To get this opportunity during COVID-19 was a relief to me and a light in the darkness of what has been going on. 

Tharshi Sennappan

In this article we welcome our new intern, Tharshi Sennappan (Law, 2019) who will be working with the Alumni team for the next 12 weeks. Tharshi joins us at a very strange time as we are all working from home during the COVID-19 crisis, and so far her only meetings with the team have been via Zoom calls. Not to be dissuaded, though, Tharshi brings a determination to make the most of her remote internship, and in this article she talks about why she applied for the internship, what she hopes to get out of it, and how strange it is to be starting a new position at this time.

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My name is Sivatharsini Sennappan and I am a Hull Class of 2019 graduate, having studied LLB Law for my undergraduate degree. When I initially left the University of Hull, I was extremely excited for my next chapter, yet quite heartbroken to be departing what I called my second home. When I moved from London to the North of England to start my university life, I was quite nervous, but when I arrived in Hull. I realised the only issue I was going to encounter was the ability to understand the accent, which grew on me and now I can completely comprehend every word uttered by northerners.

Once I had graduated from Hull, I decided to dive into the world of Human Resources and took on the journey to complete a MSc Human Resource Management course at York St John University,  thus allowing me to still be close to my second home. Little did I know the pandemic was going to halt my future as well as others. The first thought which came to my mind was ‘How am I going to get a job?’ or even get the experience to be able to get into the Human Resource sector. It placed me in a position where I went from looking forward to my future to being absolutely petrified. This state of mind changed when I came across this amazing opportunity that was being provided by the University of Hull. To get this opportunity during COVID-19 was a relief to me and a light in the darkness of what has been going on. 

Whilst still working on my final piece of dissertation for my Masters, I received an email from Hull University about a 12-week paid internship. When I first read the email, I was immensely intrigued and quite thrilled to be provided with such opportunities, which wasn’t sure were being provided by other universities. I was rather uncertain and not so confident in myself when I applied, with the thought that I would have to be chosen amongst others to be given this chance. It came to me as a surprise when I was informed that I was the chosen candidate to be an intern for the Alumni department. My excitement quickly turned into feeling a little afraid, since I had never worked from home or ever had experience in working with Alumni. However, after my first meeting which was kept informal, made me feel very comfortable and put me at ease. Meeting the team, although it was done virtually, made me feel welcomed and part of the team. 

Given this amazing opportunity, I hope to gain the experience required for me to begin my chosen career in Human Resource management. My team has already begun assigning me tasks which has allowed me to gain new skills, which are going to be useful for my future career. I am very much looking forward to learning and increasing my knowledge, although it has been a little challenging adapting to remote working. The challenges I have faced thus far, would mainly be poor Wi-fi signals that interrupt meetings, which can be a little frustrating. In addition to this, working outside of an office environment has been a little weird but, as I progress, I should become accustomed to it. Apart from the challenges, I am thoroughly enjoying my internship so far and I am grateful to use this opportunity to adapt to the new era of remote working.