The days following the AKAYA Summer Internship Programme launch were filled with exciting and insightful sessions that saw the interns interacting and connecting with distinguished guests on important topics. Two sessions were organized on different days and were aimed at empowering attendees with knowledge and insights on their strengths and social media presence respectively to help them succeed in their personal and professional lives and respective career fields as well. The following write-up will provide a recap of the two main events that took place on Wednesday the 19th and Friday the 21st.

The first mentorship session took place on Wednesday 19th July, 2023 at 6:30pm with Ms. Tracey Jones, a renowned language alchemist and Mind Management Mentor on the topic of Preparing for Adult Life. This online coaching session was focused on providing insights to help the interns identify their strengths, support them on how to deal with situations that may be presented in their lives, set up goals and understand how to leverage their strengths to achieve these goals.

According to Ms. Tracey Jones, strengths can be knowledge, traits, skills and talents that are considered positive. Eliciting your strengths means being honest and true to what you are great at and focusing on them because your strength is something you are great at, not just good at.

The Interns were then asked to share some of their strengths and why they perceive those traits to be their strengths.  Following the identification of one’s strengths, the interns were introduced to the Goals Reality Options Will (GROW) Model to help them have some practical experience on how to develop their strengths further.

At the end of the session, the interns had a clear understanding of their strengths, their goals, the situations they currently find themselves in, the alternatives they have available to overcome the situation and how to derive a criteria and measurement for success.

The second event was a group session, dated 21st July, 2023, saw the interns interacting with a notable social media manager on refining their social media profiles and establishing their online presence. The session, which focused on LinkedIn, was facilitated by Mr. Benedict Asare, a molecular biologist and expert on social media management and communication and was aimed at improving the social media presence and communication of the interns.

Some excerpts from the wealth of knowledge shared by Mr. Asare were: Your main profile picture should stand out and your cover picture can represent an area you have an interest in; Your bio should include a little of everything you do like your office work and extra skills. It should be simple and appealing; Your About should have a brief but detailed introduction about yourself and what you do including additional skills and interests; At the Experience section, ensure all of your experiences are written in order and is up-to-date; Do not make it a habit of focusing on only one niche; Try as much as possible to build connections and interact with people whose interests align with yours; When reaching out to connections for the first time, try to be formal but not too formal that your messages sound robotic. It is good manners to be formal and respectful but excessive formality makes the conversation wooden.

Mr. Asare also touched on the importance of teamwork and effective communication among the interns in view of their collaboration to come up with a social impact project and also how to interact professionally with their team leads. 

In conclusion, the sessions held during the past week were a great success. The interns gained valuable insights on identifying their personal strengths and how to leverage them for success in their respective fields. Additionally, they learned about the concept of personal branding in professional settings. Ms. Tracey Jones’ session provided useful insights on identifying personal strengths and how to use them for success. The group session with Mr. Benedict Asare helped the interns understand the importance of being present and visible on social media, as well as the significance of teamwork and effective communication. Overall, the week proved to be a great opportunity for interns to network, learn, and grow.