From an average student to upper class and distinctions
THE year was 2012, when I had to undergo compulsory internship as part of my undergraduate degree studies. I remember how I settled for a media degree simply because my parents had insisted that it was time I went back to school after two years at work, which was initially meant to have been just a gap year.
My thought process around studying Media and Society Studies at Midlands State University was that I would be confined in a newsroom, reading the 8pm news each evening on the state broadcaster.
I stepped into the MISA Zimbabwe offices in Harare in March 2012, to begin a new chapter in my life. Unmotivated by the field of study, but excited about working for an organisation that was clearly one of the ‘big brothers’ in the media fraternity.
I remember how some of my classmates had been green with envy at the opportunity that lay before me. It was after a message from the best student in my former class, that I then made a conscious decision that I had to make the most of my one-year stint with the organisation.
My one-year stint at MISA Zimbabwe can best be explained by a glance at my academic transcript. From a mere average student whose grades in the first and second year were a mere means to progress to the next stage, I evolved into an A class student with upper first class and distinction grades from the time I began my internship.
Not only did my grades im
prove from that year, but I also met the most amazing colleagues who later became family. My supervisor Koliwe Majama was tough, but helped me discover that I could enjoy my studies and internship whilst making a positive change in communities.
My perspective of the media landscape literally changed because of her. She would not tolerate any slacking. I remember how I initially thought she was just a difficult person to work with, but when I went out and started networking more, I got perspective on why she would constantly expect the best.
I understood that the environment sometimes demands that we put in extra work, if we are to have any real positive impact. When days were hardest, Annie Musodza - best known by all the interns as 'Madam', was literally a mother. She was a pillar of strength.
To this day, I always wonder how she could be that strong for herself and the hundreds of other interns that passed through her