I have been putting off writing this blog post for a couple of reasons.  One being the general lack of time I have had since completing my internship (after finishing up on Friday 3rd I then had to get myself all packed up to head over to South Africa to visit family on the 5th), secondly, I didn't want to face up to the fact that my internship was actually over, and I knew that writing this blog I would have to come to terms with that - how sad!! It can only be a good thing that I am gutted to be finished my internship. The whole experience was one which I will never forget - I met some really lovely and inspiring people, learnt an awful lot about business and myself and tested my abilities in terms of work and time pressures, and if I could I would do it all again!

I am writing this blog without my trusty pukka pad by my side which I used to note down every single little project/task I completed every day (note to future Scholars - this is a very good idea!!), since I was already majorly near the 23kg allowance to go on holiday, I had to leave the poor thing at home - so here goes to testing my memory!!  Lets rewind a little bit back to my final weeks at Brodies.  During the last two weeks I moved between offices at Lothian Road and Atholl Crescent and the Tenders and Business Development departments assisting with various projects.  Having not worked within Tenders before on my internship it was interesting to gain an insight into this part of the business and to see how important it is for organisations these days - although the working hours are not too appealing (hearing that the whole department was in till 12am finishing off tenders while I walked in with a full 8 hours sleep the next day made me feel very guilty!). During my time in tenders I completed several projects such as organising and improving their current system for storing employees CV's electronically so that they are easily retrievable and able to place on future tenders, researching several companies and various pieces of information for current tenders and updating databases detailing current clients and targets. The department was very busy while I was there completing several tenders, which meant that for a couple of days I didn't have too much work to do, however if ever this was the case I took it upon myself to email the other departments that I previously worked in to see if there was anything that I could help them with.  One thing I have definitely learnt about myself is that I much prefer to be busy, even if it means doing 10 things at once, than having nothing to do at all, which I am sure will bode well with my final year in university which is looming ever closer!  I also moved back to Business Development where I completed another research project on a specific company that Brodies wish to target as clients, and assisted with various other tasks. 

In my final two weeks the Scottish Scholars also got to attend two amazing events. One of which being a personal branding event held by three Saltire Fellows, and the other being a workshop held by Mark Beaumont.  I picked up various pieces of advice which I will carry through with me for these next few years when making career and personal decisions. One message in particular which Mark drew on was that when it comes to making decisions, don't go with what everyone else is doing, don't follow the typical path which everyone follows after university, and don't listen to the opinions of those around you - do what you want to do, do what you think is right, and do something which makes you different from everybody else. If it is travelling which you want to do after university (which is something that I am considering for a couple of months when i graduate) then do it!  I am thinking of the invaluable skills which I will pick up during those months of travelling, and if anything, this is something which was inspired by my experience with The Saltire Foundation and by listening to the individual stories of those I worked with at Brodies.  The world quite literally is your oyster when you graduate, whether that means taking some time out and travelling before beginning your career, joining a graduate scheme straight from university, working for a while to figure out what it is you want to do, or perhaps continuing studying...the next year is definitely going to involve some serious decision making!!

I would just like to once again extend a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone at Saltire for giving me this opportunity - I am still so proud to say that I am part of the Saltire Foundation and I have thoroughly enjoyed this experience and everything that has come with it. Luckily it doesn't end once the internship ends, and I aim to be an integral part of the Alumni over the next year, 5 years, 10 years and beyond doing as much as time allows me to give back what the organisation has given me.  I don't quite know how to finish this blog, and I don't want to say that this will be my last blog, because it might not. With the welcome back reception and Aluminate dinner happening in September I know that I have a lot to look forward to with regards to Saltire, and I am sure that I will have a lot more to say as time goes on, so I will say goodbye for now, with the aim of blogging more in the future!! However, for now, THANK YOU and good luck to everyone with their final year at university!! 

Katrina x