The Courage to Go Beyond

How does one go from being unfamiliar with the metaverse to designing an entire video game-like journey in the virtual world? Read the story of Ricci Grapilon, an Employee Experience Intern at Globe from early 2023 who helped build the Globe Meta Museum.

I officially joined Globe on January 16, 2023. It was nerve-wracking and I remember feeling anxious upon stepping into The Globe Tower. My nerves only grew after the onboarding with Sir Paul, where I learned that our projects involved new HR technologies, particularly the metaverse — something that a non-tech-savvy person like myself had little to no knowledge of. 

Exploring the Metaverse

The Globe Meta Museum is one of the most enjoyable and challenging internship projects I have contributed to. Being less updated than my peers on AI or the metaverse resulted in a steep learning curve that spanned weeks and covered a lot of online videos and articles. Having Sir Paul, who was always open to answering our questions, and teaming up with my co-interns made the ride smooth sailing.

Meta Ricci!

Seeing the beta version of the Meta Museum after numerous usability tests, endless brainstorming sessions, and several design iterations months after I finished my internship was rewarding and exciting. Throughout the project, we had to wear different hats: a researcher to capture the target audiences’ preferences, an interior designer to guide the programmers on the look and experience we were aiming for, and a writer to create scripts to engage our users. 

After an eventful three months, seeing our design and script ideas transform from Miro boards into an actual, interactive metaverse space was as surreal as it gets. When Sir Paul messaged us to get our feedback on the beta version, I was beyond excited to explore the space and provide detailed feedback to help the team that has taught me so much about venturing outside my comfort zone and developing my creativity. 

From Now to Next: Globe’s Lasting Impact

One of the things I cherish the most from my internship experience with Globe, beyond the tons of immersive learning and exposure, is the people — specifically, our weekly EX Cadence meetings with Sir Paul on Miro and the TrEX Marias, the group I had with my co-interns, Ianna Soriano and Angel Asinas.

Sir Paul’s weekly check-in with us made me appreciate the people-centered culture at Globe, and it became one of my considerations when I applied for my following internship roles. My Globe internship made me want to be part of a team that shows interest in both my professional and personal growth. The non-work-related activities, such as sharing our weekend highlights or favorite hobbies, provided a stronger foundation for our working relations as a team.

Even with these amazing people, I could not discount the learnings and experience I gained from Globe. The Meta Museum and all the projects I did with Globe elevated my project management competencies, particularly in managing timelines, working with internal and external stakeholders, and incorporating new technologies into standard ways of working — something I carried with me in my next internships. I can say the same about my employer branding skillset: I joined Globe with the knowledge and a bit of practice, refined the skills further in the company, and continued to enhance them with my next internships.

My biggest takeaway from this experience, however, would be learning to put myself in uncomfortable situations and maximizing the opportunity to learn. Despite my minimal background with the metaverse, I powered through to challenge myself and quench my thirst for learning. I want to gain novel experiences and new perspectives from projects and concepts I am unfamiliar with.

Ultimately, Globe gave me the courage to embrace the unknown, to grow despite the discomfort, and to always take the opportunity to learn.

Can you remember the last time you took a leap of faith like Ricci? Tell us about it in the comments!

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