Hello Everyone,
My name is Jack, and I am happy and proud to say: I’m new Community Reporter!! I
have been an intern at PVM for a month, doing some work for the marketing of their new
Social License, and as a way to reward me for that, People’s Voice Media has nominated
me as a “honorary” Community Reporter.
One of the tasks that I had as an intern at People’s Voice Media was to look for awards
that this organization with all its wonderful work could run for and deservedly win;
every time I ran into some “Best Employer” award, I stopped and thought “they should
DEFINITELY win this”.
I can still remember how I felt when I first spoke to Teresa on the phone, less than two
months ago, when she asked to meet me to talk about an opportunity for an internship
at PVM: among all the organizations I had contacted, they were the only ones that
had a vision of what someone with a bit of initiative and willing to help could do with
them, I was extremely tempted. And I know it sounds ridicolous when I say “I can still
remeber...” referring to something that happened a few weeks ago, but the way I have
been welcomed by any single member of the staff was so nice that I really felt as a part of
the family, and the time spent together seemed like ages (doesn’t that happen everytime
you spend some wonderful time with someone you just met?).
Given that I was starting a real job for the first time in my life, I wasn’t expecting to
find a group of people to work with who I could feel so much in tune; and I am not
only referring to the professional side of my experience, but also to the personal side:
everyone of the PVM’s family has his interesting stories to tell, everyone was always
happy to have a chat, but most importantly everyone is so passionate about what they
personally and collectively do at People’s Voice Media and why they do it. I know that
in my carreer I will find it hard to encounter another group of coworkers with the same
passion, which makes me even sadder about leaving this internship after only a month.
I learned a lot of things as I worked here. I learned that it’s important to listen what
other people have to say, because even if it’s something that you might already think,
they might be able to say it in a better way. I learned that involving the community and
giving people a voice is a way of reshaping the world – community by community – in
a way that the people themselves will find the world they want to live in. I learned that
saying “I’m too old to use this kind of technology” should never be an excuse, as there is
no limits to what anyone can do with a computer, or a phone, or a microphone, regardless
of the age.
Not that I finally have to say goodbye to People’s Voice Media, the wonderful people
that I’ve met in their office (Teresa, Gary, Michelle, David, Kevin, Denise, Bernardette,
Pete, Louise), the Community Reporters, I know that this is not the end of something,
but rather the beginning of several relationships that will last for years, as it will be
impossible for me to forget what an amazing experience was my first month at PVM.
I want to thank everyone at People’s Voice Media from the bottom of my heart,
Jack