8 Weeks of Summer

Hey, I know this is long long overdue, but it doesn’t matter.  I’ve been kinda busy

It’s been exactly 231 days ago since I started my summer internship with Unilever; an eight-week program, working for at least nine hours from Monday to Thursday, and an Out-of-the-Cube (OTC) Session on Fridays. And just 16 days ago, we all met up once again to have our culminating night. Yes, five months after the internship.

I think it goes without saying that there’s a real beauty to the internship. And for me, the best thing about it isn’t even about being in one of the biggest companies in the Philippines. It isn’t about getting quite a hefty salary compared to other people in our age group. It isn’t about getting free food and free stuff. It isn’t just about the learning that you pick up from your line managers (mind you, there are a lot of things to be learned from work in corporate).

To me, the real beauty of it was about working with people who are excellent. The people in the program are excellent beyond your wildest imagination. Though the bunch seems to be the quiet and reserved type, with the occasional outgoing interns, everyone in the program had their own niches, their own excellences. Call up honor students, student council and student organization officers, debaters, exchange students, double majors, varsity members and you’ve got our batch of interns. And though I’ve been in the presence of others aforementioned, these group of people are very easy to get along with, very accommodating (in Filipino slang, “kalog” sila). Yes, can you imagine twenty-five grown men and women dancing the 3-in-1+1 dance? Didn’t think so.

Another thing that I truly love about the program, is its ability to form long-lasting ties; friendships that transcend the bounds of interests or schools. In the program, I’ve only met around 3 writers; there were only 5 of us from the same school; yet every Friday, when we would all get together and meet, we would throw away all the inhibitions.

I know that we won’t all be in the same company after graduation. Some will get in, others will get better offers, and others will choose a different career path. Regardless where I end up, or where WE end up, I’d like to think that we’ve gained so much from the experience that it in itself was reward enough.

Oh, for those of you who were wondering and waiting to know what happened in the culmiNight we had, here is a short rundown:

1. Belle and I had to become impromptu hosts
2. Sucks so bad that Jhel, Wena and Mischa were unable to make it 😦
3. Sucks din na Jaja, Anna, and Alps were late 😦
4. First group sang different songs, all of which were <s>eesh</s>  great!
5. The second group acted the life of a summer intern (and we were copying some of the employees!)
6. The third group danced a rendition of Nobody by the Wonder Girls
7. Jaja, Addison, Kurt, Ria, Bodz, Lauren, Alps, Nice and I won an award!
8. We got a pangkabuhayan showcase giveaway (darn, that was heavy!)
9. Hung out a little afterwards in Rob Place.

Okay, for some weird reason, the photouploader doesn’t wanna work. For snapshots of the culminight, you can click here. Thanks to Bodz, Ge, Jackie and Gen for all the pics. You can get full access to pics from their respective accounts.

Unilever Summer Interns 09: Adrian. Addison. Alps. Anna. Belle. Bodz. Carlo. Darene. EJ. Ge. Ian. Jace. Jaja. Jackie. Jordan. Jhel. Kate. Kenneth. Kurt. Lauren. Mischa. Nice. Pam. Ria. Wena

Special thanks to: Gen and Kat, our masters. Kuya Rico, their master. And of course, ULP.