[Intern Blog] Hannah Frederick’s Internship Experience

Please provide a brief introduction about yourself.

My name is Hannah Frederick. I am a Junior at Temple University majoring in International Business with a minor in Japanese.
I am participating in this internship through the career development office at Temple University. My internship took place in Spring 2024 (January 2024, through March 2024).

What is the background of the internship?

For a quick background overview, I am 20 years old and was born and raised in Colorado, USA. I decided to attend my university years in Japan to develop a global-oriented mindset and to explore different parts of the world.

What were your expectations or goals for the internship?

During this internship, I came to observe and listen. I came to see what it was like to work for an organization, build relationships with my superiors, ask about their story, and then reflect and learn from the smallest to most significant experiences.

What is the outline of your activities?

The main task during my internship was working on the development and execution of the Pink Ball 2024. Every day I was given 2 to 3 different tasks that were all on the topic of Pink Ball. Some of these tasks included e-mailing sponsors, assembling the prize list for a high-class auction, making the vouchers for the prizes, meeting with the event coordinator of the venue, and some SNS.

How did you feel about working with the RFTC Japan team?

It was great!
I was able to ask them questions about their lives and why they are at this organization. They were all very willing to answer my questions which I greatly appreciated.
In general, they made me feel comfortable and welcomed me under their wings.

What strengths did you discover during your internship?

I believe one of my strengths is the ability to adapt and work with different kinds of people who have different personalities and work styles. In other words, my openness. I think I was especially able to apply that strength here. And not only just apply it but also continue to improve it because I noticed that everyone in this organization is very different. From their background to their work style, they were all beautifully unique.

What weaknesses/challenges did you realize during your internship?

During my internship, I did notice that I struggled with creativity! I think that many in my generation struggle with this especially with AI taking off. There is a certain production blocking that we struggle with when brainstorming. Our brains are so narrow-minded that we struggle to think outside the box.
In the future, I want to practice brainstorming in ways that prevent production blocking!

What are your thoughts after the internship?

In general, this was a well-worth experience.
I learned a lot about how a diverse group of people is managed and how they all work towards a shared mission.

What are the highlights of the internship?

Two highlights I would like to point out.
First, working on an event like the pink ball was fun, especially seeing all the planning come to life.
Second, learning about my co-workers and their stories was special to me.

What are the projects you wanted to explore further?

A project I would personally like to explore further is how the trustees and the RFTC teams will come together to make decisions.
How do they understand and know each other’s strengths to maximize the team output? After the pink ball, how will they reflect and take the problems that arose and respond as a team? How will they focus on getting others inspired to follow and focus on the vision? Will they encourage everyone to be open about their ideas and thoughts? Are they afraid of change?

How would you like to utilize the experience and growth gained through the internship in the future?

As always, I just want to take every mental note that I have in certain events, situations, and moments and apply them appropriately. Things I was to use, and things I don’t want to repeat.

Please pass along a message to future RFTC Japan interns.

Ask everyone about their background their story and their dreams!
It will surprise you, be excited to listen!

Do you have messages for people considering an internship?

Whatever internship you take, it will be a great experience, even if you think it’s bad! Because you will learn more about how you work, what kind of environment you like or don’t like, the type of people you can and can’t work with, etc.
Just be ready to learn more about yourself!

10 Questions to Get to Know Hannah!

1. What are your favorite weekend activities?

Spending quality time with my friends!

2. What are your hobbies?

Fishing
Camping
Hiking
Doodling
Reading

3. What music are you into right now?

My favorite song right now is You Get What You Give by the New Radicals.

4. What is your favorite food and least favorite food?

My favorite food is Mediterranean food.
My least favorite food is probably beets. But in general, not a picky eater.

5. Please share what makes Colorado, Hannah’s hometown, cool and recommend some places, etc.

The coolest part about Colorado is the mountains. No matter how hard I try to describe them to you, it will never do it justice.
So I suggest you buy a plane ticket there and go explore. I recommend driving through the Black Canyon or Rocky Mountian National Park!

6. Where is your favorite place in Tokyo, where Hannah’s university is located?

My university is located in Sangenjaya. It’s a nice area with lots of cute little shops!

7. Have you had any recent proud achievements?

Climbing my first 14,000 ft (4,000 meter) peak last summer!

8. Give us three important lessons we can learn from you!

1. Fall in love with life!
2. Love yourself!
3. Learn how to ask questions and watch people light up talking about their passions!

9. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

My next step after I graduate in a year is flight school!
Wish me luck!

10. What is the motto you live by?

Do it afraid.

RFTC Japan accepts university-affiliated internships. Open-application internships are not accepted. No specific field experience is required.
For inquiries, contact us at [email protected]