1) Got an internship
About a month ago, I applied for a research internship at Police Psychological Services Division (PPSD) (Under Singapore Police Force) in response to an email blast that we received. At that point of time, it was more of a 'I-have-nothing-to-do-so-why-not' thing.
I got past the first cut of resume/grades and got invited for a group interview, which I decided to go for just for the exposure of what it's like to be in a group interview. There were 12 of us in total, and only 4 would be selected ( I didn't know this then). Thus I went for it, with some minor preparation, gave honest answers, and didn't expect much.
Somehow, I got selected! I'm not sure what I can learn here apart from doing research, though I'm hoping to get as much out of this as possible.
2) Got great fellow interns
What makes a boring job fun? Great colleagues. The bunch of 6 other interns are easy to talk to, interesting, and fun to have around. That makes work 12398x more interesting. I can't imagine what it would have been like to be stuck with a bunch of quiet, boring people for 10 weeks. Would have been torture.
3) Got a nice supervisor
I'm not sure what to make of this at this point of time. My supervisor is young (1 year older than me), easy to talk to, approachable, and fun. This makes interaction a joy. However, she is also the most inexperienced of the perm staff, which means my exposure to actual work may be limited. I think if I want to get more exposure, I'm going to have to fight for it myself, and not rely on her for it. We'll see.
4) Got an HT supervisor
After talking to a few friends, I realized how fortunate I was to have secured my honors thesis supervisor so early and easily (last year, Dec). I didn't have to write 2 page proposals, email the prof consistently, pass an interview, I didn't even have to provide a (list of) topic! I just asked via email, and was accepted immediately, with my prof supplying the topics for me. Furthermore, I heard that my prof is apparently 'hot property' and many people wanted him as supervisor lol.
I really have no idea why this worked out this way for me. I was kinda in the right place at the right time (he wanted someone to work on this follow up study, which I did for my IRP). Really must thank God for this neat arrangement.
