This summer Stephanie Christian (22) who recently completed her Associate Degree at the University College of the Cayman Islands (UCCI) in Engineering Technology has been interning with Cindy O’Hara the Chief Development Officer at Cayman Enterprise City.
Christian was attracted to the Summer in the City internship programme as she said, “it is a great opportunity for local youth to hone their skills and abilities while increasing their opportunities for employment in the future.” Throughout the internship Christian said, “I was guided onto a narrower career path as through the completion of my tasks I was able to determine where my passions lie.”.
Christian “said many times as an intern you feel like you are exposed to many tasks that require skills that you think personally lie beyond your skill set. During the internship programme with CEC your mentor not only guides you in the correct direction but encourages you to tackle the task head on but to make mistakes as those are the best way to learn. Christian reflected that during this process you discover where your skills and talent lie, but realise you have the potential to do anything you put your mind too.” Not only did Christian discover this and develop new skills she revealed she found an excellent source of inspiration and empowerment in CEC. Her mentor Cindy O’Hara who has many accomplishments under her belt, greatly inspired her. Christian said, “Cayman is diverse and has a lot of economic opportunities. To see a Caymanian owned and operated business-like CEC thriving globally is amazing. It has shown me that anything is possible, and I don’t have to go off island to achieve my dreams”. Exposure to a supportive and friendly environment fostered by the passion her mentor radiates everyday pushed her to put her best foot forward when completing tasks.
Christian said, “growing up you are always changing careers. I remember I wanted to do construction, be an electrical engineer and too many other jobs to list. That is why this internship was a refreshing enjoyable opportunity. Through the role of development intern, I rekindled my passion for design as a lot of my tasks entailed a lot of artistic elements.” Some of her most notable tasks during her internship was the mock up kitchen she designed for one of the CEC clients. She created many versions with the aid of the virtual design programme and was able to fiddle around with many design elements to create many kitchen variations. In addition to kitchen mock ups Christian also created a series of posters via photoshop and organised furniture that will adorn the walls of the CEC development campus.
The rekindling of her passion for design and her experience has operated as a source of motivation for her. In her free time Christian does a lot of entrepreneurial research and aspires to be an entrepreneur with many prosperous business ventures in the future. When she completes college, she aims to create a company that will specialise in the design of company web pages, brand marketing and various artistic ventures for and within businesses. Christian admitted she is sad to see her time in the Summer in the City internship programme end, but she feels inspired and revived as she has learned many skills this summer that she is excited to apply to studies in Computer Science in the fall at the University of Southampton in the UK.
About the "Summer in the City" Internship programme.
The “Summer in the City” internship programme is open to Caymanians and residents of the Cayman Islands between the ages of 18-25 and lasts for one to two months during the summer months. Areas of placement include: internet technology, media & video production, science & technology, commodities & derivatives, and maritime & aviation services. For more information email info@caymanenterprisecity.com.