Internship Archives - Page 2 of 2 -

July 8, 2014

ANNA’s ‘Metamorphosis’

Hi peeps,

I have officially concluded my internship with JFF. Looking back, 4 months have passed by in a flash but the memories I have made in this time will stay with me forever.

I still vividly remember the first 2 weeks of internship – challenging would be the word I would use to describe.

Firstly i had to adapt to the company’s work culture and learn the basics of a frog’s life.

Secondly, I thought I had to meet up to the expectations immediately but Chelsea gave me time to learn without putting too much pressure on me because she knew my strengths and assigned the work to me based on this.

I believe few people actually know of the existence of farms in Singapore. Sure there may be a handful of curious and adventurous ones who would know, but that’s about it. Truth be told, farming is somewhat elusive knowledge to us city folk.
However,after working in the farm, I’ve changed my perspective on farming. Many of us think that it is a lowly job but I think that we should not look down on farmers; it takes tons of hard work and perseverance to manage the land and raise the livestock!

It was a good experience working in such an environment, away from the city.
Working on the farm, I didn’t just learn things about Frogs, Ive also learned to speak to the public. Conducting a tour of 5 is easy but not to a group of 50-70 people and there is definitely a lot more to look into besides just conveying the froggy message to the group.For me I think that having the group focus their attention on you is the most important thing to do. Once you lose their attention, they will start to wander on their own resulting in the need for crowd controlling and that, to me, is the most challenging part.

Other than tours, I also did administrative work, retail sales, taking orders from customers, replying to emails, selling frogs, and handling customers’ inquiries.
The most important thing I learnt from Chelsea is to NOT ASSUME ANYTHING when we are working in a company. Never ever assume because it can really cause a lot of miscommunication which will end up disrupting work flow. So I will never allow myself to have any sort of preconception get in the way of my work in the future.

I’ve had lovely memories from my experience here. Hitching a ride by the road, going into other people’s farm to pluck fruits (with permission of course!!), selling our products at the inaugural Farmers’ market, meeting nice people along the way, solemnization happening in the frog farm, applying qin chao oil on an injured duck’s leg, plucking mangoes with the Bangladeshi workers, going to a Pre-U Seminar in NUS with Chelsea to see JFF being showcased by a group of students etc… All sorts of funny and interesting things.

This experience was really special and I feel lucky to have been able to go through it.
Thank You Jurong Frog Farm for taking interns and allowing them to experience such a unique working environment.

December 17, 2013

Testimonial from our Frog Master!

By Muhammad Aizat Bin Selamat
BSc(Honours) in Business, University of London

Position: Marketing and Business Development Assistant

“If you love to interact with people from all walks of life, love nature and have fun while working, this is the internship to opt for! Never did I expect this stint to build my character development but also honed my skills and knowledge on social decorum!”

My internship experience at JFF is a challenging, thrilling and a rewarding one. Life at JFF is different everyday. The word ‘bored’ never came into existence.

You get to meet new people like customers, who will sometimes eventually become your friends OR and potential business partners. The working environment has encouraged me to come out of my comfort zone to unleash the potential of public speaking skill in me. With a predisposed introvert personality, the tour guiding responsibility is the most challenging aspect of the internship. I have learnt how to crowd-control different type of groups ranging from kids to adults. This is an experience and on-site learning opportunity that I can never get from reading a textbook.

One of the highlights of this internship is my involvement in the World Food Festival (WWF) 2013. I was involved in the logistics planning for the event. For example, I need to ensure that we have adequate collaterals to go around during the event as well as informing to the public for our involvment in WWF 2013 through social media like Facebook and WordPress. On top of that, I’ve learnt a few interesting Mandarin phrases to pitch sales during the event. For example, “lai ah lai ah, tian ji rou, sao sao de!”. In translation, come and get our freshly cooked frog meat!

Truth be told, there’s more to experience than to be said in words. It is an enriching experience to be able to work as an intern in Jurong Frog Farm. Where most of my peers would scorn at the prospect of working in a farm, I am glad that I have chosen to walk the beaten path. I have taken this rare opportunity to learn and experience first hand on managing a business and overcome obstacles in an organic and dynamic environment. Hey, you get to learn about frogs as well! Like JFF Director (Ms Chelsea Wan) always say, frog rocks!

I will definitely encourage my fellow schoolmates looking for internships to work with JFF Pte Ltd. Further more, you’ll be able to enjoy the rustic scenary which is definitely a breath of fresh air from the hustling and bustling concrete jungle of Singapore!

July 11, 2013

Winner of a Frog Lookalike Award!

Richard Chai, from Republic polytechnic, is one of the cutest intern we have received here on the farm. Within 2 weeks into his 4 months long stint, he realized how frequently he has been commented by little children on how similar he looks compared to a frog!! Below is his testimonial.

“Firstly, when i heard it’s a farm, i thought i would have to do more manual work. However, when my internship started, it was a totally different experience from what i have expected.

The job scopes were slightly more than expected, because i thought i only have one job scope however, when i started working there, the job scopes i have to cover includes admin work, retails, tour conducting, etc. So it was kind of tough for me because handling so much different type of work at the start of the week, i could not adjust to it. However as time passes by, the job scopes i have to handle were actually kind of fun because they kept me from being bored.

It was totally different from my expectation and my experience while working over there was actually quite fun! The hospitality of the company was good and the rules were easy to understand. I had an enjoyable time working there as an intern, unlike what my friends shared about what they experienced from their internship.”

February 6, 2013

Winnie’s Testimonial

Winnie is an undergrad from Massey University. She has undergone a 2 weeks attachment with us in the last 2 weeks of January. Lets’ see what she has got to say of her experience here!

‘Having been attached to this farm for 2 weeks, I learnt a lot about the production of the frog farm. I was able to gain a lot and develop new skills throughout my time here. I did things that I did not imagine I would do! This includes taking primary school students for the fun tours and the herpetology workshops, even though I started off with having absolutely no experience in this field.

It has been a really cool and enriching experience for me in these 2 weeks, and I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here. It was especially fun together with the company of Bobby and Puppy! I am very grateful for Chelsea who has taught me so much and also for her patience and kindness, as well as her family and Deon for being so welcoming and friendly. Once again, I would like to thank Chelsea for giving me the opportunity to work here at Jurong Frog Farm.’