Tarohole Niipare

At Work

My internship at the Julius Baer Academy (JBA) has been an incredible and life-changing experience that I will forever cherish. I am part of a diverse, passionate, and caring team that never makes me feel like I am just another intern from Namibia as they involve me in all their tasks and allow me to explore my interests.

I was placed in the academy’s Learning and Development team, where I work as a learning and development coordinator by assisting my various team members with tasks regarding all staff development, facility management, onboarding, and e-learning processes. To provide more context, I basically help ensure that all new and existing employees are not only provided with all the mandatory trainings, but that they can also familiarise themselves with the various staff offerings to aid in their personal and professional development. In addition to that, I help my mentor with e-learning creation processes and do other general tasks such as answering phone calls, reviewing documents, and drafting articles for the intranet.

Despite being an economics student, none of these tasks dismayed me, as I viewed them as opportunities to grow professionally. It is here where I was able to cement my future career goal as a result of exposure to the fundamentals of the banking industry and through various introduction meetings with other professionals within the bank. The best part of it all would be my line manager, Dominique going as far as arranging for me to intern at the internal audit department and financial intelligence unit and my mentor, Lisette, organizing an information-sharing meeting with a colleague from the legal perspectives department as I am interested in a career in risk management.

Through our regular team meetings and team stand-ups, I learned more about my colleagues on a personal level and came to appreciate how everyone at JB treats you like their equal, senior rank or not. I became a part of a family. The JBA family.

My Swiss host family

Where do I even start? Marlise and Urs Schneider have made Switzerland my second home away from home. As parents themselves to two sons, they treat me like their daughter and ensure that I never lack anything. Every day is an adventure for my palette as the entire family enjoys cooking. We never run out of things to discuss at the dinner table and since both my parents love a good joke, there is never a dull moment. Although English is not their first language, they always try to include me in conversations with guests who struggle to speak it, by translating the entire conversation to me. Moreover, my host mother would always want me to correct her whenever she felt like she said something incorrect in English. They always want to know about me; how I am, how I slept and how my work was. There is always a cultural exchange as they enquire about how I do things back home, which exposes me more to the contrast between life in Namibia, and life here. Apart from relating to my host mother’s love of art and my host father’s love of cars, what I love most about my host parents is that they have big hearts and genuinely care about the social uplifting of individuals.

Highlights and challenges in Switzerland

I think my first day at work would be my first highlight as I received so many company gifts alongside a card welcoming me to the Academy. Additionally, later the next week, I receive a parcel from the HR department with my name on which really made me feel integrated into the bank. Furthermore, another highlight would be going to the opera. My host mother enjoys going to the opera and invited me to see it with her one evening and it was just like in the movies; the costumes, the conductor and how everyone claps when the show is over. Although it was a Grimm storyline, it was the perfect opera to see as there was so much emotion in their voices. Lastly, would be skiing and sledding in Films. My host parents are regular skiers and took me to Films one weekend for skiing with an instructor and a fellow intern, which was not a walk in the park on the first day as I was falling more times than I was up. The second day was amazing as I could ski on my own and did not fall at all. We also had about nine rounds of sledding with my host dad on the second day which was adrenaline-filled and enjoyable. I am ready to represent Namibia at the next Olympic games (laughs).

Regarding my challenges on a personal level, it would be balancing university work and Swiss life. On a professional level would be a v-lookup at work because although we had ICT training, it still was a task that I never looked forward to, but I was determined to master it, which I can now. Another challenge which I experienced, was understanding the transport system, but after getting lost on my way back home once, I can confidently say that it has become a walk in the park.

my future plans

My mind has always been set on building lasting partnerships with key international partners that will make valuable investments in the Namibian economy. One way in which I can do this is by improving our banking sector, as they build the basis of any economy. Therefore, I would one day like to be a part of the Bank of Namibia’s risk management department and employ what I have learned during my internship here.

This is however a long-term goal. In the meantime, I will return to Namibia to complete my bachelor’s degree and enroll for my honour’s degree and master’s degree in the years to follow.

Personal message

No words can describe how grateful I am to the entire B360 team, the Schneider family, and Julius Baer for this life-changing experience. I have learned so much about myself on a personal level and I look forward to employing the skills I learned back in the Namibian economy.

To the future B360 interns, remember that success begins with you viewing every opportunity as a chance to grow. This internship provides you with a unique opportunity to interact with professionals on different levels, so use it to your advantage to learn from them and do not limit yourself as the world is your oyster.