Why You should Consider Interning at Choose a Challenge

Interning at Choose a Challenge wasn't exactly an obvious move of mine. I've just finished my second year at the University of Warwick studying Psychology, and have done my best to gain as much experience as possible in my field. However, when I received the email advertising the internship I jumped at the opportunity, despite it having limited relevance to my course. Why was that? And why should you apply if the offer arises in the future? This blog highlights the advantages of working for Choose a Challenge, as well as some less obvious positives specifically about interning here. 

 
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1. The Benefit to Charity

The challenges our students sign up to all have one thing in common: they are all benefitting worthwhile charitable causes. Choose a Challenge has played a role in fundraising over £20 million for charity, and works with eight charity partners. Who wouldn't want to be a part of that? 

2. The Benefit to the Participants

This is probably the most obvious benefit. CaCh so far have sent over 10,000 young people on their life-changing experiences all over the world, myself included. As soon as I arrived back in Moshi after climbing Kili, and I spoke to the in-country operatives, I knew I wanted to play a bigger part. I loved the idea of being able to support students coming to Tanzania, but due to timing issues, I wasn't able to apply to be an ICO. However, I was more than able to commit to the six weeks of the internship, so I applied! This position has allowed me to experience a broader sense of how much students can benefit, not just participating in the challenge but also during the support journey in the lead up to the challenge. 

 

3. An Understanding of the Company 

In all honesty I was completely clueless about how the company worked, who worked here or what exactly I would be doing day-to-day. The learning curve has been incredible! I now feel confident responding to people's queries, I like making suggestions no matter how small the impact may have on participants' experience and yet I'm still happy to ask about what I have yet to work on. 

What was probably the most striking part about working here is the size of the team. With the amount of student experiences CaCh are responsible for, the work that goes into building a relationship with charity partners, the support journey of each individual and so on, I couldn't believe that the team was made out of less than ten people! The benefit of this is clear: each person in the team knows the significance of their role. This means that every day you can come into work and know that you will be making an impact, and when you know just how much goes towards the charity's good causes, how could you not be happy about that impact? 

4. An Understanding of Students!

One of the most beneficial aspects of working at Choose a Challenge is that the team are extremely understanding of us students. They know about the work that needs to go into a challenge like the ones that are offered, in terms of fundraising but also organisation. CaCh are there the whole way, always offering friendly advice. As a student, I always felt that they were patient and willing to help in aspects that a more experienced person would not necessarily need. I always felt very comfortable and supported, which is vital for someone like myself who has limited experience in this area. So if you're like me, don't let it stop you from applying to a future placement! 

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Above & Beyond

What was most clear to me during my six week internship is that everyone in the Choose a Challenge team is working towards the future. They are always looking for ways to improve the experience and are always looking for feedback. It is a great environment to work in and I would highly recommend people apply to internships here in the future.