By Isaac Akugizibwe

KIU, Main Campus- Internship can be a mix of excitement and challenges that leave a lasting impression. This year’s internship program, at KIU according to the calendar began in June and is officially coming to an end this week as students prepare for the upcoming semester.

Various students will be sharing their experiences from fields of study. Let’s start with our rookie, Ashiraf Sekajja, who's passionate about broadcast journalism.

Ashraf Sekajja, a final year Mass Communication student who like many other continuing students recently completed his very first internship at Tamma Media Services, in Namuwongo.

He found the experience quite interesting overall despite encountering challenges along the way.

"It was an amazing experience with a number of new things coming to my notice. I've been introduced to the real-life setting outside the lecture room."

"I am mostly interested in production and I've been able to gather a great deal of practical knowledge on both audio and video production. I can now do anything in broadcast journalism including documentaries, features and news."

The other thing I managed to learn is managing a crisis. We were faced with several crises, especially during production and fieldwork. I discovered that one has to always be prepared for anything, for instance, I learned that while filming, one needs to carry with them extra equipment like batteries in case of any shortcoming."

He also admits that the internship has greatly boosted his confidence and assertiveness.

"I have been able to interact with most of the production software and I can now confirm that my confidence level is at an all-time high, having overcome all the difficulty of dealing with very strict supervisors, mentors and editors."

"My time management skills have also greatly improved since everything in the broadcast industry rotates around time utilization. I've learned that timekeeping is key to achieving efficiency, and it has to be one of the pillars in real life setting especially at the job."

"So right now I feel ready to give my best if an opportunity presents itself."

Among the challenges Sekajja encountered was shortage of resources like daily transport and upkeep to keep him fueled, rejection from news sources, misleading comments from sources as well as uncertainties like batteries running low while recording. However, it is important to note that he was able to overcome all these challenges by remaining positive and focused on the main goal.

"I was able to work around all those challenges for I knew that life is like a coin, one side has challenges while the other has the softness that everyone desires."

"It's the question of what you want to achieve. I had my mind set on the goal and it is because of my determination that I was able to outweigh the challenges."