My summer internship experience definitely did not go as I had initially planned.  I started my summer off by working for the American Association of Singapore (AAS)—a non-profit based in Singapore which helps expatriates adjust to Singapore through attending events, networking nights, and through the organizations career resource center. I was asked to be the assistant for the events manager for the organization’s biggest event of the year: Independence Day Celebration. This event is hands down the most attended American Independence Day celebration in all of Singapore and therefore assisting the events manager was quite a demanding job.  After all the meticulous planning and preparing, it was a true spectacle to see the event finally come to life.  Along with the other Scripps College intern, I wrote the front-page article for AAS’ publication on Independence Day, which was showcased in their August issue.  Along with the Independence Day article, I also wrote an article on Singapore’s nightlife in the “Newcomers Guide” section of the September issue of the Singapore American News Paper.

After working at AAS, I had planned to go to New Delhi and work with a very well-known NGO. Unfortunately things didn’t go as planned and I decided to return to Singapore as I had applied for an internship with the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) and successfully gotten it. AmCham Singapore is the largest foreign business chamber in Singapore. I think my internship with AmCham has been ridiculously productive, challenging, and enriching. I can confidently say that sitting in an office from 8:00am-6:00pm has taught me how to work smart, prioritize, focus, and be patient. Although I have learned a lot through the work I have done, I have also learned a lot by attending a lot of the business events AmCham hosts— “Tackling Infrastructure for a Future Jakarta,” “Women in Leadership: Driving Economic Growth Through Women’s Empowerment,” “The Economist Intelligence Unit: Global and ASEAN Economic Forecast,” just to name a few. These events have given me a wealth of knowledge about economics, women in the corporate world, and the region I currently live in and that is something that I will especially take away from my time with AmCham.

Although things did not work out the way I had expected with my summer, I can still proudly say that my internship experiences have been nothing short of remarkable and I couldn’t have asked for a more valuable experience before I head off to my study abroad in three weeks’ time to the London School of Economics. Hopefully there are many more adventures, planned and unplanned, in the future because after this experience, I’m ready to embrace them all!