The Experience of Being Encouraged by 'That's a Great Idea! Let's Try It!' | Tomomi Iriuchijima

Self-Introduction

Hello everyone! I am Iriuchijima, and I spent a total of about one year working on charity auction operations, including six months as an intern starting in June 2022 and six months as a staff member starting in October 2023.
Five days from the day I am writing this, I will graduate from university and start working at a private company this spring.

My Involvement with PLAS

During my internship at PLAS, I was able to experience a wide range of tasks, including charity auctions, closed events, and intern consultation sessions.
I would like to talk about what left an impression on me during my internship.

It was when we held a closed event for supporters that connected them with staff from a local organization in Kenya. We proceeded with the event by having us interns ask several questions we had selected and having them answer.
Events are always full of surprises. The Wi-Fi was weak and the event wouldn't start, or my English didn't get across well to the other party... I remember struggling quite a bit.

However, more than that, I remember being moved and finding it fresh as an intern to hear stories about PLAS's activities and local life directly from people working on the ground for the first time.
I usually intern from Japan, so sometimes Africa, where PLAS operates in Kenya and Uganda, feels far away. I think it was a time when I was able to realize once again that our daily activities form the foundation of their work.

After graduating from my internship, I worked part-time at a company that operates payment systems for non-profit organizations. I don't think I would have found this part-time job if I hadn't been an intern, so PLAS was also the catalyst for me to encounter a new path. There, I was involved in work similar to providing support for crowdfunding. I believe that crowdfunding requires cooperation from the entire organization, not just the person in charge of crowdfunding, but also those in charge of public relations and events. In that regard, my experience working across various areas during my internship at PLAS, such as charity auctions, public relations, and event planning and management, was truly helpful in providing that support.

After that, I was invited back to PLAS as a staff member. As an intern, I had a wide range of experiences because I just wanted to try everything, but as a staff member, I focused on steadily working on sales for charity auctions. When I was an intern, I was just doing my best to tackle the tasks right in front of me, working recklessly. Once I started focusing on sales, I searched every day for how to improve sales from various perspectives. By focusing on it, I saw more things, and I felt a sense of fulfillment and enjoyment in that. Also, since it was an environment where my opinions and suggestions were accepted and encouraged with 'That's a great idea! Let's try it!', I made it a point to actively share what I noticed. At first, it took a fair amount of courage for me to voice my own opinions, but I am grateful that I was able to gain a lot of experience in thinking for myself and putting things into action.

Future Goals!

I think the day will come when I will be in a position to accept others.
When that time comes, I want to be someone who can create a place as full of warmth as PLAS.
To that end, first, after I start my job, I want to search for what I can do in my own way every day and build up my experience!

A final word!

My heart is always a member of PLAS!
I want to continue to grow so that we can meet again somewhere!

Thank you for reading until the end!
PLAS is currently looking for staff and interns to work with us.
Please check here for more detailed information!