My Internship at Intrigue Media

Before I started at Intrigue, it’s safe to say I’d lost my direction in life. I’d just withdrawn from a Masters program at the University of Western Ontario and I was figuring out what to do next. Things weren’t great.

The moment everything changed was when I walked through the doors of the Lutherwood employment office in downtown Guelph. I wasn’t expecting to get a job from the encounter. My objective was to workshop my CV, but I asked for help in the right place—and that made all the difference.

On that first visit, I met Amy Jessop, one of Lutherwood’s employment consultants. The opening fifteen minutes of that meeting must’ve been pretty frustrating for Amy. I remember being asked what kind of job I was looking for—and I couldn’t answer. I’d been so focused on an academic career before, I hadn’t considered any alternatives.

What I did have was a clear idea of where I wanted to work: an interesting, fast-paced setting, with supportive co-workers and a culture of learning. I knew I was good at writing, so I said I was looking for a ‘writing’ job at a place like that. Pretty vague!

That was when I first heard about Intrigue Media. Amy described the company to me and I remember being interested immediately. She offered to set up a shadow week with them, and this initial pairing was enough to start the ball rolling. In retrospect, the ease of the whole thing was pretty amazing. Amy’s assistance greatly simplified my path to employment—and that can’t be understated.

The Intrigue Team posing for a selfie

After my shadow week was done, there was a general consensus that I was a good fit for the organization. I’d already started to build strong relationships with the team members and I wanted to continue working with them. The main obstacle was financial—and this was where Lutherwood was able to step in and help out again.

Amy suggested Lutherwood fund a two-month internship, through the Youth Employment Fund (YEF) program, an initiative that aims to give young people relevant work experience and ease their transition into a new career path. It was perfect for my situation.

My two months at Intrigue flew by. I was constantly pushed to grow, learn, and take on new responsibilities by the team. And as I neared the end of my internship, I was offered a full-time position with the company.

Although I was hoping for this outcome from Day 1, it never would’ve happened without the help of both organizations and people like Amy. I feel incredibly lucky to be where I am today—doing a job that I love. But if there’s any big takeaway, it’s remember to ask for help.

Not enough people know about Lutherwood. I just hope that my story will prompt someone else to ask for their help—and get back on their feet as a result!

Thanks for reading 🙂