Odelia Uwanogho from St. Brendan’s Sixth Form College in Bristol worked at Savills for her paid internship over the summer. Learn about her internship journey and how the experience helped her make up for lost learning time from the pandemic.
Odelia came into her internship with no prior experience working in an office environment. She was unsure about the corporate world and felt like she’d fallen behind because of the pandemic.
“I wasn’t able to take part in work experience in year 10 or 11 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. But having completed my internship, I feel like I’ve caught up in a way.”
A new kind of experience
She interned at Savills for two weeks and was pleasantly surprised to see how diverse the property industry can be.
“I knew very little about property and thought that it would be a quite linear, narrow experience – I didn’t think that there would be other disciplines involved like finance or politics. Overall, I really enjoyed my time at Savills – the people that I met throughout my internship were always kind and friendly, I got to learn from them and how they got into the business.”
Over the two weeks, Odelia developed key career skills for her future, including tech and computer skills, while she adapted to working in an office environment.
“Being in a professional environment taught me things you wouldn’t necessarily learn at school. For example, I learned how important it is to pay attention to detail in the workplace, and that even simple tasks need a high level of detail to make sure you produce high quality work. I also improved my computer and technology skills – I learnt how to create and use excel spreadsheets and attended meetings via Teams.”
One of the highlights for her was seeing Savills’ work in action. Her trips to different sites gave her a new perspective on the property industry.
“Going to the Clifton Down Shopping Centre was definitely very interesting – and more of what I’d like to do in the future. I liked seeing the balance sheets and hearing about the daily managing of the shopping centre, as well as visiting new homes.”
Odelia’s supervisor, Anne, saw a huge change in her over her internship.
“Over the two weeks, Odelia grew in confidence and gave her final presentation to two senior directors and an online panel clearly and confidently. She answered the questions directed at her afterwards confidently and with genuine belief in what she was saying. One of the directors commented that some of the graduates within the office couldn’t have presented as well as her!
Opportunities like this are very important, as so often work experience opportunities are limited to students who have a contact within the business/industry. It’s important to engage with students from all walks of life and communities to ensure everyone has a fair opportunity.”
Invaluable insights into the working world
Odelia’s paid internship empowered her with the skills and experience she needs to thrive in her career. She’s come out of this experience with a bank of transferrable skills that will help her build a successful future.
“This has been an extremely important opportunity for me – it gave me a real insight into the world of work. I learnt so many transferable skills and lessons that I couldn’t at school – such as the nature of an office and how it all functions. I am now much more assured of the corporate world and confident in myself.”
