Final year Cultural Studies and Media BA Undergraduate
Over the summer of 2019, I was lucky enough to gain a Santander part funded internship with Pentins Financial Planners. I found out about this opportunity through Employability Points – a scheme at the University of Kent which rewards students for their active engagement with co-curricular activities with experiences of work. After going through the various stages of applying and interviewing, I was informed by the Employability Points team that I had been successful.
Carrying out this internship was fantastic for a number of reasons. As well as immensely enjoying my time at Pentins, I learnt so much about the ins and outs of the business and made lots of business connections. I also developed a range of my skills, such as organisation and time management – I had many short deadlines to work towards. I think of everything that I learnt from this opportunity, I have taken most value from realising the importance of saying ‘yes’ and taking a leap of faith. I was regularly faced with tasks which I was unsure I could complete, or tight deadlines that seemed impossible to meet. However, I said ‘yes’ and took up every one of these opportunities. If I hadn’t, I don’t think I would have learnt as much as I did or have had such a successful experience.
So, my thanks go out to the Employability Points Scheme, which helped me access this opportunity, and of course to Santander for funding this internship. Without Santander’s support, I wouldn’t have been able to undertake this internship.