University of the Western Cape: UWC mentorship seminar empowers students for their future

In June this year, 86 interns joined the university, working in various departments, including the International Relations Office, Human Resources and Institutional Advancement.

UWC’s HR staff meet Colin Hill, the
PYEI seminar facilitator

The seminar facilitator, Colin Hall, shared techniques the interns could employ to attain a positive mindset, which he said is the first step to success.

“Everything is about energy, and understanding this is very important. The energy that you have as a person will affect the people around you, so make sure you always have positive energy because positive energy attracts positive energy,” said Hall.

“Create energy boosters for yourself. This can be just thinking of three people who genuinely make you happy. This is what I use for an energy booster when my positive energy is at a low.”

Human resources consultants Sherilene Sickle and Lucille MacGibbon then provided a guide to prepare for an interview. The interns were free to ask how they are expected to answer and deal with specific questions for future interviews.

Another guest speaker was Professor Anesh Singh, Director of Institutional Advancement at UWC, who discussed the importance of personal branding.

“Branding is building an image for a product or a company. Similarly personal branding is about building your image. You are the brand. Personal branding is about ME…you want to stand out from the crowd. Creating a good image for your personal brand is very important, and you need to understand that developing your personal brand is a long process. Understand your weaknesses and always strive to improve them and do things that enhance your spirit,” Prof Singh explained.

Umesh Bawa, Director of the International Relations Office at UWC, took the opportunity to highlight the institution’s relationships with universities worldwide.

The interns, including Kenan Levendal in the Human Resources Department, attended the seminar eagerly.

“I found this session powerful and relatable in terms of where we are as interns in our professional lives. I believe that the tools that were presented to us today allowed us to do some self-evaluation and introspection into our deeper selves and how we can efficiently navigate our personal and professional goals,” said Levendal.