August 29 - Today is a special day for me because it marks the close of my summer internship at Guangzhou Honda Automobile Co., Ltd., also known as Guangzhou Honda. As an English Translation and Interpreting major from the Faculty of English Language and Culture, I would like to share with you my wonderful experiences as an intern at GHAC, a renowned Guangzhou-based Sino-Japanese joint venture enterprise specializing in manufacturing cars as well as one of the many subsidiaries of the global Honda system.
The author with the eighth generation Honda Fit at GHAC
It was highly desirable for me to get a summer internship at a large enterprise before my senior year started. Long before the end of my junior year, I began sending my applications for summer internships. After many trials, I was given several interviews and was finally hired as an intern at GHAC, therefore ending the nightmare of being turned down again and again.
I was fortunate to be assigned to the team working at the 2008 NHC World Convention together with my classmate Zhang Lujie, who rendered me great help and support in the completely new environment. We were very curious and excited about everything. We learned that the ivory tower of education is so different from the business world, and we were delighted to have had the opportunity to join GHAC.
I was fortunate to be assigned to the team working at the 2008 NHC World Convention together with my classmate Zhang Lujie, who rendered me great help and support in the completely new environment. We were very curious and excited about everything. We learned that the ivory tower of education is so different from the business world, and we were delighted to have had the opportunity to join GHAC. During the first several days, together with the newly recruited staff, we attended a training program on company security, rules and regulations, and we were shown how to use a fire extinguisher. Everyone was allowed the chance to practice. It gave me such great excitement that when finally my turn came, I readily took up the extinguisher and following the instructions, attacked the blazing kerosene. Within a moment, the fire went out. I couldn't believe I really did it! I had thought it was something difficult, but it turned out not to be. Having stood so close, my face was burning hot, but I felt immensely thrilled and overjoyed. At the end of the training session, we took an examination and officially began our work the next day.
Zhang Lujie and myself with the new staff in our new environment
I was assigned to my mentor Ms. Deng Hua and Zhang Lujie was assigned to Ms. Qiu Ruihan, both of who were team members of the 2008 NHC World Convention project. Zhang Lujie's responsibility lay mainly in assisting in training volunteers for this year's NHC project and producing Excel charts on work attendance. We gave each other support during our work, while at the same time expanding our acquaintance with other staff members. After completing her job duties in the first week of August, Zhang Lujie left the company, whereas I continued there with my work.During the first few days of my work, I went over stacks of files to get acquainted with the NHC project, and whenever confused, I would consult Ms. Deng. She became a good friend to me. We often discussed questions and offered each other our respective strength. I learned a lot from her. On my own I studied the company profile, familiarizing myself with the company's general operations, corporate culture, development strategies, product ranges, organization structure, and its vision, all of which helped me a lot in my work.
With my mentor, Ms. Deng Hua
As assistant to the project manager, my work covered a wide range of duties, including translation, information collection and processing, document filing, e-mail processing, as well as website construction and maintenance. The first difficulty I faced was working all day long without enough rest. With only a 45 minute break between the morning and afternoon work sessions, there was barely time for a nap, so during the afternoon I often drifted into a doze at work despite my best efforts to remain focused. However, as time went by, I gradually overcame this problem by sleeping earlier at night to refresh myself. Another difficult thing was to work intensively. Overburdened with work, I often had to rush about to complete everything on time. Perhaps the most challenging job was to translate and update all the information on the NHC website with little help. I had to do a lot of research on the Internet and consult many sources to keep everything accurate. It consumed so much energy and time that, after a long day of work, more often than not I would lapse into both physical and mental exhaustion.Though challenging and energy-consuming, my work was rewarding. The internship provided me with the opportunity to experience work in a large enterprise, and to be involved in a global activity, in contact with people from all over the world. Through my efforts, I won enormous confidence and commendation from my colleagues.
The NHC project team consists of young and energetic talent
The internship enabled me to put my academic knowledge into practice during my work. I have strengthened my understanding of the various aspects of Chinese culture and some of China's most well-known scenic spots from the information I had translated and updated on the NHC website, which acts as a window for Honda's foreign associates to learn more about China. My internship has laid a solid foundation for my future career and eliminated my fear of entering the hustle and bustle of the outside world after leaving university. It is, practically speaking, a preparatory phase of my career.I am extremely glad that I could have worked together with my colleagues who, during my six-week internship at GHAC, provided me with much help, support, and guidance in my work, especially my mentor Ms. Deng Hua, and Mr. Huang Rifei who takes charge of recruiting new talents. To me, both of them are useful mentors as well as close friends. Their useful advice has given me huge enlightenment on my pursuit of personal career. I thank them from the bottom of my heart! I shall for ever treasure my colleagues' friendship and hold them dear in my heart.
Zhang Lujie and myself with Mr. Huang Rifei (r.)
The 2008 NHC World Convention will be held in Guangzhou Baiyun International Convention Center from November 10 to 14, 2008. I hope the concerted efforts of my colleagues and the part I have done will bring great success to the convention!
Photos Provided by Yang Wensheng
Introduction to NHC:
The NHC, which stands for New Honda Circle, serves as a continental or global forum or "circle" in which Honda associates could exchange ideas and boost each other's motivation. Each year, five regional meetings are held in five blocs - Japan, Asia (Japan excluded), South America, North America and Eur-Afr-East. At the meetings, each small group of associates brainstorm about big or even small problems within their companies, analyze them and find out feasible countermeasures to tackle them. Every second year, these five blocs take turn to host the NHC World Convention where participating associates from across the world gather together to discuss solutions to address their common concerns. These activities are conducted with the purpose of creating a cheerful and truly rewarding workplace environment on the associates' own initiative through their continuous efforts. This year marks the 8th NHC World Convention, which is to be hosted by Guangzhou Honda Automobile Co., Ltd.
