“First impressions are important, but they don’t tell the whole story.” – Anonymous

It has been exactly three weeks since my amazing colleagues and I started our Industrial Training (IT) at the ESUT Monitor Newspaper. My first day, which was on Monday, August 25th, was not actually a pleasant day. I promised myself—and I would say literally almost all of us decided—that we would change our IT location after that day.

We were asked to come for an interview before we could be accepted for IT at the ESUT Monitor Newspaper. It was weird because I kept wondering why an interview would be conducted for us before we could be accepted; I felt an IT placement is a place for training, not an actual job offer. I was not at all happy, and honestly, it was a red flag for me.

On the day of the interview, we were delayed. On top of that, Mr. Amaechi Agbo (the Staff Adviser) didn’t even apologize to us for the inconveniences caused. Instead, he still told us that we would join the VC on the inspection of the ESUT Park Road construction that was happening that day. The sun on that particular day was not smiling at anyone, and it chose that day to shine very brightly and harshly. There and then, I made up my mind to change my place of IT because I was not ready for all the stress that comes along with it. I think I was not the only one who made that decision, because two persons decided to drop out after our interview that day.

However, something changed my thinking, mentality, and perception of things, and I felt the need to try out this, my new place of IT. I was ready to give it a try, and I did.

So far, it has been amazing—from Mr. Agbo telling us about his real-life experiences and the number of years he has spent in the profession, to the serious talks and the unserious ones, the jokes, and every other thing. Our former HOD, Dr. Chidiebere Ezinwa, visited us and said a lot of things about not wanting us to do our IT in ESUT Monitor because of our level of unseriousness. He felt we were all doing our IT there because it was a place where we could do whatever we liked. One thing Dr. Ezinwa said in particular that stood out was that our performance as pioneer IT students in the ESUT Monitor Newspaper will determine if ESUT Monitor will continue to accept IT students thereafter. It was a challenge for me and the others because we felt the need to prove ourselves worthy.

Mr. Agbo, my immediate supervisor, has been so amazing. His attention to detail, his care, and his concern for all of us are on a different level. I can remember when he asked us to introduce ourselves one after the other, starting from himself, and we spoke our minds.

Mass Communication was never my choice of study; Linguistics was. Because of that, I zeroed my mind to anything that is in relation to broadcasting, news reporting, and journalism. But because Mr. Agbo asked us that day about our choice of course, for the first time in my entire life—aside from my parents—I told him my mind. But then, who says I am not going to give journalism a try to see if it will actually work for me?

Mr. Agbo has helped us in a lot of ways, and he is still willing to do more for us. He has given us opportunities that were meant for just ESUT Monitor staff members: going for interviews, meeting Deans and HODs of various faculties and departments, giving us the opportunity to draft interview questions, and allowing us to anchor the interviews ourselves. Imagine me asking Deans and even the Chairman of the Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission, Prof. Chris Ngwu, questions, and they would all gladly answer me with humility and cheers! It seems surreal. Anchoring them ourselves without anyone interfering is such an amazing thing to do.

He has taught us how to cast news headlines, report news events, and use the ESUT Monitor house style for writing news. He has made us understand that there is no news headline that is useless, and he has challenged us to read news stories often and continue to practice how to cast a good news headline to become better.

One more amazing thing Mr. Agbo did was studying all of us under two weeks and hearing our opinions on different matters. He was able to study us in under two weeks just to understand our personalities and the way we work. Honestly, I personally don’t like it when people study me over a short period of time, but things some of us don’t take note of, he was able to take note of. Mr. Agbo understands us and knows where to draw the line. He is ready to teach us and stretch us, but not too much to break us.

I must say, I will choose the ESUT Monitor Newspaper over and over again. If I were not going into my final year and I were given another opportunity to do another IT, ESUT Monitor will definitely be my best choice. More is yet to come! I still have a few weeks before my IT comes to an end, and I’m hoping to enjoy more and more of Mr. Agbo’s kindness, teachings, and guidance.

ESUT Monitor is sweet when Mr. Agbo is in charge; that’s what I know for sure. This has been my best experience so far with Mr. Agbo and my wonderful colleagues.

Abigeal Okedah is a 3rd-year IT student with the ESUT Monitor Newspaper.

The post My IT Experience so Far With ESUT Monitor Newspaper, How I Almost Left on First Day appeared first on ESUT Monitor.