In September 2022, I had the opportunity to attend the Chula Sustainability Fest 2022 at Chulalongkorn University's 100th Anniversary Park. That day, I wandered around the event and eventually came across the booth of the Scholars of Sustenance (SOS) Foundation. That was the first time I had heard of the organization. A staff member approached me, explained the foundation's work, and invited me to volunteer, giving me a name card. After receiving the card, I kept thinking that I wanted to participate someday, as I was already interested in doing volunteer activities. About a year later, after holding onto that card, I finally decided to volunteer, which led me to learn more about SOS. During that time, I joined the Food Rescue Program (FRP). Along the way, I had a conversation with a Food Rescue Ambassador (FRA), who encouraged me to intern at SOS. I kept this option in mind, and eventually, I ended up interning at SOS.
I began my internship at SOS on June 10, 2024, and it lasted until August 2, 2024, for a total of 8 weeks. I held the position of Intern for the Project, Innovation, and Data (PID) team. On the first day of my internship, I learned about the organization as a whole and had a discussion with P'Tae, who was my main supervisor throughout the internship, about agreements, welfare, and an overview of all tasks assigned to me. Most of work involved analyzing donation data, such as finding the relationship between global boiling and the trend of vegetable donations over the past two years and analyzing in-depth data in the FRP. In addition to data analysis, I was also assigned on some days to learn about the work of the operations (OP) team, such as assisting teachers in creating educational materials for separating nutritious and non-nutritious foods at the Amphawa Child Center. Additionally, there were two major projects I had to present, one was writing an article on any topic related to the foundation, where I had to plan and collect data independently, and the most important project was analyzing when the foundation would reach 50 million meals distributed and figuring out how to present the impact.
Through all these tasks, I improved my skills in using analytical tools, especially Excel, and learned how to use Power BI and Power Apps. These skills will be extremely valuable after the internship, as I am interested in pursuing a career in Data. Interning in this position gave me the opportunity to try working in this field for real. One important lesson I learned about working with data is the importance of thinking outside the box. Sometimes, with limited data resources, getting stuck in the thought that we need more data to proceed can hinder progress. Therefore, learning to make the most of limited data is a critical lesson I gained from this internship.
The working environment at SOS is very friendly. I felt that if someone intern at SOS, it wouldn’t be strange to know everyone at work because everyone is approachable, and there aren’t too many staff members. Even senior employees are easy to chat with. Moreover, the activity that I think sets SOS apart from other organizations is cooking and eating meals together. Other organizations might just order food to eat together, but here, I could go down to the kitchen and join in eating meals that depend on the donated ingredients received each day, which was an experience I didn't expect to gain from the internship.
There are several things I appreciate about SOS. Firstly, the internship system is well-organized. I must honestly admit that when I applied for the internship, I didn’t expect to work on Data projects as much as I did. I thought that an internship at a foundation wouldn’t be too intensive, but after the internship, I felt that SOS is one place that manages internships systematically, treating interns like full-time employees. For example, giving work-from-home quotas equivalent to full-time employees and requiring interns to present a summary of all their work at the end of the internship. From the first day, there were clear job scopes, and I was asked to list all the tasks and the desired outcomes for each week. This approach allowed me to know what I needed to do each day and manage my personal life accordingly. It also provided clear evidence to show others when asked what I had done during my internship. I think documenting all tasks can serve as a guide for me in managing personal and collaborative work in the future.
Secondly, I gained valuable experience in presenting. Towards the end of the internship, I was assigned to present all the projects I had worked on during the internship, including weekly progress updates. In total, I gave seven presentations, in both English and Thai. I had experience presenting in university but had never presented a long-term project that required progress reports, nor had I presented informative content in English. Practicing these presentations during the internship helped me develop my own style for future presentations, as each presentation allowed me to accumulate feedback and improve until I found presenting style that suited me.
Thirdly, the attention to interns’ well-being was admirable. A common question I received while working was, "Are you stressed? Can you handle it?" These questions reflected the concern and observation among colleagues, making me feel that no matter how overwhelming the work might be, at least someone noticed and cared. Towards the end of the internship, there was an opportunity to discuss overall experiences, challenges, suggestions, and feelings throughout the internship. Additionally, on the first day when we discussed the overall work, I was impressed when P'Tae mentioned that all the tasks assigned to me would be used in real applications, not just as unused results. This statement made me feel that the work I was about to do was valuable, which increased my motivation. All these aspects reflect a great work culture, and I think that if I work with anyone in the future, caring for colleagues will be something I will do, just as I experienced during my internship.
" Overall, I am glad that I chose to intern at the SOS Foundation. The expectations I had at the beginning might not have been high, but what I received exceeded my expectations. I gained more expertise in data analysis, discovered more about myself, learned valuable lessons, made friendships, and received care and concern from the staff at the foundation. "
-----------------Thank you ; )
Piyatat Kongbangpo (Poom),
Intern from Faculty of Psychology (3rd year) of Chulalongkorn University,
Intern of Project, Innovation, and Data team,
10th June - 2nd August 2024
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