I interviewed Aidan, who is a supported intern working at CITU. We spoke about life as a supported intern, how Lighthouse and his workplace helps him, and what he does to help keep his mental health, healthy with a healthy work life balance.
First I asked Aidan where he worked and he told me his supported internship was based at CITU, he than gave me a really great explanation of what CITU does.
Aidan: ”CITU is a sustainable housing company, they put out high end apartments that are eco friendly, and make all the pressure airtight so heating isn’t required. This means in both the winter and summer its warm, they (CITU) own a lot of property in Leeds, they do lots of great gardening and conservation work on their sites, such as insect hotels and planting”.
I then probed further, to see what an average day in the life looked like for Aidan, working as a
Supported Intern at CITU, from the moment he clocks in to when he clocks out at the end of the day, this is what he said:
Aidan: “Every day is different. At the moment I have weekly work loads, so one day I could be
doing graphic design, advertisement and social media. Another day I could be going into the plots
and checking if all the water and lights are operational and safe. There’s loads of stuff, graphic
design, photography and social media. No day is the same. My favourite part is the graphic
design because I like getting creative but I love it all and how all the analytics meld with it.
We then moved on to how Aidan is supported at his worksite, by both Lighthouse and CITU. He
explained his Job Coach is called Isobel, and she helps him a great deal:
Aidan: “She (Isobel) sits with me on the table with the marketing department, and she gives me
help with anything such as emails, if I don’t know where I’m supposed to be she helps out and is
patient with me, she also helps me with Lighthouse meetings and has regular check ins with me,
along with an app where I can let her know how I feel on the app on a 1-10 basis, if I’m stressed,
content etc”
I then asked what he did for his mental health outside of college, to keep himself happy and have
a healthy work life balance. This is what he told me:
Aidan: “A bunch of stuff, hanging out with friends and family mainly. Being alone with your own
thoughts can be self sabotaging. I like movies, music and tv shows, but if I wanna escape and
distract myself I like to go out to pubs to socialise, drink and talk. Plus play pool with my friends
and family. Including at the pub near CITU called Pig Love, which is owned by someone who
used to work at CITU, there are benches outside near the canal, which I think will be really nice in
Summer to sit outside.
He also explained to me that Lighthouse is really supportive of him and the other Supported Interns, they are offered counseling support from a professional counselor at Carlton House if
they decide that would be helpful for them, and weekly sessions are offered to anyone who needs
them.
Penultimately I asked Aidan what his hopes were for the year ahead and where he saw himself in
a year’s time, he had this to say:
Aidan: “I want to be in a job I enjoy, and a place where I can grow with the company, whilst also
growing my skills and knowledge. Lighthouse has been really supportive for me with this and
pushing me in the right direction”
The last thing I asked Aidan was if he had any advice for the pre interns who are soon to be
advancing towards a Supported Internship. He had one very specific piece of advice that he
thought would be very valuable for Pre-Interns to know:
Aidan: “I’d say don’t be afraid to ask questions and ask for help, don’t be afraid that they won’t be
able to help or want to help, they’ll likely know how to help or know someone who can help. They
are there to support you and anything to help with your career they probably will be able to help.
Overall I found the chat with Aidan really insightful, it was great to learn about his work site CITU,
and how Lighthouse supports the interns even after they move on from Carlton House. To me it
felt really reassuring knowing that so much support was offered, whilst at the same time still being
pushed out of our comfort zones to try new and exciting opportunities. I hope you found this
article just as useful as I did writing it
