Taking initiative, the key into the team
Working in Burundi is sometimes hard, as people have not really grasped the concept of internships and what the internships contribute to the students’ education. The only time that companies allow students to do an internship is usually in their last year of university when they are getting ready to write their thesis. The results are the absence of a good structure. During the internship, it is barely if people are willing to show you the work that they do by fear that you might do the job better than they do or replace them. Mentorship is something that still requires some progress and that people need to be educated about. Initiative, in such a situation, is the alternative that gave me the space and work to impress my supervisors. When I found myself in a similar situation, I decided to review the modules that the agronomists use to train farmers since I had no knowledge about the coffee sector. Seeing the interest that I gave into these, the country manager invited me on a field trip where I was able to gain more insight and was able to do some networking. Taking initiative opened doors for me and helped me prove myself to the rest of the team who later trusted me with more tasks.