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Table of Contents

Personal Well-being Check ...................................................................................................... 3

Status update: Academic Achievement after exam period 2 ................................................... 4
Proposal community service ..................................................................................................... 5
Goal setting – Formulate three (learning) goals ..................................................................... 6
Guest lecture 1: Indexx ............................................................................................................. 7
Guest lecture 2: Pepsico............................................................................................................ 8
Status update: academic achievement after exam period 3..................................................... 9
Guest lecture 3......................................................................................................................... 10
Goal setting – did I achieve them? ......................................................................................... 11
Letter of achievement – looking back..................................................................................... 12
My experience as a peer coach ............................................................................................... 14
Exploring the job market / professional orientation ............................................................. 15
Assignment 1: advertisement analyses. ......................................................................................... 15
Assignment 2: reflect on the advertisement assignment ............................................................. 22
Assignment 3: personal pitch ......................................................................................................... 22
Assignment 4: reflect on the personal pitch assignment ............................................................. 22
Development tool 1: ................................................................................................................ 23
Understanding my Personal Performance ............................................................................. 23
Reflection ......................................................................................................................................... 28
Development tool 2: ................................................................................................................ 29
Tools that test your communication skills.............................................................................. 29
Reflection ......................................................................................................................................... 32
Development tool 3: ................................................................................................................ 33
Tools that test your leadership skills ...................................................................................... 33
Reflection ......................................................................................................................................... 36
Accountability of your community service ............................................................................. 37

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 Personal Well-being Check

Safety:
Since I live in the Helix building, everything is convenient and safe. I live in the same
building with my friends so whenever I feel bored, I will come to their rooms or invite them
to my rooms to study or just watch some movies together. We sometimes make our county’s
dishes and play board games at night.
After the exam, I flew back to my country to enjoyed Luna's new year with my family and
friends. It was a short vacation but very memorable.

Food & sleep + (metal) health:

I did not treat myself well lately since the previous exam caused me a lot of anxieties
and stress. I stayed up till 3 or 4 in the morning to study, therefore, I became lazy to cook and
just skipped the meal. My biological clock was a mess at the time. I went to bed around 5 am
or 6 am and got up after midday. I lost much weight at that time.
However, when I got back to my country, not only my mental health but also my physical
health got better.
I started to go to the gym to strengthen my physical health and somehow this also helps me to
release stress.

Money:
I think I am quite good at managing my money lately. I carefully consider whenever I
want to buy anything. Also, my friend is very good at making me to stop the desire to buy the
thing that is not necessary.

Common anxieties:
Finding the time to do everything
Meeting deadlines
Finding a new place to live.

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Status update: Academic Achievement after
exam period 2

Subject Result Passed

ACP - Persuasive communication 7 YES

ADE - Digital Marketing 7 YES

AEN - English 8 YES

AIA - Intercultural Awareness 7 YES

APPD - Personal & Professional Development 8 YES

APS - Problem solving and decision making 8 YES

Although I passed all the subjects in period 2 with quite sufficient results, I did not
please with all the results since I got a 6 in Digital Marketing and a 7 in Intercultural
Awareness. I got 7,4 in Intercultural Awareness so it was a pity because I just needed 0,1 to
get an 8 and there was nothing that I could do to increase my result. The Digital marketing
result bordered me since I tried my best with the portfolio and the result was much lower than
I expected. I redid my portfolio and hope for a better result.
In the next term, I plan to resit the Persuasive Communication because I know that I
can do better, but if it is too handy for me to resit it in the next term, I will please with the
result. I also have to resit the Marketing Communication and Branding this term.

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Proposal community service

5
 Goal setting – Formulate three (learning)
goals

Goals: SMART (specific_measureable_ achievable_ realistic_ time)

1. Read textbooks more often in order to learn more academic vocabulary (at least 200
words in the end of the academic year).

2. Pass all the exam with sufficient results at the end of the semester.

3. Inform daily events and information to parents more often, start now!

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 Guest lecture 1: Indexx

Fig. 1. Indexx Logo

Indexx was the first guest lecture that I attended. This is a multinational organization
engaged in the animal veterinary industry. The main headquarter is located in Maine, the US,
and the headquarter in Europe is in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands. The lecture started by
providing some general information about the company. Although the guest lecture was not
long, it was informative, the lecturers mentioned many aspects such as interview experience,
tips, how is work in Indexx, etc. The lecture provided me a great opportunity to have a
detailed look at communication filed relevant jobs, and what jobs I can do after graduating
communication studies course. Despite the greatness of the lecture, I was not into it much
since the animal veterinary is not the market field that I want to work in. Nevertheless, the
internship part was really useful since it cannot be applied for getting an internship at Indexx
but many more companies.

Fig. 2. Indexx Guest Lecture

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 Guest lecture 2: Pepsico

Fig. 3. Pepsico Logo

The second guest lecture was PepsiCo, an American multinational food, snack, and
beverage. The company headquarters is in Harrison, New York. This lecture was quite
different from the Indexx since there were many lecturers there, each lecturer holds different
roles in the organization. It is a great opportunity for me since I could listen to different
stories from different positions in the organization; how it would like as an Intern, an
employee recruit, etc. The mission of the organization was stated clearly, which is ‘Create
more smiles with every sip and every bite’. Furthermore, they aim to use their scale, reach,
and expertise to help build a more sustainable food system. Not only showing how great is
the company, but the lecturers also provided internship information, tips, and experience.
After the lecture, I think I will take PepsiCo into consideration when it comes to finding
internships.

Fig. 4. Pepsico’s products

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 Status update: academic achievement after
exam period 3

What are your exam results?

Since no exams were able to happen due to the coronavirus crisis, I have not had any
final results of T3. In T3 we were just able to take the Public Relations exam, but I have not
received the result. However, I got a good grade for Research in Communication 2.
I am quite nervous about the upcoming exam since the online study does not fit with my
study style, I need more interaction. I hope I can manage to perform well in the exams.

Did you expect these results? Why / why not?

For the RES portfolio, I spent most of my time under quarantine in Vietnam to do it.
From the start, the portfolio was not in shape since I just put the random assignment in it.
However, after 3 working days, it was formulated well. Furthermore, I also received
compliments for each assignment that I sent to ask for feedback from the teachers. The result
I got was higher than my expectation, but I think the result paid off for the amount of time
that I spend on this portfolio.

How did you prepare for the exams?

The lockdown brought us many uncertainties, and it was unclear whether the exams
would happen or not. I have not prepared much for the exam, but I try to read books every
day.

Do you think you need to make changes in how you study?

As mentioned before, I have a problem with English academic vocabulary. I am

trying to read textbooks every day, not only to study for the exams but also to learn new
words.
Do you know what to do to improve your results?
I think should prepare well for the exam by creating my own study schedule. I found it
difficult for me to study alone so I usually ask my friends to study with me and they are
pleased to do so since they also need to study.

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 Guest lecture 3

Fig. 5. Boskalis Logo

Boskalis is the third company that gave me a third guest lecture. This is a Dutch
dredging and heavy lift company. It provides services relating to the construction and
maintenance of maritime infrastructure internationally. In the beginning, the lecturers briefly
explained themselves and their positions in the company. It was a nice and informative
lecture since the lecturers provided many internship information, although we had listened to
many internship information during the previous lectures, given information in each lecture
were different and useful for our future internship and career. After listening to the lecturers,
I realized how their company has had decent growth for years; their strategy is elaborated in a
three-year business plan, that plan facilitates them to reach their goals faster and more
effectively. I was really into this guest lecture.

Fig. 6. Boskalis Guest Lecture

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 Goal setting – did I achieve them?

1. Read textbooks more often in order to learn more academic vocabulary (at least
200 words in the end of the academic year) (√)
Reading a whole textbook was something that I did not like in the past since I thought
it was quite boring. However, after trying to finish reading Epic Content Marketing, I found
out that the textbook is not as boring as I assumed. The book was informative and easy to
read. Although the book does not contain many new vocabularies, it still helps me to prepare
for Creating Content at the end of June. Furthermore, I also started to read the book again and
summary it in order to study for the exam easier. I will try to read not only textbooks but also
some marketing and public relations books because I am quite into these topics.

2. Pass all the exam with sufficient results at the end of the semester (?)
Although we have not ended the semester yet, and I still have upcoming exams in
June, I will try my best to pass all the exams and get 60 credits this year. According to the
result that I have received so far, my average grade is quite ok, but I don’t satisfy with it yet
so maybe I will try to resit exams that I think I could do better. Furthermore, I am preparing
for the upcoming exams by reading textbooks and reviewing all the slides. I hope that I can
pass all the exams this semester.

3. Inform daily events and information to parents more often this year (√√)
In the past, I rarely informed my family about my current life in the Netherlands. I think it
not only because of the time-distance but also because of my laziness. I was not used to
talking with people face-to-face via Internet application, therefore I hardly ever called my
family. Before returning to my home country, which is Vietnam, I forced myself to call my
family every two-day to inform them about my life. At first, I was not pleasant but after a few
days, I started to get used to it and called my family more frequently. Although I am staying
with my family now, I still call my parents to tell them what I am doing at home when they
are at work. I think it somehow becomes a habit and my parents are really happy when I call
them to talk about some random topic.

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Letter of achievement – looking back

• My Letter of Achievement

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 • Looking back

This academic year is such a dynamic according to my experience so far. First is the
coronavirus crisis, and then the uncertainties that the crisis has brought. Everything, in the
beginning, was so unclear since we did not know whether exams would occur or not. Based
on the current situation, lectures and exams are all offered online, eventually, this caused me
a lot of problems since I was not used to and also unpleasant with study online. However,
after 1 or 2 weeks, I found that study online was not as hard as I thought. Fortunately, I
somewhat started to get used to it, and furthermore enjoyed it. based on the experience that I
had so far, everything is under control, but I still have a problem with finding study materials
online. I was looking forward to something new in B cluster, but the situation now is
apparently too much that requires me to acquainted with it as soon as possible. Although we
are having a hard time, I will consider this situation as a great opportunity to check my
adaptability and what I should do when many uncertainties happen. This might be one of my
precious experiences, to be honest, and I am desperately looking forward to studying at HAN
and seeing my lecturers and friends soon since I miss them a lot.

When I looked back at my letter of achievement, which was written in the previous
cluster, I realized how energetic I was in those first months in the university. Although my
portfolios are still filled with nice assignments and pictures, I am kind of losing my fervency
while doing assignments. It might be the consequences of doing assignments without my
friends are nearby, somehow it made me felt I was alone. However, everything is getting
better, and I am trying my best to fulfill all the achievements that I stated in my letter of
achievement. So far, the only thing that I am missing right now is passing all the exams with
sufficient grades.

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 My experience as a peer coach

The experience I had while coaching my friend Quynh Anh – a

CS student in CSA-B02 class.

Quynh Anh is one of my close Vietnamese friends in the

Netherlands. Although our subjects are different from each other in
each cluster, we usually facilitate the other in the study. This term, she
had some problems with the Research in Communication 2, which is
the subject that I passed with a decent grade, so I suggested to help her
with this subject because I remember the knowledge that I learned from
this subject. Quynh Anh was having an online study problem since it
was hard for her to understand everything during the lecturers. We
usually had Skype time whenever we were free, during the facetime, I
explained things that she missed or did not understand in the lectures,
and also gave her advice, and tips in order to help her to understand
what she should do for her portfolio. Research 2 was a quite hard
subject since we have a lot of things needed to be done for our
portfolio. I was not only a supporter but also a supervisor who would
ask her to do homework, assignments, etc. After a few weeks of being
her peer coach, she finally finished her Research 2 portfolio, which she
was quite pleased with, furthermore, she also finished her portfolio 1
day before the deadline, which could be considered as an unusual thing.
I was extremely satisfied since I could support my friend and peer
coaching somehow become the ‘part-time job’ that I enjoy during the
online study period.

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 Exploring the job market / professional
orientation
Assignment 1: advertisement analyses.

Step 1:

Junior Project Manager

Vacancy 1:

Catalyx
Branch / practice

Junior Project Manager

Position in the
organisation

Is it a management-, Project manager

staff- or executive
position?
Lead the delivery of research projects. Starting with project set
up, managing the project team managing the day to day
relationships with suppliers until project closure and
Main tasks
administration

• Lead the delivery research projects from end-to-end (set up

Authority and to closure);
responsibilities
• Monitor and adjust the timeline of the project, recommend
corrective actions;

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 • Manage project budgets;

• Manage the project team;

• Liaison with key suppliers;

• Provide support on project set up;

Important internal
relations Team members
Important external Clients, suppliers
relations (customers,
clients, suppliers)
• Min 1-2 years of experience in organizational role,
project management, event management or similar,
preferably for a marketing/advertising /consumer
research or innovations.
• Tech oriented, enjoying to work with online platforms;
• A fluency in several European languages is helpful:
Professional competences English is a must (C1 level, all communication with
suppliers, clients and within the company is in English,
2nd foreign language is a plus).
• Professional certification in Project Management is a
plus.

• An attention to detail and an exacting standard, with a

pride for delivering excellent work that exceed client
expectations)
• Open minded, good attitude and not worried about
Personal competences possible leg works to get the projects running;
• Be able to combine attention to detail, handle multiple
priorities & projects, project management skill and be
tech savvy.

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 • Min 1-2 years of experience in organizational role,
project management, event management or similar,
Required number of
preferably for a marketing/advertising /consumer
years of experience
research or innovations.

Not mentioned
Education level

Primary and secondary Not mentioned

working conditions
no
Any other issues

Vacancy 2: Marketing Communications Assistant

Milton Keynes, UK
Branch / practice

Position in the Marketing Communications Assistant

organisation
Is it a management-, Staff
staff- or executive
position?
Delivering a range of digital marketing tasks for the business,
Main tasks
including social media, SEO and PPC activities.
• Create designs and content for the website, web pages,
marketing collateral and social media graphics
Authority and • Deliver B2B communications for national, multi-
responsibilities national and global customers
• Establish a professional, working, and consultative,
relationship with key stakeholders
Important internal Marketing Communications Manager & Senior Graphic
relations Designer

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Important external Customers, clients
relations (customers,
clients, suppliers)
• Marketing experience
• Project management experience
• Knowledge of animation software
Professional competences

Highly creative
Personal competences

Required number of Not mentioned

years of experience
Not mentioned
Education level

Primary and secondary Working in teams & working on your own initiative
working conditions
No
Any other issues

Vacancy 3: Junior Sales manager

Procter & Gamble

Branch / practice

Junior Sales Manager

Position in the
organisation

Is it a management-, Sales manager

staff- or executive
position?

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 Maintaining and expanding long-term partnerships with your
customers by continuously proposing solutions and plans that
meet shared objectives. In doing so, you will develop a keen
Main tasks
understanding of your product categories and markets

• Developing and maintaining a productive long term

relationship with your customer
• Acquiring a deep understanding of market categories,
as well as customer needs and requirements.
• Adapting and optimizing country commercial
guidelines to your specific client
• Negotiating contracts, promo plans and innovations
Authority and
Preparing volume forecast and plans
responsibilities
Collaborating very closely with teams from other
departments
• Resolving any issues and problems of your clients and
acting as a link between your customer and the internal
teams

Manager, team members

Important internal
relations

Important external Customers

relations (customers,
clients, suppliers)
• A Bachelor's degree or higher education in Business
Administration, Commerce, Industrial Engineering, or
any related degree.
• External focus and real passion for Sales / Marketing.
Professional competences
• Strong analytical thinking and skills.

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 • Proficiency in English, Arabic is preferred.
• A maximum of 3 years of relevant working experience
Personal competences (FMCG is preferred)

• Flexible
• Eager to learn
Required number of
• Have real passion for winning and leadership
years of experience

Bachelor's degree or higher education in Business

Administration, Commerce, Industrial Engineering, or any
Education level related degree

• An opportunity to work on P&G-sized projects with

access to world leading IT partners and technologies
from day one.
Primary and secondary • A friendly and encouraging atmosphere at work.
working conditions • Mentoring & coaching programs aimed at your future
career development.

No
Any other issues

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Step 2:

Vacancy Questions
Junior project
manager - Does the company culture have a huge effect on this position?
- Does the company prefer a diversity in nationality than a mono
nationality project team?

Junior sales
manager - How does the company culture affect this position?
- Does the management prefer to deliver the negative feedback
direct to the team members or do it indirectly?

Marketing
Communications - Does this position require using graphic design tool?
Assistant - Will I work in a team or individually?

Step 3:

Vacancy Junior Project Manager

What is the essence My passion of preparing the project from the beginning. Seeing how
of your enthusiasm? project is formed
What picture do you Working with clients in order to formulate a project that is close to
have of this their needs
vacancy, these tasks, Estimate project budget
this company or Create and adjust the project timeline
organisation?

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 Which other factors Communicate and work with many people
make you
enthusiastic?
Which doubts do Is my problem-solving skill good enough to handle problem
you have regarding effectively?
this vacancy?

Assignment 2: reflect on the advertisement assignment

This assignment is useful since it facilitates university students to analyze the job that
they want to apply for. Analyzing the job requirements could bring us a huge advantage since
it helps us to know the requirements better. We would know if the job is appropriated for our
current knowledge and skills. Furthermore, this assignment not only provides me basic
knowledge about my chosen career but also shows me what kind of employee these
companies are expecting for the recruited position. I have always wonder if the course that I
am studying could help me to pursue my dream job, and this assignment gives me the answer
to my question.

Assignment 3: personal pitch

The personal pitch was happened on Teams Microsoft.

Assignment 4: reflect on the personal pitch assignment

The pitch elevator is an excellent way to briefly introduce your academic background, job
experience, and strengths. An informative and spellbinding pitch could catch the recruiter's
attention. In my opinion, the information that you put in your pitch but also your facial
expression and body language are some important factors that should be considered the most
while pitching. It was a great opportunity for me to practice and prepare for the real pitch
when it comes to an interview.
My pitch went smoothly, and I was confident when I pitch. However, there were many things
that should be improved in my pitch, but in general, according to my coach, it was a nice
pitch.

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 Development tool 1:
Understanding my Personal Performance

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42

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 39

28

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32 30 42 39 28 38

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Reflection

The section, which I have the highest score is the Attitude section. This is matching
with the ‘Snap SHAPES Profile’ that I did above since the highest score was also the
Attitude. I merely recognized over 5 factors; attitude was the factor that I confident with. I
have realized my attitude toward studying was good when I was in high school.
Due to my current situation, it is easy to acknowledge that my study experiences in the past
are partly useless since the background of education in Vietnam and the Netherlands are
different from each other. Therefore, it is predictably that the Experiences factor has the
lowest score over other factors.
According to the SHAPES tool, I realize that I sometimes underestimate myself. Most
of the factors in the last SHAPES profile are either one or two boxes better than the initial
one. Most of the SHAPES factors can be predicted easily, although there are one or two
boxes different in most of the factors. The Strategies factor is the one that unexpectedly has a
high score since I have never thought that I have any strategies for my study. The SHAPES
tool provides indicators (rating statements) of each factor that it has. Those indicators can be
the guideline for me to improve my skills, habits, attitudes, preferences, experiences,
strategies.
Looking at the SHAPES chart, the factor that I have to improve as soon as possible is
Habits. Although my attitude toward my education is quite high, my study habits are not
good since I only study when I am in my study mood. Therefore, my study time is changing
every day, I have no fixed study time. Somedays, I will study till midnight or maybe the
following day, but there are days that I don’t study anything. The way I study somehow
brings a bad effect on my physical and mental health. To improve this, my friends suggested
I study with them in the library, so they can force me to start studying or to stop it. In this
way, I will have less stress when the deadline or exam is coming. Nevertheless, Experiences
is also a factor that I have to improve. The huge gap between the two countries' education
leads me to have a low study experience level. In my view, time is the most important
element to solve this problem. My experience cannot be increased in a short period of time, it
needs time to observe and adapt to the new things.
In conclusion, I think SHAPES is a helpful tool that helps me to realize what is my
strength and what I need to improve.

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 Development tool 2:
Tools that test your communication skills

How Good Are Your Communication Skills?

29
How Approachable Are You?

30
How Good Are Your Listening Skills?

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Reflection

Based on the results of the aforementioned tests, the conclusion can be drawn that I
am a capable communicator with OK listening skills and an approachable person.
After receiving the result of each text, the website interprets the score of each skill
and how to improve those skills in detail. In my opinion, the advice is really helpful.
For my communication skill, it is requested that I should pay more attention to the
words and actions of the speaker, then ask questions whenever I misunderstand something,
and also watch their body language. These details can help me to ensure I say what I mean
and hear what is intended.
Although the result shows that I am a person who is easy to approach, I still need to
improve some skills to optimal it. Increasing my visibility and using my body language
appropriately are some of the advice that is suggested. The foundation of building good
relationships with colleagues, and also of creating a strong team is being approachable.
Therefore, it is important to enhance it.
I have to admit that my listening skills are just in the middle, I sometimes
misunderstanding the speakers. It is suggested that I should be prepared before I start to listen
to other people and ensure that there is nothing in the current environment that can distract
me. Furthermore, practicing active listening techniques is very important since those
techniques can help me to give all my attention to their talk. Looking for the nonverbal
elements of the message is also a key to enhance my listening skills.
Thanks to the tests, I could know what my strength is and what I need to improve in
order to have better skills for my chosen career. The tests are really helpful, and I am going to
redo it after a few months to see if there are anything changes.

32
 Development tool 3:
Tools that test your leadership skills

How Good Are Your Leadership Skills?

33
What's Your Leadership Style?

34
How Good Are Your People Skills?

35
Reflection

According to the questionnaire’s results, it was interpreted that I am a potential leader

with the participative style of leadership. It was also mentioned that my people skills still
need to be improved.
For my leadership skills, although I received the excellent comment in this section,
there is room for improvement since I did not hit the perfect or nearly perfect score. It was
suggested that I should so through all questions again, then compare the highest-score
answers with my initial answers and find out what I need to improve.
It was mentioned that my leadership style does not fit with the high-pressure situation
that needs a fast turnaround, and I might struggle with how people respond to the
consultation. It will be better for me and my team if I develop a wide set of styles to apply as
appropriate.
In the people skills section, it was warned that my old habits might creep in during
times of stress and pressure. Work-planning is needed to solve my problem in this situation.
It was quite a big surprise after receiving the results because I have never thought that
I have great leadership since I started to have more group works. The questionnaires have not
only informed me about my leadership skills but also showed me the ways to effectively
improve my skills. Somedays in the future, I will definitely retake these questionnaires in
order to know-how skills are developed.

36
Accountability of your community service

Appendix 2: ISB Community Service Logbook

Student’s Name: Khanh (Jenny) Nguyen
Student number: 635736
As an Event administrator of the ISB Event Team, I involved in the ISB Speed Dating Event, the
Karaoke night, and the Ice-Skating event. Although the Karaoke night and the Ice-Skating events
were canceled due to the coronavirus crisis, I prepared for all events mentioned above, and I was
also at the Speed dating Event to help Ale, the host of this event.

Date Time Hours spent Total Hours spent

February 17, 2020 17.30 – 21.30 4 4
March 9, 2020 18.00 – 22.30 4.5 4.5
March 10, 2020 9.00 – 10.00 1 1
March 10, 2020 20.00 – 22.00 2 2
March 11, 2020 10.00 – 10.30 0.5 0.5
March 11, 2020 17.00 – 20.00 3 3
March 12, 2020 17.00 – 19.00 2 2

Min 15 hours

Community Service Organisation: ____The ISB Event Team_______

Organisation Supervisor’s Signature: ________________________________

Date: ________________________________________________

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====================== End of portfolio ======================

Thank you for your time and consideration!

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