Kelly Liang

For this edition of SUYP, we have Kelly Liang from the University of Auckland answering some questions about her virtual summer internship! Read on for all the details!

Kia Ora, Kelly! Thank you so much for sharing your work and wisdom with us! Tell us about your internship! How did you come about it?

I came across the remote internship through University of Auckland social media and through the emails I get from CDES!

Where you at all nervous going into this role?

I was definitely nervous! I had never done something like this before. Prior to the role, I had expectations of wanting to gain experience and enhance my team working skills within the architectural realm. And these expectations were met, along with learning how to engage with others in a more professional setting.

Your internship was remote, how did that work out?

The dynamic of my overseas team was for me at least, pretty much the same between getting tasks from your tutor at uni and completing those tasks, asking for help when needed.

I was sort of used to the whole zoom class situation, so being able to communicate with the person in charge of me, wasn't much of a hassle. Overall things were really chill, and it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be!

What have you learnt from this experience?

That time management is very important to finishing tasks within certain set deadlines, but also to have downtime for me along with the work.

What have you learnt that has impacted the way you are approaching university?

I've learned to have a better work-life balance within uni that I hadn't had before prior to having this internship. But also to not compare and be fine with my own work as everyone has a different style, and no ones is better or worse.

What advice do you have archi students looking for or going into internships in the future?

My advice for architecture students looking or going into internships is to have an open mind, and don't be afraid to ask for help when needed, afterall you are there to gain experience and knowledge - they're more than happy to help you!

Thank you very much for your time, Kelly!

Write up by Sakina Ali, imagery contributed by Kelly Liang.