AMISHA MUKASA
For many the internship program has ended and the last year of campus is sinking in. Some are holding out hope to be retained and some wouldn’t go back to their intern places for all the money in the world. I know I wouldn’t! Internship for some was like something out of this world; from the fancy offices to guys buying you lunch at your backing call. I personally didn’t have a luxurious experience so am here to rant about those who did and how they flaunted it.
When the semester was approaching closure, the easiest way one would spot a second year student was if they were asking about Centenary bank charges at the ATM or asking about Centenary bank charges at the ATM. That 378,000 made students feel like they were millionaires, at least for Makerere University’s case. If you haven’t indulged in an internship program as yet maybe because you’re a fresher or just joining second year, then am here to fully explain the internship program culture at the University.
First, Interns have this thing they do. They take a million pictures while seated at a fancy office desk or even a conference room. They throw in the pilled papers and files to make it seem like they actually hold any position in the company. One has to contain themselves from barfing because of these pictures posted all over social media; with captions like #Blessed, #HardWorkPays, #MondayAtTheOffice. Some have seen these pictures around. Don’t be fooled. Those interns had to take the pictures with the boss out of office, at his/ her desk. Another culture with University interns is the dresscode. I have to admit, these interns will look good with the tucked shirts/ blouses and polished shoes but some take it to a whole other level with the short tight skirts and lipstick red as blood. By the way, when you see a woman with a body hugging skirt, lips as red as blood and well-shaped colored eyebrows getting into a fancy car with a big belly pushing at the steering wheel, that’s an intern. At least the fast ones, because the slow ones just settle for the occasional lunch and ten thousand at the end of the week.
These sightings I have listed are actually stereotypes and not all interns are that way. At least that’s what every intern will say. I have noticed how I have portrayed female interns mostly but that’s because they are the ones that give it away mostly as compared to the guys. This shouldn’t discourage you from having lunch at KFC when asked, for fear of being painted a stereotype. This is just a culture that maybe even your father or mother was involved in, it is called identity. That was my tour guide for those looking forward to internship and those who just don’t know of it.
