My end-of-semester internship report.

This was my report on my placement for my internship seminar, a class where 9 of us students met once a week with a professor to reflect on our experiences in a British workplace. I thought it would give a good idea of what I've been doing at my internship.

Introduction

My time studying and working in London has posed questions I never could have expected and provided answers in ways I never knew possible.

I. Workplace Profile

Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership (THEBP) is dedicated to serving the primary and secondary schools of the Borough of Tower Hamlets and providing them with volunteering schemes. THEBP’s role is “to encourage the public and private sectors to work with schools in Tower Hamlets on a range of projects designed to raise achievement and provide pupils with opportunities to improve their work related skills” (www.thebp.org). THEBP was established in 1991 and is a member of the National Education Business Partnership Network (NEBPN). The NEBPN is the umbrella organization for 126 Education Business Partnerships across 11 regions in England.

The Borough of Tower Hamlets in London’s East End is about 8 square kilometers but houses a quarter of a million people. Tower Hamlets includes the areas of Spitalfields, Bethnal Green, Bow, Stepney & Wapping, Poplar, Canary Wharf, and the Isle of Dogs. Though the City of London is nearby, Tower Hamlets is one of the poorest boroughs in the UK. THEBP employees often brief their volunteers with these statistics on Tower Hamlets: 66% of Tower Hamlets pupils qualify for free school meals against a national average of 18% while 64% of Tower Hamlets pupils speak English as a second language. The borough is inhabited largely by Bangladeshi and Pakistani populations.

From personal conversations with THEBP coworkers and a volunteer at one of the events, I learned that the other Education Business Partnership branches are smaller than THEBP and provide less support for their schools and volunteers. Because THEBP serves such a disadvantaged borough, the office receives much more money from sponsors than other branches. As a result, THEBP staffs about 20 employees, of whom about two-thirds are full-time while the rest are part-time or contractual. THEBP’s Board of Directors includes persons from Lloyd’s Community Programme, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Merrill Lynch, City of London, Clifford Chance, and schools in Tower Hamlets. THEBP also regularly works closely with companies such as Deloitte, Morgan Stanley, Barclay’s, Lloyd’s of London, and RBS.

THEBP strives to aid schools by promoting more effective student learning and engagement by implementing a range of projects through which “business people help students develop their confidence and raise their aspirations by bringing both practical experience of the world of work and presenting a positive role model” (http://www.thebp.org/).

THEBP employees usually tell their volunteers that many Tower Hamlets students just don’t have access to the world of work because some of them come from unemployed households or laboring class households. One of my supervisors, Rebecca, said that at an event at the Lloyd’s building some time ago, a couple of students were 45 minutes late because they stood outside the building not knowing they had to go in and talk to reception. THEBP hopes to provide Tower Hamlets students with the communication, social, and corporate skills that others take for granted.

II. Internship Description & Learning Analysis

Since I was hoping to be placed in a school, I was pretty disappointed from the beginning of the study abroad program, especially since I had heard from other education students who had been in London for the fall semester and had great experiences with their school placements. When I learned that I was going to be at a company called Education Business Partnership, I became even more disappointed. The “Business” part of the company’s name really turned me off. I had no desire to be in an office or any corporate setting, which is what “Business” implied. However, being realistic, I told myself that I would make the most of whatever my placement turned out to be and that I would learn as much as I could from working with a British company.

My expectations were way off. THEBP turned out to be one of the friendliest, most understanding, and interesting workplaces I’ve been in. Though the office was professional and business-like, the employees were engaging and kind. Everyone said hello to me, all the time. Everyone was interested in meeting me. During the first week, I had meetings with the different departments, even though I rarely worked with all of them. My supervisor, Rebecca, wanted to make sure that I had a good understanding of the whole company, in order to better inform my specific tasks for her. Furthermore, THEBP employees were all supportive of each other’s projects. There didn’t seem to be any job competition – although people in the office weren’t outspokenly passionate about the improvement of Tower Hamlets education, it was evident that they all cared very much about their work. I remember one coworker, Im, coming from his desk upstairs to talk to Ian downstairs and ask if he could help Ian in any way for one of the upcoming events.

My supervisor was Rebecca who was Secondary Projects Manager, meaning she organized the project schemes for the secondary schools. Typically, I helped Rebecca create certificates, input data from student evaluations, draft letters to schools and volunteers, and research ideas for reading and math quizzes. I was also able to help organize and attend a Public Speaking Competition with her. I was also fortunate enough to help other coworkers with various tasks. I helped Megan edit a business mentoring training handbook. I observed a primary level volunteer training session held by Alice. I attended 2 all-day business enterprise conferences called Getting Ahead with Ian. THEBP was conducive to an internship placement because they understood that I was a student: they were flexible with my workload but they also knew that I wanted to experience as much of the office in the short amount of time that I was there. Furthermore, though I wasn’t given any huge tasks, the projects I was given were engaging and required creativity.

Just as important as the work I did for THEBP were the interactions I had with my coworkers. Coming into my internship, I wasn’t thinking too much about my social and communication skills; I was thinking about my technical knowledge, education experience, and presentational skills. However, I soon realized that, for this internship experience, just talking to my coworkers was as important as the work. On one level, I had to learn how to read their gestural cues and body language because sometimes I couldn’t understand their accents. On another level, I had to learn how to react to my novelty status in the office; I was usually introduced as the American intern, people often asked questions about being American, my boss constantly took jabs at my culture-starved country. In that sense, I had to learn how to be in the spotlight and deal with the pressure. On the most important level, I was able to talk to my coworkers about their experiences working for a charity, about being British, about living abroad (many of them had traveled and worked elsewhere). THEBP became one my best resources in London.

One of the most valuable lessons I gained at THEBP was awareness of the charity sector. I hadn’t really associated charity organizations with professional settings. As an LMU student, I was very aware of the post-graduate service opportunities available both locally and globally – at least in placements involving hands-on work. I knew about programs like Teach for America, JET, the Peace Corps, the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, and Greenpeace. However, I didn’t associate charities like THEBP with service opportunities. My rationale was that if you were getting paid, you weren’t performing service. Working at THEBP was an eye opening experience because I realized that the employees there are working for their living, but they are also living for their work. Because they are engaging in projects that make a difference in the lives of others, they have no qualms in saying that their work is important. They believe in work. It was interesting to see that a charity needs an accountant, an IT manager, a head honcho to schmooze with very important persons. It was a corporate environment with primary and secondary school students for clients. At the same time, THEBP employees understand that life is meant to be enjoyed. They take holidays regularly, they leave the office at a decent hour, they take tea and lunch breaks to chat. I have come to realize that this is all important because when trying to make a difference in the lives of others, you yourself must also remain healthy and inspired. One of my education professors at LMU, who was also a full-time high school teacher, said that she takes time to travel because the only way she knew how to enlighten her students was to stay enlightened herself.

On that note, I have found that my career plan has been evolving. During high school, I fancied myself a “missionary.” Now I realize that I didn’t really understand what that meant, it just sounded good and important. When college came around, I formulated a roadmap to success: I would graduate with a BA in Liberal Studies, I would teach and work for my Master’s in Education simultaneously, and then I would attain my EdD by the time I was 28. I would also live, preferably by performing some volunteer work, in another country for a good amount of time sometime during those 7 years. However, the article “To Hell with Good Intentions,” confirmed what I have been rethinking over the past year: that if I have any sense of responsibility at all, I should “stay with your riots here at home…you will know what you are doing, why you are doing it, and how to communicate with those to whom you speak” (Illich). I realize that my passion lies in studying the education of Asian American students. These Asian American students can be found in the US. The Illich article confirms for me that it is okay to remain in the US if that is where I belong. I am not any less worldly because I remain in my home country.

At the same time, working at THEBP has helped me realize that service is not only found in the deserts of Africa or the tropics of South America. Service is found in charities like THEBP. Furthermore, because THEBP works largely with South Asian student populations, I found many correlations between the South Asian British students and Asian American students (e.g. in themes of self-identification). This brings me to my next point. My supervisor Rebecca gave me a great piece of advice: always be aware of my skills and talents and passions and never settle. I have realized that my skills and talents and passions could happily take me into a career path involving organizations like THEBP. My plan no longer looks the same as it did 4 years, a year, even 6 months ago. I understand now that I may or may not end up in the classroom right away. I may or may not live abroad as I had dreamed. If I do end up abroad, I will know that I go to gain global perspectives and global experiences.

III. Cultural Analysis

One THEBP-specific cultural encounter was the humor of my boss, Mike. He was a friendly older man, the head boss of THEBP. He had his own closed office and would disappear at times to talk to corporate sponsors and other important people. At the same time, he was willing to answer the receptionist’s phone if she wasn’t in and pick up the post and make a cup of tea for everyone. He was also willing to crack a joke at my American-ness at least once a day. I realize now that this bothered me more than I like to admit. A typical conversation between Mike and I went like this:

Mike: And where are you jetting off to this weekend, Lara?
Me: I’m staying in London! I’ll probably try and check out the [insert museum].
Mike: Ah, trying to get a bit of culture. I suspect you don’t get enough of it at home, do you?

Or like this:

Mike: Do you know Andy Murray?
Me: No, can’t say that I do…
Mike: Oh, I forget for you Americans nothing else exists besides basketball and such.

I got used to Mike’s jests and learned to take it with a grain of salt after realizing that he was probably being sarcastic and exaggerative, in true British fashion. But I have now realized that his humor really bothered me for a while because an American boss would not so easily take the liberty to poke fun at a foreigner’s nationality. America is so P.C. and I was not used to dealing with such jibes. Also, I didn’t feel comfortable enough to joke back, which left me laughing politely and feeling rather idiotic.

Another cultural shock: London’s diversity. I was surprised by how many languages I encountered in London. Walking in South Kensington alone is a linguistic feast – I can easily hear French, Arabic, Bangladeshi, Cockney, and Polish on a 10 minute walk. Coming from Los Angeles, I was expecting to be used to the diversity of London. I had eaten food from China, Cuba, Mexico, Thailand – I felt I had all the necessary tools to acculturate myself in London. I was surprised, therefore, by how differently London’s diversity manifests itself. Maybe because the city is more condensed than LA or maybe because London is part of a UK/European country or maybe even because I am so accustomed to LA’s diversity, I felt London’s diversity very differently. Everyone seemed to be from everywhere and, just as significantly, the British seemed to have gone everywhere. People in my office have lived and holidayed all over the world – India, Canada, San Francisco, Australia, Chile. I have never worked with such a well-travelled group. This affected my internship experience because I was able to talk to my coworkers about the joys and frustrations of living in another country. Some even talked about moving to Germany or France like it was no big deal, probably because it is so accessible from London. So even though I have to go back home to California, now that I have studied in London and travelled in Ireland, Italy, France, Austria, Greece, and Turkey, the world does seem more accessible to me now. Furthermore, through THEBP, I have had regular interactions with British people. Consequently, I am nervous to go back home. The article, “The Final Frontier: Going Home,” captures my fears exactly: “Friends and family may expect the same person that left to be coming back home, but you might find that, due to your experience overseas, others may be uncomfortable with the fact that there is a part of you and your life experience to which they cannot relate” (Andreshak-Behrman). Just as significantly, I am expecting myself to react to home in the same way, but I am nervous to find out that maybe I won’t.

Conclusion

No matter what happens when I go home and what happens in the far future, I believe my time in London and with THEBP has enabled me to better adjust myself in any situation.