You can't Beat the Experience

Parit Wacharasindhu aka I-Tim was the talk of the town when the well-bred young man appeared in a front page photograph with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva in several major newspapers.

Work experience at the Finance Ministry and the Democrat Party.

This endearing snapshot happened to take place on the day of an official meeting of cabinet ministers at Government House.

The picture captivated readers because I-Tim and Mr Abhisit looked strikingly similar. Well, you can't blame I-Tim for being the nephew of the current prime minister of Thailand.

Yet there is one stark contrast between the two, a rather sensitive issue one might add - Parit is a die-hard Liverpool fan and Mr Abhisit is Newcastle United to the core.

I-Tim is the youngest son of Professor Dr Suttipong Wacharasindhu, a respected paediatrician and Endocrine specialist at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital - I-Tim's mother is Professor Dr Alisa Wacharasindhu who teaches child psychology at Chulalongkorn University's medical school and more importantly happens to be the elder sister of Mr Abhisit.

Participants of Democrat Party internship programme.

He was at Government House for some work experience which was in part attributed to being a King's Scholar from Eton College, Mr Abhisit's alma mater, and one of the most prominent schools in England known for producing many world leaders _ 18 former British prime ministers came from Eton.

I-TIM'S STINT AT THE ''HOUSE'' AND DEMOCRAT PARTY

I-Tim recalled the visit to Government House which was just for a day in January while he was taking time off from school.

All the young man could do was observe. But the rare opportunity to have an inside look at how politicians wheel and deal, was extremely beneficial to I-Tim and a key factor in deciding what he will study when he matriculates at the university level.

Parit ‘I-Tim’ Wacharasindhu

The 16-year-old I-Tim explained that the education system at Eton College encourages its student body to spend their vacation constructively. Most of his friends opt for work experience in year 12 and 13 (which is the equivalent of grade 12 in Thai secondary school). The reduction of the number of subjects down to four (Mathematics, History, Theology & Philosophy, and Economics) is to emphasise the respective majors chosen in university. Job training is an integral part of the application and admittance process.

''I want to study at Oxford University and read Philosophy, Politics and Economics

[the same major as Mr Abhisit]. That was why I interned at the Democrat Party for three weeks. There were 40 participants in this internship programme, most hailing from international schools. We accomplished a lot of things such as learning how to conduct polls, come up with questions and data analysis, observe how the party spokesman performs his job. This was very beneficial. I especially enjoyed the part on how MPs canvass during election time. It was a lot of fun,'' I-Tim said.

He added that a job internship is a very good thing.

What one receives in return is multi-faceted even though he hasn't read Politics at university yet, he now understands that the UK political system has served as a blueprint for many countries.

Pasut ‘A-Tom’ Wacharasindhu

''It's the same system [parliamentary] but the individual countries using it come from different backgrounds. It depends on experience, social conditions and society in each respective country. With regard to the political situation in Thailand ... I'd say that there aren't too many political parties who want to be in government at the moment.''

I-Tim has decided he also wants an internship within the political arena next year but this time he wants to do it in the UK. It won't be easy to get this opportunity but if he is successful it will allow him to add to his resume and help impress university officials into granting him admittance.

But I-Tim admitted he was also interested in becoming a doctor like his parents.

His mother played a key role in helping him decide his future path.

''Before interning at Government House, I thought it over for a week about advising [him to choose] the medical profession because it is one that is straight forward, a field that is succinctly clear in pointing out what is right or wrong, plus my son is pretty good at mathematics. I initially sent out a few feelers to doctors acquainted with our family, but in the end I thought this was not for him because he is not suited for a hospital. He's quite timid in such surroundings.

Pasut ‘A-Tom’ Wacharasindhu

''It so happened that Mark [Mr Abhisit's nickname] became prime minister and we sent Parit as an intern to Government House instead,'' said Dr Alisa.

A-TOM'S ROAD TO CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY

Pasut Wacharasindhu aka A-Tom is the 19-year-old elder brother of I-Tim and is the exemplary model of an intern because that was what he did to land the opportunity to read Economics at Cambridge University this October.

A-Tom graduated from Winchester College, UK, which was the alma mater of Korn Chatikavanich, the current finance minister and childhood friend of Mr Abhisit.

A-Tom recalled that while in Year 11 at Winchester College he began his first internship with Standard Chartered Bank in Thailand; in Year 12 he interned at HSBC in London and finally landed an internship with Mr Chatikavanich's team at the Thai Finance Ministry.

He said the training at Standard Chartered gave him valuable experience because students from Thai secondary schools rarely do intern work or observe how people work in Thailand. ''Most people ask why would a high school student who hasn't graduated from university want to train, but abroad they systematically take in students as interns.''

He added, ''In overseas countries they understand that students do not have the capacity to offer input but it's not as if they expect us to make coffee and operate the xerox machine. They make sure that we learn and observe every facet, while the remaining half of the day is spent reading documents.

''The atmosphere varies accordingly. Over there in England it's rather serious, but in Thailand it's more relaxed. It shows the different cultures and working atmosphere,'' said A-Tom.

After learning skills in the private sector, A-Tom decided to try his hand in the public sector _ the Finance Ministry to be precise. His next goal is to intern at the Bank of Thailand.

''At the Finance Ministry I was able to try a lot of things such as answer questions from the general public via email, Khun Korn's Facebook site, as well as the ministry's website. These questions ranged from inquiries about international loans and monetary and financial policies. I also had to prepare documents, press releases and complete the personal biodata of Khun Korn on Wikipedia. It was a learning experience which required knowledge I learned in the past and additional research. It was a most wonderful four weeks. I gained so much. The Central Bank is my next [internship] goal.

''I believe that being an intern is very beneficial. It allows one to see actual work in progress. It's much harder than what we learn in the classroom because we must adapt what is taught in the classroom to suit actual conditions ... cultural differences, society and working systems.'' said A-Tom.

MUM'S SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT

The two young men's mother, Dr Alisa Wacharasindhu, said that she too went through the ''not so pleasant'' experience of having to choose what to study at university.

She admitted that she chose the medical profession because her friends opted for the same major. But she found out later that it was no fun at all and was lucky enough to discover that child psychiatry was much more suited to her, because it would be beneficial for her when she became a mother.

Dr Alisa and her beloved boys.

''In England they [university officials] place much emphasis on internships as an integral part of the selection process. So wherever my kids want to intern, I try my best to facilitate their dreams by contacting the right people.

''Once I found out that A-Tom wanted to study Economics ... it was a chance meeting with Khun Korn [finance minister] on an airplane and I also knew that he was a friend of Mark's in addition to being an alumni of Winchester College. I spoke with Khun Korn and he offered two choices, an internship at JP Morgan [Khun Korn's former workplace] or the Ministry of Finance. A-Tom chose the Finance Ministry.

''Even in I-Tim's case, I knew at the bottom of my heart that he was not suited to the medical profession because he's rather timid despite his initial desire to become a medical doctor. I called my friends who were willing to show him the ropes, but in the end it wasn't meant to be,'' said Dr Alisa.

Dr Alisa also places importance on on-the-job training for social or community services as well. A-Tom was sent to teach young children at Lumpini School while I-Tim taught as Wat Hua Lamphong School.

Dr Alisa stressed that the development of close family ties at a young age is very important. But once they (children) grow up parents must learn to let go more but still maintain that closeness in an appropriate manner in case problems arise. The children will have the confidence to see their parents as a support system whom they can talk with on any subject.

''Actually I can't stand to be away from my kids. Their community service was intentionally chosen for its proximity to Mum and Dad at Chulalongkorn University. We got to go home together in the evenings. When they were young, they studied at Chulalongkorn Demonstration School so that I could drop them off and pick them up from school. We could also have lunch together. Now that they study in England, we have a rule that dinners must be a family affair when they are home and they must call Mum and Dad from England regularly.

''There are times when I-Tim calls to tell me he's off to do some sporting activity and that's it, he hangs up because he's a busy boy and is involved with a lot of school activities. He studies hard, but he still calls me. This alone makes me content,'' said a smiling Dr Alisa.