Shayla Pham, a Graphic Design senior, recently completed a motion graphic designer internship for Cape Town Television, a South-African community television station.

The internship, which was made possible through MSU Excel Network’s Global Remote Internship Program, allowed Pham to sharpen new skills in animation and to expand her graphic design skills by editing the organization’s graphics. Pham met with her mentor on a daily basis to review graphic concepts and then would bring a project to life by sketching ideas and creating storyboards for animated graphics.

“My favorite part of the internship was how I was able to connect with a different culture and work with them,” Pham said. “It’s incredible the possibilities I have now that things are remote. I was able to work with someone across the world, and even with a several hours’ time gap. I was able to create something for them and it is now on their website. I loved that.”

Although connecting with a different culture was beneficial for Pham, working with an organization in a different time zone also presented challenges.

“It is a bit ironic that my favorite part also resulted in my least favorite part,” Pham said. “Since there was a time gap, there would be a lapse of communication sometimes. I had to really be on top of clear communication and with this I learned how to be better with expressing myself clearly.” 

“It’s incredible the possibilities I have now that things are remote. I was able to work with someone across the world, and even with a several hours’ time gap. I was able to create something for them and it is now on their website. I loved that.”

By partnering with internship provider organizations around the world, the Global Remote Internship Program enables students to secure virtual internships with international companies or organizations so they may gain valuable work experience while learning how to communicate and operate in an international context.

The internships are geared toward a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from fashion and publishing to international development, web design, and entrepreneurship. Companies and organizations that offer remote internships are located in Italy, Japan, South Africa, Australia, and Argentina, among others. 

Pham’s experience gave her useful insight on how to effectively communicate with clients to ensure graphics are successful, while also sharpening more technical skills, like Photoshop and After Effects. Pham also solidified her interest in making motion graphics, which is something she’d like to continue pursuing in the future.