Tarila Nyingifa, Finance Intern at Applegreen

Why did you choose Applegreen for your internship?

The Applegreen internship programme offers a high level of training, support, and mentorship. I was seeking an authentic corporate working experience in a fast-paced environment and that’s exactly what Applegreen delivers, every day is different, and each day is an opportunity to gain new knowledge and develop valuable business skills.

The rotation framework was one of the deciding factors for me choosing the Applegreen internship programme. As a college student I wasn’t sure what career path I was interested in, so I appreciated that Applegreen was offering interns insight into different finance roles and functions.

What have been your favourite moments during your internship?

One of my favourite moments during my internship was the 2022 Applegreen AGM Conference. It was a great experience learning about all the different aspects of the business, where the company had grown from and where they were headed. It also gave me the chance to conversate with employees from all parts of the business, from retail site managers to senior head office executives.

It was an amazing experience seeing the CEO, Joe Barratt speak with passion about the company and I felt inspired hearing the stories of success and innovation from other speakers at the conference. At that moment I saw how Applegreen upholds their values of enterprise, community, performance and people development.

What has been your favourite projects you’ve worked on since joining the company?

My favourite project was during my rotation in Internal Audit. I was working on policy monitoring. I enjoyed it so much because I was entrusted with the responsibility to communicate and collaborate with international colleagues. I could see the impact my work was doing in these sites, and that kept me feeling passionate and excited my work throughout my rotation.

How do you measure success from this internship?

I measure success in the programme by how much responsibility my team entrusts me with. More challenging projects or working on a solo project suggests that I was trusted to be able to perform these tasks and perform them well. However, I measure my personal success by ensuring I finish this internship having achieved the goals I set out for myself prior to starting.

Did I put my full effort towards every project I worked on? Did I come out with new skills? Do I feel like I understand more about corporate working life? Answering all these questions ‘yes’ is how I measure my own success.