Celebrating Sanjoy’s Internship at MAIN

We are thrilled to share that Sanjoy has successfully completed his university internship with us at MAIN. Throughout his time here, Sanjoy has been an absolute joy to work with, bringing enthusiasm, dedication, and a fresh perspective to our team.

Sanjoy has kindly written a summary of his experience at MAIN, which we are excited to share with you all. His reflections highlight the growth and learning he has achieved during his internship, and we couldn’t be prouder of his accomplishments.

Sanjoy’s Experience at MAIN:

My experience at MAIN
Sanjoy Bikash Das
M.A. Fine Art (Teesside University)

Everyone has precious moments and experiences in different circumstances. I have some with
MAIN what I learned through Teesside University. I had an opportunity to do my university M.A.
Fine Art (advanced practice) external internship at MAIN. I was excited when I got the offer to do
Art Therapy for Autism. I hadn’t prior experience with that however I dare to take on new
challenges in different roles. I worked with MAIN in two phases. First I did my university
placement and second I did Voluntary work.

My journey started with MAIN in September 2023 and worked with them till April 2024. I spent
rst day to get to know each other and making working plan. I worked with different age groups
including adults. Therefore, I make my plan accordingly based on age groups. I never felt lack of art
supplies which made me more condent. Two things are essential for art sessions. One is art
materials and the second one is sitting arrangement. MAIN has a well well-equipped and proper
environment which I didn’t expect. They are so well organised which is reected in their prior
monthly plan. My colleagues were very helpful in understanding attendees and settling down in the
art sessions. I didn’t keep my involvement only for art sessions; I also tried to be involved in
different activities with attendees and make them comfortable with me and Art. They were sharing
their ideas and tried to portray what they felt. I used different mediums and methods to understand
the objects, enhancing their interest. Moreover, attendees tried to put their unique ideas based on
their interest which is surprised to me. I got many attendees who has truly creative sense of art.
Which boosted my interest and I learned how to deal with them.

I had teaching experience which really helped me to understand children and their sociology but in
special education, I put more passion and compassion which is a very important win that I felt.
During this period, I tried to learn about autism and get to know more details about that. My M.A.
nal presentation had one part about ability that I inspired from my placement. I believe that
everyone has a good potential to do anything but needs the proper care and guidance that MAIN
provides for young people and children. I believe these experiences make me more condent to
explore for my future carrier based on Autism.

We would like to extend a huge thank you to Sanjoy for all his hard work and contributions. His positive attitude and commitment have made a significant impact, and we are confident he will continue to excel in his future endeavours.

Thank you, Sanjoy, for being a part of the MAIN family. We wish you all the best in your future career!

If you are interested in volunteering at MAIN please get in touch by emailing us or calling on 01642 608012