Every year we take on interns from Kenyan universities running German programmes. Vanessa Senema joined us from Pwani University, where she is in her third year of a Bachelor of Arts in German Studies. We asked her to write about the experience in her own words — including the parts that were difficult. This is what she sent us.
My name is Vanessa Senema, and I am a third-year Bachelor of Arts in German Studies student at Pwani University. An internship is part of my degree, and that requirement is how I first came across Teamgeist International. Looking back, it turned out to be one of the most valuable stretches of my university years.
Learning by doing, from the first week
From the beginning I was brought into a supportive, professional environment where the expectation was that I would learn by doing rather than by watching. Over the course of the internship I worked on:
- Administrative tasks and day-to-day office coordination
- Communication with partner institutions
- Preparing for events
- Marketing activities
Every one of those pushed me to become more organised, to communicate more clearly, and to carry myself with more confidence in a professional setting.
The parts that were difficult
It would not be an honest account without this section. Adjusting to a professional working environment took time, and so did juggling several responsibilities at once. Nothing about that was dramatic — it was simply new, and new things are uncomfortable before they are familiar.
What made the difference was the guidance from the Teamgeist staff. With their support I became a little more capable each week, and the things I found hardest at the start ended up being where I learned the most.
What I enjoyed most
Being trusted with real responsibilities. Not filing, not fetching — actual work that mattered to the organisation, alongside people who were always willing to explain something or talk a problem through.
That atmosphere is what made the rest possible. When it is easy to ask a question and safe to make a mistake, you learn much faster than when you are trying to look like you already know.
What it taught me about learning German
As a German Studies student, the months I spent here reinforced something my lecturers have been telling me for years: consistency beats intensity. A little every day will take you further than a heroic weekend once a month.
If you are preparing for a Goethe exam, this is what I would tell you:
- Practise every day. Even twenty focused minutes. The gap between people who reach B1 and people who stall is almost always daily contact with the language, not natural talent.
- Surround yourself with German outside the classroom. Books, podcasts, music, film — anything that puts the language in your ears when you are not studying. Your listening improves in the background.
- Speak, even badly. Mistakes are not evidence that you are failing. They are the mechanism by which you learn. The people who improve fastest are the ones willing to be wrong out loud.
- Find the right environment. Who you learn around matters more than most people expect. Choose people and places that push you forward rather than let you coast.
- Be patient with the plateau. Every learner hits a stretch where progress feels invisible. It usually is not — it is consolidating. Keep going.
Thank you
I am genuinely grateful to Teamgeist International for the chance to learn, to develop professionally, and to gain experience I could not have got from a lecture hall. The skills and the confidence I picked up here will stay with me for the rest of my career.
To any student looking for an internship that will actually teach them something: I would recommend Teamgeist International without hesitation.
A note from Teamgeist
Vanessa was a pleasure to work with, and we publish this with her permission and in her own words.
If you are a student on a German programme at a Kenyan university and you are looking for an internship placement, get in touch — we take a small number each year. And if you are preparing for a Goethe-Zertifikat at any level, our exam preparation course covers all four modules, or you can take our free five-minute placement test to find out exactly which level you should be sitting.