Zuka Sound is a profit-for-purpose brand that designs, develops, and manufactures fashion-inspired stereophonic devices.
Through the Level UP remote internship program, Zuka Sound’s founder, Orlando Prendergast, partnered with Richard Plant to write company content that tells Zuka’s story.
A business student at the University of Manitoba, Richard wrote a series of content-rich, engaging blog posts for Zuka Sound.
For Richard, working with Zuka Sound and Orlando was an amazing experience.
“He’s definitely one of the best employers I’ve worked with so far. Orlando was very supportive and very understanding. We learned a lot from each other.”
Orlando was very impressed with Richard’s writing skills, also.
“He submitted five articles, and I only asked for four. That’s how committed Richard was. He wrote about the benefits of Zuka’s in-ear stereos as compared to our competitors. His writing was so precise and well done that I had nothing else to add to it. He listened, and he took the task and ran with it. We both won. Richard is a super nice guy and very, very professional, Orlando enthused.”
Aside from writing, Richard developed research skills and demonstrated critical and creative thinking on the project.
“I wanted to create something different than a regular blog. I had to go out of my normal boundaries to create this, Richard said.”
The quality of the articles Richard wrote was bar none according to Orlando.
“He really captured your attention. His blogs were good two-minute reads, but they held you there and most of all, they gave you the information you wanted. There were no questions left unanswered and that’s what I loved about his articles.”
Orlando is thankful for the Level UP program which he credits with bringing Zuka Sound much farther along.
“The students really helped to solidify our task at hand. They came through and Zuka won with these students for sure.”
Orlando liked the flexibility of the Level UP program as well.
“We want them to focus on their studies, but, also, the Level UP program provides something that they can easily mix in with their studies and make some income. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
The hands-on experience the Level UP project provided was invaluable for Richard.
“I think that’s one of the biggest things I’ve gotten from the Level UP program. It’s work in the real world. In classes, we work on a lot of writing projects and research, but it’s not as beneficial or impactful as it is to work with an actual business.”
It is no wonder why Richard would recommend the Level UP program to others.
“I’m a very proud supporter of Level UP and Riipen. A lot of students get jobs in restaurants to make ends meet. That’s not work that’s connected to their majors that’s going to help their careers long-term. The Level UP program provides a more meaningful work experience that’s definitely going to benefit their careers.”
Orlando would likewise also recommend the program to other startups and small businesses.
“Do it. You’re benefiting your company and you’re also helping these students. You’re getting good, quality students who are probably hungrier to succeed than people who’ve been in the workforce for five to six years. They want to impress, and they want to get their careers going.”
Thank you to Richard Plant for sharing his experience on Riipen. To learn more about how you can get started with the Level UP remote internship program as a student or employer, visit the website here. Stay up to date with the latest in higher education, experiential learning, and the future of work, subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter, The Riipen Report.
Riipen Level UP program is funded by the Government of Canada's Innovative Work-Integrated Learning (I-WIL) Initiatives program. The opinions and interpretations in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Canada.
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