Gert’s journey in AIESEC so far
AIESEC is filled with young people and everyone has their own unique journey. Gert is one of those young people who has had a fast moving career in the organization. From a Local Committee Member to Local Committee President to Member Committee Vice President — this is Gert’s story.
In 2012/13 Gert had a lecture where AIESECers came to introduce the organization and opportunities we offer. He and fellow students felt that it would be interesting to go to an info event. After that Gert applied but got rejected the first time. A couple of years later Gert had gotten very intrigued by youth organizations. He had heard plenty about them but didn’t have a good understanding of what it would be like to be a member in one of them. So when he started thinking about joining an organization, he realized that the recruitment period was ending for most and AIESEC was the only one that was still accepting new members.
When Gert joined he felt the warmth from others straight away. His first position was in Outgoing Exchange (oGX). He was in charge of looking for opportunities to promote AIESEC in lectures. Thanks to that experience he had a chance to learn about writing professional emails, coordinating cooperation between external organizations and practiced his public speaking skills. He spent a mere month in that position because incoming Global Entrepreneur and Talent (iGET) needed new people. In that position he excelled at calling and meeting up with companies to create internship opportunities for students. This meant that he improved his communication and sales skills. Gert is really glad that he could try out different roles straight off the bat.
After being in AIESEC for nearly 4 months, he was encouraged to take a position as a Vice President. Usually the next logical step would be to become a Team Leader, but Gert was on the fast track. The organization had plans to grow fast and they needed more people in higher positions. Looking back, Gert realized that this position felt like it was more focused on being a Team Leader, rather than a fulltime Vice President. Which made taking part in the Executive Board meetings difficult for him since he couldn’t focus on the bigger picture.
At first he felt like he didn’t know what he was doing, since he hadn’t been in AIESEC that long. It was a scary step for him back then, but this isn’t what he remembers from it. There was a lot of experimentation because the materials for other members had to be made and there was no certainty of what’s right or wrong. Luckily he started learning about it more, but even today he is discovering new things about the organization since it’s so large and present in so many countries.
Gert has loads of memories, some great, others not so much. First thing that came to his mind was his second AIESEC conference, when he got the best member award. He still has it and is really proud of it. Another memory imprinted in his mind is the feeling of announcing a Local Committee President candidate failing to gain the support of fellow members. That feeling has stuck with him to this day. There are many memories of visiting companies, having meetings with the leaders there and so on. There’s a weird thing with AIESEC and time — It seems to pass by so quickly but slowly at the same time. Even though Gert has only been on this journey for 3 years it feels more like 12 to him. So there are lots of stories to tell, probably enough to write a book.
Gert is really grateful for finding out about his strengths thanks to AIESEC. In addition to learning professional skills he got to develop himself as a person as well. He definitely has learned a lot about staying calm in tricky situations and strategic planning among others. Having an experience of being a member of the Executive Board has given him a good idea of how organizations operate in general. This has definitely contributed to his self confidence as well. AIESEC has been a great place for him to develop himself. In his words, other organizations or even university don’t even come close in that aspect.
For Gert, AIESEC is a place where young people gather to open up and apply themselves practically. It’s a great way of finding one’s calling. But he feels that it’s necessary to have the full AIESEC experience, which Gert defines as being a member, Team Leader, Vice President, an attendee at an international conference and also an organizer of a local one. All these positions have their own challenges and overcoming them is the true full experience. It’s also important for him to contribute to the organization as much as possible.
He genuinely values challenges and believes them to be good things. He personally has struggled with anxiety — before speaking in front of a crowd, approaching somebody at a networking event or calling a company. Getting the mindset right is very important. Sometimes taking that minute to get yourself ready mentally is necessary. Mostly he has relied on the fact that a leader has to show the way. Leader has to do the things that they expect from others. If he doesn’t do it then why should the followers? He feels like actions that you are not willing to take, can’t be expected from others.
Gert’s journey has definitely contributed greatly to his development. He has so many stories to tell, some educational, some sad and some not. No wonder if it feels like it’s been over a decade. But this journey is definitely not over yet. He is still going strong and contributing to the organization as best as he can. Creating plenty of new memories and stories to tell.
