I feel like it was yesterday. Leslie had prefaced the announcement of my internship placement by saying how excited she was for me and this pairing. “It’s a really cool opportunity” she would say. She didn’t say that for anyone else so it must be an awesome company I thought. My stomach dropped and felt empty despite my fullness after our dinner. I still remember my instant nervous smile as I question Leslie: “XpressGas? Cool! What is that…?”

After a list of newspapers, radio stations, and ad agencies, I was shocked and nervous that I was one of three or four who got an in-house job (and it was at a gas company?!) I was the youngest one in the group and yet I was one of the few paired with a company that needed the most help with social media strategizing — something I had maybe taken two classes on so far in my collegiate career. Not only had I only taken a few classes that would maybe help me with this internship but I was going in with no internship or professional experience. These fears were the main source of my anxiety before the trip. I eventually became comforted with the idea that everyone was in a sort of similar boat. We just had to fake it until we made it. That’s what I did. 

Eventually came my first day. Three 6:30 alarms from my roommates and me and all of us were rushed with worries about what to wear, if we had enough cash to get home, if we knew where we were actually going, did we have the contact information for the people we were meeting for the day, what were we going to be doing, and how long until we were home again. After I got dressed, ate breakfast with the whole group, and loaded the car with Sam and Sonny, the first-day jitters really began to hit.

I arrived to work and Sonny (the angel that he is) walked in with me, found Dennis (the HR guy I had been emailing prior to my arrival), and then we went to find my boss. Dennis informed me he was running a few minutes late and so we sat and got to know each other. Not long after, a tall man with glasses, jeans, boots, and a blazer over a company t-shirt walked in with a briefcase. Still sitting, I smiled and awkwardly waved. I looked back at Dennis and he gave me a look that signified I should get up and shake this guy’s hand. I could tell that the man who walked in wasn’t the type to do intros because people just knew who he was. He smiled at me as I frantically stood up and tried to BS a reason for why I didn’t get up initially or instantly knew who he was without directly telling him I was clueless, overwhelmed, and nervous. Even though I didn’t say those things explicitly, he still quickly read my demeanor so he laughed, told me not to worry, pulled out his computer, and wasted no time introducing me to the company business plan. CEO Kofi Nketsia-Tabiri was not a man who wasted time or beat around any bushes and this set the tone for the pace and mindset of the weeks to come.

His presentation touched on some things Dennis had just informed me of so I seemed like I knew what I was talking about when I interjected my thoughts and questions. Faking it until I make it. He told me what he expected of me ranging from presentation formats to projects, to people I should be helping or shadowing. As I tried to mentally jot down and memorize these things, we were already out the door beginning our tour. We walked around the annex and then headed back to the main office. I met probably 30 people that day, which at the time felt like 1000. I was greeted with confused stares as a blonde oburoni walked into each room but the second Dennis introduced me as a new intern, I was met with bright white smiles and “Akwaaba’s.”

As I met and spoke with some of the employees, I realized everyone, even here, is faking it until they make it. Not only was I in the same boat as my cohort, but everyone at my company explained that they’re still learning, developing, and changing with the growth of the company. I was instantly comforted and felt welcomed. That’s when I got to work.

After the tour, Dennis left me with a woman named Ekua. She was recently hired as the main social media consultant so she would become the woman I shadowed. I began helping her in the customer service office with a campaign video she was starting to film that showcased one of the delivery processes. I instantly was noticing the drastic differences in production processes. No storyboarding, little to no strategic planning, no proper equipment, no script, and no deadlines. A process I was always annoyed with when it came to media content production and now I was the one missing that structure and trying to implement it to make this video run smoothly. It wasn’t bad, just different. I quickly gauged the page we were at and determined it was page zero. This woman was structuring the process as she went and I was amazed at her composure, communication skills, and ability to take advice and critique. Making this video with her allowed us to be more of partners during my time here which enhanced my learning experience.

As I made my voice more apparent in meetings and presentations, I was surprisingly listened to and immediately given more responsibility. It was a cool feeling from just faking it. Before I knew it, I didn’t have to fake it anymore. I established myself as a knowledgeable part of this team striving to promote and advertise a company making a positive impact in impoverished areas in a developing country.

Here I am now finishing up my last week here at the place where I have learned the most I ever have in a single setting. I don’t know when I will ever get the opportunity to get a taste of international journalism in this close of scope and fast of assimilation again so I will never take this experience for granted as I go further in my journalism career. I now have reviewed, analyzed, and created a comms audit, PR feature, and creative brief. I will go into my future classes where they teach us how to create these pieces with this experience in mind to reference. There really is no better way to learn how to do something than in a situation like this. It’s for real, not a project or something for a grade or practice, but rather something for a real company with real employees and real clients who depended on me for my feedback and perspectives to help them grow and appeal to a wider audience range. As I said, it’s the coolest feeling.

Thank you, Kofi, Ekua, Jeff, and Dennis for being such a good welcoming team on behalf of your XpressGas family and for creating such a positive impact on my life to an extent you’ll never know. I love you all and miss you already. Most of all though, thank you Leslie for giving me such an opportunity in the first place. You knew what you were talking about when you raved about how good of an opportunity this was going to be for me and I really cannot begin to show enough gratitude for such a gift.