Reflection Letter
Hi, helloo
My name is Roxanne Gozali. I was a high school student at UPH College when I interned at RAW as part of my school program, which required me to complete a ten-day internship. This is my reflection on that experience.
My dream of becoming an architect was planted long ago, starting when I was in Grade Eight. So yes, becoming an intern at an architecture workshop was a really big deal for me. I used to think I was never a good writer until I realized that writing only requires honesty and sincerity. So, here it is: RAW through the eyes of a sixteen-year-old intern.
Before
I vividly remember the night before my internship started. I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t drink, couldn’t eat. I kept thinking all night until I eventually fell asleep. Okay, that’s a little exaggerated, but you get the point lah ya. I was anxious, very, very anxious. I was afraid
I’d become a big burden to the kakak-kakak around me because I knew the age gap would be quite wild.
The thing is, I wasn’t afraid of RAW. I’ve always believed that I’m socially adaptable. What I feared was being seen as a piece of gum. Well, again, it came from the fact that I was still sixteen, going there with not much knowledge about architecture and so on. Something people barely notice until it gets in the way. I worried that if that was how they saw me, every day at RAW would feel like an uphill battle.
During
First day in, June 17, 2026. Coming to an unfamiliar place, I was very timid. I didn’t know the door code, so I just stood by the door like a figurine until someone finally opened it. I waited in the foyer for Kak Tyo, did a quick interview, and clarified a lot of things, that I was only sixteen and hadn’t started college yet. I also had no clue how the check-in and
check-out system worked until I got placed in the Analytic Team under Kak Ty o’s supervision. Looking back, it’s kind of funny. I always thought Kak Tyo was a very serious man with no sense of humor in his late twenties. Turns out I was wrong about one thing. He has the
sense of humor of a nineteen-year-old kid. His seriousness is basically on and off. Then I met the other kakak-kakak there. They truly taught me a lot with patience, explaining everything in such soft voices as if I were ten years old. I remember my first job was proposing a Wi-Fi router placement and then choosing an Andiwastra pattern for
the router cover. It taught me that every action and every decision always comes with a purpose.
Then came the hard part, learning AutoCAD. The first time I touched the app, my brain was boiling. I could literally feel it, as if the water inside it had evaporated. But again, I figured it out with Kak Ty o’s guidance, YouTube, and Kak Yoel. I always thought Kak Yoel worked there, but it turned out he was also an intern. Still, I’m
forever thankful for his presence in the Analytic Team because he helped me a lot with my struggles. Learning a program like AutoCAD was always something I wanted to do,
so I’m grateful that I got to start learning it at RAW.
On my second day, I joined a site visit to Alfa Omega School with Ci Mei and Ko Adit. It was a wonderful and blazingly hot experience, but it was fun. I still remember Ko Adit’s phone getting so hot that I felt like I could cook an egg on it. We took a lot of existing-condition photos, measurements, frontal pictures, talked with the client, and again, I observed so many things. After that, Ko Adit helped me create a
MoM. It dawned on me that without my experience at RAW, I wouldn’t have known any of those terms, frontal, existing, mezzanine, and many more. Not to mention, I also helped around at OMAH. Through that, I got to know architects who have made such wonderful impacts on society. I also tended to spend my lunch breaks with Kak Fina, Kak Ufi, and Kak Sisca. I’m thankful for their company and guidance while I was at RAW.
As the last few days of my internship came, ten days felt like a Shinkansen, passing by so quickly. Then I realized that the opportunity to intern at RAW wasn’t something I wanted to spend only ten days on. So came the big decision to extend it for a month.
I’m really happy I made that decision. I learned a lot, observed a lot, and analyzed a lot too. I learned cool things such as laser cutting with Kak Neilson and some simple Photoshop with Kak Aca’s help. It was a fun experience being part of their discussions, although sometimes I had no idea what they were talking about, so I just observed.
End
I want to say that spending a month interning at RAW was one of the most gratifying experiences for me. It proved that architecture is accessible to everyone, even a sixteen- year-old kid who’s still trying to figure out life. I came to realize that architecture isn’t always about beautiful buildings or great structures. It’s also about humans, empathy, safety, and how every decision can affect the
people around us.
So, thank you, RAW.
Thank you to my SPV, wahai Kak Ty o, for helping me and letting me gangguin u, although it’s also because u gangguin I. I hope you’re still doing your Chinese Duolingo without my help, and yes, I’ll keep calling you Kak Ty… o hehe :p
A huge thank you as well to everyone in the Analytic and OMAH teams, Kak Neilson,
Kak Aca, Kak Ufi, Kak Fina, and Kak Sisca, for taking care of me throughout the past month, for accepting my presence, and for treating me like dede of the team. It means a lot to me. Please take good care of the Smiski I gave you yahhh ;D I’ll always cherish our
moments together. Maybe one day I’ll come back and visit you guys!
Thank you as well to Om Real for giving me the opportunity to experience interning at RAW. I learned so much and will always be thankful for the opportunity you gave me.
Lastly, thank you to all the fellow interns too. I wish you all the best in your studies and
your future.
My Mayonnaise Jar 