Gonet Academy Turns Internships into Careers, Employs Two Interns
Gonet Academy Turns Internships into Careers, Employs Two Interns
Gonet Academy has appointed two interns, Christina G. Heah and Dieboi Jennifer Doegbee, to full-time positions within the institution, reinforcing its commitment to translating professional education and workplace experience into meaningful career opportunities for young Liberians, particularly women.
The appointments, effective Monday, October 12, 2026, marked a significant milestone for the two young professionals and underscore the growing role of the Gonet Academy Internship Program (GA-IP) in developing talent, strengthening institutional capacity, and preparing graduates for the demands of the workplace.
Heah has been appointed Content & Media Assistant in the Marketing, Brand & Communications Department, while Doegbee will serve as Program & Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Assistant in the Program Quality & Delivery Department.
Their transition from interns to full-time employees follows six months of practical workplace engagement that concluded in September 2026. During that period, both demonstrated the professionalism, commitment, and technical potential that Gonet Academy says are central to its approach to talent development.
Beyond the appointments themselves, the development offers a practical example of how professional training institutions can address the gap between acquiring qualifications and securing employment by providing structured workplace experience, mentorship, opportunities to demonstrate competence, and pathways to greater responsibility.
Heah’s journey with Gonet Academy began in 2023, when she enrolled in Cohort 6 and earned a Professional Certificate in Effective Communication and Public Speaking. She subsequently completed the Professional Certificate in Public Relations and Media Strategy in Cohort 12 in 2025.
Her professional development continued in Cohort 15 in 2026, where she successfully completed the Marketing Strategy and Brand Management Certificate Course. Gonet Academy sponsored her participation as part of its institutional investment in the continuous development of its talent. She is expected to graduate on October 31, 2026.
In April 2026, Heah joined the Academy’s internship program as a Content & Visual Media Intern. Over the following six months, she contributed to the institution’s branding and communications activities, applying her training in a practical environment while developing her creative, technical, and professional competencies.
Her appointment to the Marketing, Brand & Communications Department represents a progression from learning communication principles to helping deliver the institution’s communications work.
For an institution whose public profile depends in part on its ability to communicate its programs, achievements, and impact, retaining a professional who has already developed familiarity with its brand, audience, and operations offers both continuity and organizational value.
Doegbee’s progression reflects a similar pathway, with a more specialized focus on program performance, monitoring, evaluation, and accountability.
She graduated from Gonet Academy Cohort 13 in February 2026 with a Professional Certificate in Monitoring and Evaluation. She later joined the Comprehensive Monitoring and Evaluation Program in Cohort 14, with institutional support to strengthen her knowledge and practical competencies in data collection, analysis, reporting, and evidence-based decision-making.
Through GA-IP, Doegbee gained workplace experience applying her knowledge to program monitoring, evaluation, and quality assurance. Her analytical thinking, willingness to learn, dedication, and professionalism contributed to her selection for the full-time role.
Her appointment is particularly relevant to Gonet Academy’s program delivery, where effective monitoring and evaluation can help establish whether training activities are producing the intended results, identify areas for improvement, and support decisions based on evidence rather than assumptions.
The two appointments therefore serve different but complementary institutional purposes: Heah’s role supports brand visibility and strategic communications, while Doegbee’s strengthens program quality and results monitoring.
Together, they illustrate how an internship program can develop talent for operational functions that matter to an institution’s continued growth.
The Gonet Academy Internship Program was established to provide students, graduates, and alumni with structured opportunities to gain practical workplace experience, receive mentorship, strengthen professional competencies, and prepare for career advancement.
Rather than treating internships solely as short-term learning placements, the Academy has increasingly used the program as a means of identifying promising talent and preparing individuals for possible employment when their performance and institutional needs align.
Its development can be traced through a series of placements and career transitions beginning in 2025.
In August of that year, Diana K. Miller joined Gonet Academy as a Finance and Administration Intern after being seconded by SOS Children’s Village Liberia. Within three months, she transitioned into a full-time administrative role, effective November 2025, following her performance during the placement and the institution’s staffing needs.
Her experience established an early example of the program’s potential to move beyond temporary engagement and create a pathway into employment.
Decontee M. Karngar, who served as a Program & Communications Intern from November 2025 to May 2026, and Jocial F. Roberts, who joined as Executive Assistant Intern to the Chief Executive Officer from December 2025 to May 2026, subsequently demonstrated the value of workplace exposure in preparing young professionals for greater responsibility.
Karngar, who contributed to program and communications operations, was formally appointed Administrative Assistant in June 2026 following her graduation with a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication from the United Methodist University. Her progression illustrates how internship experience and academic qualifications can complement one another in preparing graduates for professional responsibilities.
Roberts transitioned into full-time employment as Executive Assistant in June 2026, gaining an opportunity to continue developing her competencies in executive coordination, institutional communication, and administrative support.
These experiences form part of a broader institutional approach in which interns are assigned responsibilities connected to actual organizational needs, rather than being limited to observation.
In April 2026, Gonet Academy expanded the program by onboarding four female interns including Heah, Doegbee, Aritha Clarke and Lydia Matthews.
Following the conclusion of the six-month internship period, the Academy held a modest closing ceremony at which three of the interns in attendance reflected on their experiences and expressed appreciation for the opportunity to develop their skills and capabilities.
Management, in turn, commended the interns for their dedication and contributions, describing their services as valuable to the institution.
The subsequent appointments of Heah and Doegbee represent a continuation of this approach, demonstrating how internship experience can inform recruitment and professional development decisions.
The significance of the two appointments extends beyond the personal achievements of the individuals involved. They highlight a practical response to one of the persistent challenges facing young professionals: the difficulty of converting education and qualifications into relevant work experience and sustainable employment.
For many graduates, securing a first professional position can be difficult without previous workplace exposure. Employers, meanwhile, need staff who understand professional expectations, can work effectively with colleagues, and can apply their knowledge to real tasks.
Structured internships can help bridge that gap by allowing participants to learn in real working environments while enabling institutions to assess their capabilities before making longer-term employment decisions.
Gonet Academy’s model connects several stages of professional development: classroom learning, workplace application, mentorship, performance assessment, and potential employment. Heah’s experience in communication and brand management, and Doegbee’s progression in monitoring and evaluation, demonstrate how this approach can support different professional specializations.
Retaining high-performing interns, for the institution, can also reduce the time required to orient new staff, preserve institutional knowledge, and build a workforce familiar with its programs, standards, and organizational culture.
The approach does not mean every internship must result in a job. Rather, it creates a structured opportunity for participants to demonstrate their abilities and for the institution to identify talent in line with its operational priorities.
Its effectiveness will ultimately depend on the quality of mentorship, the relevance of assignments, transparent performance assessments, and the availability of positions that match the skills developed through the program.
The program also reflects Gonet Academy’s emphasis on creating opportunities for young women to develop professional confidence, acquire practical competencies, and progress into roles with greater responsibility.
The appointment of two young women to positions in communications and program quality demonstrates how targeted talent development can help expand women’s participation in the institution’s workforce.
Women currently account for 39.13 percent of its administrative workforce, compared with 60.87 percent for men. Gonet Academy is therefore working to meet its gender-policy targets while expanding female representation in strategic roles.
Although representation figures are one measure of progress, the longer-term significance lies in whether women have access to substantive responsibilities, opportunities for advancement, and the ability to contribute to institutional decisions and performance.
Heah’s role will place her within the Academy’s communications function, where content development, brand consistency, and public engagement are important to how the institution presents its work. Doegbee’s position will place her within the program quality and delivery function, supporting the systems used to monitor activities, assess results, and inform improvements.
Their appointments show how investment in young women can extend beyond participation in training to the development of professional capabilities that serve an institution’s operational needs.
