Coming in on the dutch spaceship

Shot into space: My journey with the Space Dogs begins!  

I’m Kaya, a twenty-year-old International Business student from the Netherlands. I started working with the Laika space crew a month ago and could not be more amazed.

Choosing what to do as an internship, was quite the space journey itself.  I had no idea what I wanted to do because I’m interested in so many things (such as law, psychology, music, real estate, and more!), and I was scared to miss out on a great opportunity. I settled on Berlin as a location because of its art, cultural scene, and international vibe. Then, I applied to many companies, which were totally different from each other (from a record label to law firms). 

However, finding Laika really piqued my interest. I enjoyed reading all their blog posts and following them on social media. I decided to message them, with the hope that they were looking for interns. Unfortunately, at the time, all intern positions were filled for my requested dates. I was a little disappointed, but not surprised, as I had already expected Laika to be rather popular with interns. Fortunately, after two weeks, I received a message that a slot might be opening at Laika. I did not hesitate and messaged them again. Part of me was a little scared of seeming to appear too pushy, but I decided to do it anyway because as the Dutch expression goes, “Niet geschoten, altijd mis.” You’ll always miss the shots you don’t take. I was very happy to get a positive response back, with an invitation to an interview. The interview was amazing—everyone on the crew was equally included and the Space Dogs gave me the impression of being a real pack. When I received the message of acceptance for the internship, I could not contain my excitement. I was just so happy to be able to learn from all these amazing Space Dogs.

Working here, this past month has been great. The welcome was so warm and the crew is really out of this world. They are so kind and ready to help at any moment of the day. It's just incredible! I’ve already learned a lot this month, like how to tackle pitch writing and how to use some of the many different tools for PR work. And there is even more to come! All of this is totally new to me, as my field of study is far from writing pitches, contacting journalists, communications, and PR. My work is still far from perfect, but everyone is so patient and gives me very helpful feedback on how to improve. I don’t have enough words to express how grateful I am for that. 

I can honestly say, that I have never seen a company like Laika in real life before. They really care about the crew’s well-being. They give young people a great opportunity to work, make mistakes and educate themselves in preparation for their future careers—it's just amazing. I also love that everyone is on equal terms—it just gives you that feeling of freedom to ask anyone about anything. At Laika, you get what you see. Laika tries its best to keep employees happy, and in my opinion, they are succeeding. 

I can’t wait to see what more I will learn from this space crew! I’m really glad I took my shot. I’m loving the view from space.