Two weeks have passed since the LAS event but the excitement and memory is still around. Brand new shining members have already started to pull off their energy for working and being a part of AIESEC JKL. So where does the energy come from? I guess we have to go back a little to the LAS event, when it all began.
"Honestly, I know that it was not perfect in every ways which of course, was quite difficult for any kind of events. But those small mistakes were blurred out in the end, because our final experience about LAS was good. It was really good."
That is what Pia Korhonen and Titty Varghese (two new members of Outgoing Exchange Professional Interns) concluded about LAS. When received the invitation to the event, they expected they would get to learn deeper about AIESEC, what AIESECers are really doing and have a chance to make new international friends. Those expectations were indeed met.
The event lasted intensively for two days, especially on Saturday when we started at 10am and only left at 9pm. Almost the whole weekend we stayed inside a small room with nearly 20 people but it was worth every minute. Coming to the event, we brought with us the curiosity of how it would be to become a part of this AIESEC family. We honourably had Natalya Shuvalova as the "chair" of the event (the person who provided us informations and guidance about working with AIESEC). She is working with the National Board at AIESEC in Finland currently but she has been with AIESEC much longer with different positions before. Due to such thick experiences, she gave us all what we needed to know. She told us how things were done and how people worked in AIESEC, based on her own stories which was the best thing. "She spoke about her own fear when she was elected in new positions and she had no idea to do things. However, she managed to do it eventually. It showed to me that even if everything would start with a fear, we could all get through it", said Pia.
As new members, we were excited but also confused. This is the reason why LAS was needed. We got the general information about history of AIESEC and all the projects going on at the moment. At AIESEC JKL, there are four teams: Incoming Volunteers, Incoming Professional Interns, Outgoing Volunteers & Professional Interns. On Saturday evening, we had one event in which we got to do basic tasks of each team. It was really effective. If we were still lost in what and how people work in AIESEC JKL earlier that day, we were then able to let go the confusion. It also directed us to the suitable team so that we would be able to contribute by doing what we found most interesting. The final decision was informed on Sunday with the cutest ceremony ever: pouring water on the chosen teammates - indeed a fresh waking up method in the morning!
On the other hand, probably we cannot ignore the free foods and coffee offered in the event. The Faci Team did their job well done and all the participants gave them high credits for that. Responsibility to take care of nearly 20 adults probably was not easy, not to mention that they needed to maintain our satisfaction throughout the event as well. At the end of that long Saturday, we did have an after party and Marianne Peltola (Vice President of Incoming Volunteers team) has said :"You guys are still here with us so at least we know, we did something right". And yes, you all did.
On Sunday, each of us left LAS with the best souvenir one could get - the "sugar cubes". AIESEC has this tradition about "sugar cubes",which means people get to write their thoughts about a particular person on little pieces of papers and put them in the envelope anonymously. What could feel more better to read about the sweet things people wrote to you and then find yourself giggling?
"When I got the chance to come studying in Finland, I was aware that it was an opened society. People openly talk to each other, smile, explore, go out and find a way to develop yourself. So then I thought maybe I could join AIESEC JKL", Titty explained her first reason to come to AIESEC. Pia also believed she would gain more chances practicing her leadership skill while working with AIESEC JKL. For other people, reasons might be that they wanted to do something different or got to meet all kinds of people but we all got one same question in our head :"Why not?". After LAS, we never felt better that we had asked ourselves that questions. We were inspired to contribute something to this world and society. LAS showed us how short life could be; maybe before you realise it, time has passed and all of us know how scary time is, once we lose it, we lose it forever. LAS proved to us then we should take actions in order to make our lives more meaningful, full of memories.
As also a new member of AIESEC JKL personally, I still feel that inspiration wrapping around me. I could not agree more with Pia and Titty for all of their opinions about LAS. I felt thankful for what LAS has raised inside me. I remembered when I left LAS on Sunday, I had the urge of being heroic and felt like I could be a superwoman at that moment. I bet that would be something we never experience everyday. Speaking on behalf of all the new members of AIESEC JKL, I hope what we shared here would direct you closer to us.
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LAS 2014
- Date: 04/10/2014 - 05/10/2014
- Location: Nano Sauna University of Jyväskylä
"Honestly, I know that it was not perfect in every ways which of course, was quite difficult for any kind of events. But those small mistakes were blurred out in the end, because our final experience about LAS was good. It was really good."
That is what Pia Korhonen and Titty Varghese (two new members of Outgoing Exchange Professional Interns) concluded about LAS. When received the invitation to the event, they expected they would get to learn deeper about AIESEC, what AIESECers are really doing and have a chance to make new international friends. Those expectations were indeed met.
The event lasted intensively for two days, especially on Saturday when we started at 10am and only left at 9pm. Almost the whole weekend we stayed inside a small room with nearly 20 people but it was worth every minute. Coming to the event, we brought with us the curiosity of how it would be to become a part of this AIESEC family. We honourably had Natalya Shuvalova as the "chair" of the event (the person who provided us informations and guidance about working with AIESEC). She is working with the National Board at AIESEC in Finland currently but she has been with AIESEC much longer with different positions before. Due to such thick experiences, she gave us all what we needed to know. She told us how things were done and how people worked in AIESEC, based on her own stories which was the best thing. "She spoke about her own fear when she was elected in new positions and she had no idea to do things. However, she managed to do it eventually. It showed to me that even if everything would start with a fear, we could all get through it", said Pia.
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| Pouring water tradition |
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| Pizza for dinner on Saturday |
On the other hand, probably we cannot ignore the free foods and coffee offered in the event. The Faci Team did their job well done and all the participants gave them high credits for that. Responsibility to take care of nearly 20 adults probably was not easy, not to mention that they needed to maintain our satisfaction throughout the event as well. At the end of that long Saturday, we did have an after party and Marianne Peltola (Vice President of Incoming Volunteers team) has said :"You guys are still here with us so at least we know, we did something right". And yes, you all did.
On Sunday, each of us left LAS with the best souvenir one could get - the "sugar cubes". AIESEC has this tradition about "sugar cubes",which means people get to write their thoughts about a particular person on little pieces of papers and put them in the envelope anonymously. What could feel more better to read about the sweet things people wrote to you and then find yourself giggling?
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| "Sugar cubes" |
SO WHY AIESEC IN THE FIRST PLACE?
"When I got the chance to come studying in Finland, I was aware that it was an opened society. People openly talk to each other, smile, explore, go out and find a way to develop yourself. So then I thought maybe I could join AIESEC JKL", Titty explained her first reason to come to AIESEC. Pia also believed she would gain more chances practicing her leadership skill while working with AIESEC JKL. For other people, reasons might be that they wanted to do something different or got to meet all kinds of people but we all got one same question in our head :"Why not?". After LAS, we never felt better that we had asked ourselves that questions. We were inspired to contribute something to this world and society. LAS showed us how short life could be; maybe before you realise it, time has passed and all of us know how scary time is, once we lose it, we lose it forever. LAS proved to us then we should take actions in order to make our lives more meaningful, full of memories.As also a new member of AIESEC JKL personally, I still feel that inspiration wrapping around me. I could not agree more with Pia and Titty for all of their opinions about LAS. I felt thankful for what LAS has raised inside me. I remembered when I left LAS on Sunday, I had the urge of being heroic and felt like I could be a superwoman at that moment. I bet that would be something we never experience everyday. Speaking on behalf of all the new members of AIESEC JKL, I hope what we shared here would direct you closer to us.
