, where I was surrounded by some of the most inspiring women in tech I'd ever encountered. Hearing their experiences was both humbling and motivating. It reminded me why representation in this industry matters so much and inspired myself to work harder.

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Learning to Grow

When I look back at who I was on day one compared to now, the difference is very obvious. My content creation and social media skills have developed considerably, but the growth that made me the happiest was my personal growth. I became more confident in interacting with the colleagues and sharing my ideas. As someone who was really nervous about every interaction at the beginning, I was delighted with this development.

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To the People Who Made This Possible

None of this journey would have felt as meaningful without my amazing colleagues. My manager, Tasha Bowers, is someone I'll always be grateful for. She was supportive, patient and always guided me whenever I struggled. Her feedback was really helpful especially during those moments when I wasn’t satisfied with my content.

I will always cherish the moments I spent with my communications team. We worked closely together, went out for lunch to break the ice and bonded over creating content together.

I will also remember the pleasant environment of the office when I had the chance to meet the other employees who worked for Digital Pathfinders.  It made the workplace feel more like a friendly community.

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Final Thoughts

From learning the ins and outs of Digital Pathfinders, to bonding over team lunches, pushing through creative blocks, every part of it has shaped me in ways I didn’t expect. My experience at Sunderland Software City has become one that I'll carry with me for a long time as it has been a truly inspiring and unforgettable journey.

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