This girl got to explore beyond her comfort zone. It turned out to be the best experience of her life!

At the recent myASEAN Market Day 2016, Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI) YB Dato' Sri Mustapa Mohamed, also fondly known as Tok Pa, announced the three winners of the myASEAN Experience Essay contest. Lim Ben-Jie, Carmen Chong and Ditya Hasna Karima walked away as champion, first runner up and second runner up respectively.

My name is Ditya Hasna Karima and I’m an Indonesian student pursuing my studies at the University of Malaya. Through the myASEANinternship programme, I was given an opportunity to be an intern at General Electric Malaysia.

myASEAN Internship was the greatest jackpot I’ve ever received this year.

Through this programme, I could experience the spirit of ASEAN regionalism, interning in one the best companies in the world and making friends with many of ASEAN’s prestigious students.

I could not express how grateful I am to be selected in such a prestigious programme.

The two months of my internship experience in General Electric Malaysia was packed and concise. During my time in the company, I learnt a lot about corporate communications. The company involved me in many projects, training, and related meetings. The colleagues and leaders from the Communications Department, as well as other departments, always had their hands open to help speed up my learning process.

Even though I did my internship in a country that has language similarities to my country, I had to brace myself to adapt to the local culture. I tried my best to get along and interact with colleagues and other interns as well as keeping in touch with them until today. Fortunately, the myASEAN internship environment is full of inspiring and friendly people who helped me to adapt to the company culture which was relatively exhilarating.

myASEANinternship 2015 is my greatest turning point this year. This program has opened the door for me to explore far beyond my comfort zone.

A collaboration between MITI and TalentCorp, the myASEANinternship programme provides a platform for top ASEAN students and fresh graduates to engage with leading employers in neighbouring ASEAN countries. Through essays like this, we see that students like Ben-Jie, Carmen and Ditya have benefitted from not only experiencing but also thinking ASEAN through the programme.

If you’re a student or a fresh graduate looking for an opportunity of a lifetime, apply now for a chance to be a myASEAN intern where you’ll get the chance to work with top employers in various ASEAN locations!