Name of Student: Afnan Towheed
Job Title: Community Development Intern
Job Summary:
Facilitated inclusive orientation sessions for 30+ women of colour, ensuring they felt welcomed and supported in new community spaces, resulting in a measurable increase in participant engagement and retention. Organised and led diversity initiatives that increased the representation of minority women in Cornwall by 20% within three months, directly contributing to a more inclusive community environment.
What was your biggest achievement on your internship?
Developed a greater insight and appreciation for the challenges women of colour go through when they are migrating to a different place. As my role involved directly communicating with women who have been through some tough situations, I felt more grateful for what I have. This developed my awareness skills as well as an aspect of commercial awareness when I was tasked with developing a community directory for the business in Cornwall that are owned by people of colour.
Were there any challenges and how did you overcome these?
Sometimes, there was problems with timings and irregular coordination with managers regarding my hours of work. But after proper communication of these issues, scheduling of hours was done prior which allowed me to plan my day better.
Would you recommend this internship scheme to other students?
Yes, I would recommend the scheme to other students.
I cannot be more thankful enough for this scheme offered. Natasha was very helpful and kind with all the questions I had emailed her. Thank you!
If you would like to find out more about the A2i scheme, you can contact the team via a2i@exeter.ac.uk, or you can also visit the student and employer facing webpages here.