From student life to working life: My journey as an intern at Permobil
Kristine Streton
I'm about to finish my 3.5-month internship in the marketing department at Permobil and I'd like to put the experience into words. Many people ask if it has been as I expected. It's hard to answer because I had no idea what to expect. I've been in school all my life and never worked before, so the goal of the internship was to gain experience in a workplace.
The first day I was excited: What would it be like to work instead of studying? Would I be able to do it with my disability? The internship would give me answers to some of these questions.
I thought office work was boring, but it has turned out to be the opposite. It has confirmed that I enjoy writing and working with texts - both my own and others'. It has given me a lot on a personal level because I've learned how I work best and what energizes me.
Two projects stand out for me: a Christmas video for the Permobil coffee machine that I made myself and a series of blog posts based on customer stories. It has meant a lot to me to create something that is used in the company and goes out into the world.
I've learned that Rome wasn't built in a day. Social media posts, videos and blog posts take time to complete and fit into the company's framework. It takes energy and creativity to deliver something beautiful and useful "on command". I've also experienced how individual graphic work is - and how important collaboration is to make things happen.
It's been rewarding to realize that there is room for me and what I'm good at. I love writing, playing with words and getting emotions and experiences down on paper so that others can gain insight into what I'm communicating. Whether it's my own story or someone else's only changes the content - working with words is the same. Creating through images, colors and text is also something I enjoy. Here, I can work creatively and give my curly brain room to play.
The written language and graphic work has a big advantage for me: my physicality doesn't limit me here. The internship has shown me that there is a place for people like me in the labor market. I now know that I can contribute something valuable, even with my challenges. I had an idea that office work was monotonous, but I have learned that it can be creative and dynamic. I hope that the workplaces of the future will make room for those of us who are not quite like the average.
Finally, I would like to thank Permobil for the openness and flexibility that made it possible for me to be a part of the company.
Written by: Kristine Streton
Job title: Marketing Intern - Permobil
City/Country: Lille Skensved, Denmark
Hobby: Electric hockey and reading.