At send-off ceremony: The Guardian Post interns urged to uphold acquired skills, values.

The call was made Saturday August 3. This was during a colourful send-off ceremony, organised in honour of the departing interns. The brief, yet vibrant annual event, was staged at the magnificent head office of the media house at the Efoulan-Lac neighbourhood in Yaounde.

The ceremony was chaired by The Guardian Post Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, Ngah Christian Mbipgo. 

This was in the presence of the Managing Editor, Desk Editors, reporters and other staff of the media house, the departing journalism trainees as well as their family members and friends.

Addressing the outgoing journalism interns, Ngah Christian, who founded The Guardian Post on August 30, 2001, praised the students for the level of discipline demonstrated throughout their stay at the institution.

“This is the best batch of interns so far. No funny incident was recorded, and the students were well behaved and disciplined,” the Publisher stated. 

Ngah regretted that the public has a poor perception of journalists as people involved in a hand-to-mouth job.

He however implored the interns to remain hardworking, as it is the sure means to guaranteeing success and growth in the media landscape.

“I just want to let you all know that hard work pays. There is the perception that journalists are poor, people who talk a lot and have nothing. But here, we are trying to change this narrative, to let the public know that one can still be a journalist and live well, dress well and have a good life,” Ngah said.

Ngah told the interns that “you all have the power to become big journalists in future. All you have to do is to remain focused”.

The Guardian Post Publisher/Editor-in-Chief also applauded the efforts put in by the editors and reporters who worked closely in honing the skills of the interns.

Enter Managing Editor

Speaking earlier, The Guardian Post Managing Editor, Doh Bertrand Nua, lauded the interns for good conduct in terms of mannerisms and respect for staff of the media house. 

“This batch was always very decent, displayed good attitude and professionalism. They were respectful and punctual, qualities that are very important for a journalist,” Doh stated.

He said with regards to practice, a good number of the interns have grown professionally, compared to when they started, and are leaving as transformed human beings.

“These are great journalists in the making, considering the training that has been inculcated in them at The Guardian Post. We are confident in the quality of students we are sending back. I implore you all to keep practicing; by watching, listening and reading the news. It is by doing so that you learn, adapt and grow,” Doh declared.

He assured the interns that the doors of The Guardian Post will always remain open to them. 

He said even as they go back to their various schools, they should continue writing and sending stories for publication in The Guardian Post. 

“We hope that you will live up to the expectation of what you have learned here and implement them, so that by the time you are graduating from school, you will embrace the job market with an open mind and fighting spirit,” the Managing Editor noted amid a thunderous applause.

Fruitful internship

The Guardian Post Managing Editor revealed that thanks to the resilience of the interns, despite challenging times, the journalism students worked relentlessly and at the end of their internship, had a total of 178 articles published in The Guardian Post. Of this number, he said, 16 of the articles appeared on the newspaper’s front page. 

“Our interns are all-round good. They wrote stories in politics, diplomacy, sports, culture, arts and entertainment, society, defence and security issues,” Doh disclosed.

According to the Managing Editor, former interns from The Guardian Post are flying the establishment’s flag high in other national and international media organs.

He said this year’s interns were selected from top communication institutions, including the Advanced School of Mass Communication, ASMAC, the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, JMC of the University of Buea, the Higher Institute of Science, Microfinance and Local Governance, HISMIL, and the Higher Institute of Translation, Interpretation and Communication, HITIC.

Interns express gratitude to The Guardian Post 

Also mounting the podium, the representative of the interns, Hure Hamidou Abdu, in a farewell speech, expressed the gratitude of all the interns to the management and staff of The Guardian Post, for the warm welcome and professional mentoring. 

“As we depart from The Guardian Post back to our various schools, we are filled with a sense of gratitude and excitement. The skills, knowledge and memories we gained during our internship, will serve as a solid foundation as we pursue our future endeavors,” Hamidou said on behalf of the interns.

She further described their stay at The Guardian Post as amazing. Hamidou said she and her mates were returning back to their various schools more knowledgeable and professionally sound.

For Ngo Honba Julienne, writing articles used to be a challenge. She, however, recognised her limitations as a novice and promised to continue putting in the work required to become more professional.

Her worries were shared by another intern, Nieh Mercy, who went further to appreciate the constant encouragement the interns received from the editors right down to the reporters.

For their parts, Carl Wobyeb and Tabe Glory said their internship goals were achieved beyond expectation. They reiterated that apart from journalism practice, they were schooled on good morals, punctuality and respect, which are core values of The Guardian Post.

They, on behalf of his mates pledged to fly high these values, wherever they go. 

At the end of the ceremony, the students were also handed internship attestations.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3191 of Tuesday August 06, 2024