Audrey Neoh Yi Theng joined Foundation for Shared Impact’s Community Business Support team as an Impact Lab Course intern in the 2023 spring semester. Despite having no previous work experience or knowledge of graphic design, web design, and app development, she was entrusted with the task of redesigning a mobile app and creating a style guide for the website for Seekr, a community partner of FSI and former mentee of our inaugural Mentorship Program for Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs.
In fact, Audrey proved to be an invaluable intern that the CBS team hired her for the summer to assist with the planning and execution of various core initiatives, such as GuideFong (Hong Kong’s first-ever online directory for ethnically diverse businesses) and the Impact Jams we held for our corporate partners.
We spoke with Audrey to learn more about the transferable skills she gained from her Impact Lab experience, how the experience changed her career planning, and her advice to anyone who wants to truly empower youth.
Why did you join FSI as an Impact Lab intern?
I actually applied for Weava initially. But when talking Vivian Seo, Program Manager of FSI’s Community Business Support team, she said that my talent and the needs of startups and small businesses would make me more suitable at the Community Business Support team. So that’s how I started my internship with FSI.
What were your responsibilities as a Community Business Support intern at FSI?
I worked on a business directory for ethnically diverse communities and small businesses. Now it’s been published and it’s called GuideFong. Even though I was only part of the team that was crowdsourcing information, asking people what their business is and how their business differ from others, the idea was to make sure that the platform could continue to grow with little active supervision from the team while creating long-term impact.
I was also assigned the task of redesigning a mobile app and creating a style guide for Seekr, an FSI community partner that needed them for marketing purposes. I was surprised that the Seekr team trusted me with this task. As someone with no experience in graphic design, web design, and app development, I am very grateful for the opportunity as I believe that they trusted me to pick up the skills at the required pace.
What hard or soft skills did you learn?
Because FSI is a very modern workplace, there are a lot of things we would do remotely. One soft skill I learnt was self-discipline. There were instances where I was confused about my work tasks: I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t know what my supervisors actually wanted. And then it would be on me to take the initiative to ask, “Is it what we need?”, “Would you prefer something else?”, or the direction of the project in general.
I also learnt to use a lot of digital tools, such as Notion, Slack, and professional communication through digital means. Through working with Seekr, I self-taught myself to use a software for user interface design, called Figma.
These skills are all very transferable, which I believe will bring me more opportunities in the future.
What are your main takeaways from working at FSI?
When Vivian first introduced me to the concept of Community Business Support, it seemed a bit vague for me, but after experiencing it for myself, I really experienced the essence of shared impact. I realized that even if what I do helps just one person, that one person can go on to help more people. When working on FSI projects, it occurred to me that what we start today can actually go on to impact people in the long term.
I also got to learn more about the social sector. On the surface, it may just seem that it’s just about people wanting to help other people, but it is also about how do we help people, do they want our help, and what help do they need?
Sometimes, when we reached out to local grassroots businesses we may think that plan A might be the most suitable, but I learnt that it’s also in our best interest to trust the business owners, because they know their business the best.
Were there any memorable moments?
It’s interesting to be meeting so many new people, and sometimes the things they tell me really inspire me to think about the future.
I remember at the Goldman Sachs Community TeamWorks event, there was this volunteer who told me how she got into the financial sector. In the beginning she was very lost and all. She told me I don’t have to worry too much about now or the future, just be who I am and be true to my vision. It’s moments like this that make me appreciate my time with FSI.
What is your take on youth empowerment?
Youth empowerment is important, and I personally experienced it through Impact Lab.
For people who are interested in empowering youth, you have to keep in mind that if you don’t give youth opportunities like this, and if you create barriers with qualifications, they will never gain the experiences necessary to meet your expectation.
So I believe what youth empowerment entails is a leap of faith. You need to trust youth to start somewhere before you trust them with more.
Would you recommend Impact Lab to other youth?
A lot of people would say that Impact Lab is easy grade. I wouldn’t say it’s not easy grade, but I wouldn’t say it’s easy grade either. At Impact Lab, wow much effort you put in is how much you will get in the end.
I believe that in university life, there are things that are beyond grades. Even if you get a bad grade, you learn something from it.
The life lessons and exposures you gain through your Impact Lab experience are what should mean more to you in your university life, other than just doing it for the grades.
I would definitely recommend students to join FSI’s Community Business Support team because everyone in FSI is so nice. They treat you like a friend instead of senior or junior colleagues. I really enjoyed my time here. And I’m so happy to be back to FSI’s coworking space or meeting the team again.
