Derek Vollebregt
Former Bollywood Extra
Sports Announcer Growing Up • Derek grew up with a loving family near Toronto. As he entered his teenage years he lacked clarity on who he was and where he wanted to go. A shift happened in high school when he began working at a camp for underprovileged boys, which had a true “AIESEC feel”. It gave Derek a connection to purpose, and the impact one could have on the lives of others. • Derek decided to move to Montreal to attend school at McGill because of how international it was and the opportunity to live in such a vibrant city.
The McGill Days • Upon beginning university, Derek sought to become the best person he could be by taking on every opportunity. He became very involved and joined many clubs including AIESEC • Derek had a dream of exploring the world. That being said he failed his review board! After this he almost quit AIESEC, but instead got a CEED to AIESEC India, which changed his life as it showed him the power of the AIESEC network by the impact AIESEC was having on Indian youth. It was this experience where Derek’s passion for AIESEC was formed.
CEED in India
The Vollebregt Family
AIESEC Takes Over • After returning, Derek became LCP and had the time of his life building up the LC to become a top performer. It allowed him to innovate as an entrepreneur, represent externally as “Mr. AIESEC”, inspire others about AIESEC and develop in so many ways. The stories that were lived provide a reminder of what AIESEC is capable of • Derek then lost his first MCP election, which taught him important lessons and led to an even better opportunity to be MCVP BD, where he was able to develop sales skills and help AIESEC Canada become more externallyrelevant and financially sustainable. • Derek then ran for MCP again and was elected, leading to an incredible journey of learning, growth and contribution • Today, Derek yearns to make a global contribution to AIESEC as AI BD manager by leading a powerful change in business development as well as contributing to the network as a part of the AI team • In the future Derek wants to be a driver of growth in the social business sector and contribute in an external engagement role.
Team Canada 11-12
AIESEC McGill 2010 EB
Canada MC 12-13
We know AIESEC takes people and makes them better leaders. But sometimes AIESEC takes leaders and makes them better people. Cole is the president of AIESEC United States, a non-profit organization that provides leadership opportunities and international internships to over a thousand college students on 35 campuses every year. As president Cole manages a team of 11 full-time staff that lead the 2000 members of the organization to create more and better exchange opportunities and improve their leadership skills. With experience in sales, sales team management, product development, and one year as the CFO of AIESEC United States, Cole leads AIESEC US with a holistic understanding of market-driven strategy and internal operations. Before becoming president of AIESEC United States, Cole graduated with a dual-degree in Global Studies and Political Science from Arizona State University. As a student, Cole won multiple grants that brought him around the world to research non-profit management and human rights in Eastern Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and East Asia. These awards included the National Security Education Program Boren Scholarship, the Flinn Scholarship, and the Circumnavigators Club Foundation Grant. When he graduated college, Cole was named one of 2011’s Top 20 college graduates in the United States by USA Today. It was during this international research that Cole decided he wanted to make a career in global entrepreneurship rather than academia. Into his career Cole plans to take several lessons from AIESEC. The key to success is people, not strategy. Trust is more useful than control. If you know you’re not being authentic, so does everyone else. Based on his experience in AIESEC Cole is sure he wants to lead organizations around the world with his best friends for the foreseeable future, and he is constantly seeking opportunities to prepare him for this. More than anything, Cole hopes to enjoy a life of reflection, joy, leadership, charity, and relaxation, all alongside the people that make life worth living.
Bio
Johannes Ide
“They came flying from far away, now I'm under their spell I love hearing the stories that they tell They've seen places beyond my land and they've found new horizons They speak strangely but I understand And I dream I'm an eagle And I dream I can spread my wings Flying high, high, I'm a bird in the sky I'm an eagle that rides on the breeze High, high, what a feeling to fly Over mountains and forests and seas And to go anywhere that I please” ABBA - Eagle
I grew up in the middle of Germany with my family, my parents, an older brother and a younger sister. In my childhood and teenager life I learned a lot there, even if I didn’t realize it so much yet. I was part of a cultural dancing group and got to know the heritage of our region. Also my parents taught me a lot about this and I understood a different level of what ‘home’ can be and how your environment can make you the person you are. In my family I also learned what responsibility for others means. Either in our family business were I helped since I was a child or in times when family members were very sick and we had to support each other.
Applicant for AI VP Finance
Within the last years I showed myself that the dreams and plans I have for my future are possible. To exploring the world I need to spread my own wings and learn to fly. Even though I didn’t have many opportunities for travelling or living outside this area, I always carried inside me the desire to learn more about the world and see and experience difference places.
What I learned and kept from home is the importance of staying grounded and always be connected to where you are coming from.
Be it to travel around the world to drive through down under, climb the Kilimandjaro or sail around the Caribbean islands.
Understanding your roots helps you to understand who you are and what you are able of. Only when we know where we come from we know where we can go.
I learned that I have to work a lot to gain these opportunities and that it is nothing I can expect to get easily. Moving abroad to study was the first point where I learned to live completely independent.
Charlotte Eijsvoogel H
er motto is to ‘get everything out of life’ and Charlotte tries to life by it every day. She is an energetic, dynamic person looking for challenges and seeking to understand the complexity of the world. Happiness, family, humor and contribution to society are key values for her. Born in Amsterdam and raised in a loving family, Charlotte considers here two sisters and mom and dad as being key important factors in her life. Being brought up by open minded and caring parents, she has always been supported in her life journey and stimulated to explore herself and the world around her. Travelling and getting to know different cultures has always been a big part of her family life.
sion for adventure and her continuous search for new challenges. She very much enjoyed dancing, skiing and playing hockey on a high level and had the opportunity to participate in additional classes on politics and life sciences. Charlotte wanted to contribute something to society and with this motivation she entered medical school at the Universtudent life she was very active in her student association and explored her talents and interests.
Joining AIESEC made her more aware of her personal values and goals in life and developed and shaped her to the person she is today. Showing her the many ways a person can contribute to the good of soDuring her years in high school Charlotte ciety, she knows her future will be broader got to know her drive for results, her pas- than medicine.
Date of birth 30.07.1989 Nationality Dutch Speaks Dutch, English, German Loves Good food & Good fun
BORN IN HEARST, ONTARIO, CANADA ON AUGUST 11, 1990, DOMINIC TREMBLAY GREW UP IN A FRENCH-SPEAKING COMMUNITY AND WAS SURROUNDED BY A STRONG NETWORK OF FRIENDS AND FAMILY. YEARS OLD,
BY THE TIME HE TURNED THIRTEEN
DOMINIC`S ENVIRONMENT QUICKLY SHIFTED, PUSHING DOMINIC TO ADAPT. FAST FORWARDING FIVE YEARS
LATER WITH FIVE MOVES ACROSS THREE PROVINCES, FOUR NEW SCHOOLS, A NEW LANGUAGE, AND A WHOLE LOAD OF LIFE EXPERIENCES UNDER HIS BELT,
DOMINIC ENROLLED IN UNIVERSITY.
BEING THE FIRST MEMBER OF HIS IMMEDIATE FAMILY TO ATTEND UNIVERSITY, DOMINIC KNEW THAT HE WANTED TO DO MORE THAN WHAT WAS FAMILIAR TO HIM.
DESPITE THE CHALLENGES HE FACED FINANCIALLY AND ACADEMICALLY, DOMINIC
WAS DETERMINED AND PASSIONATE TO GAIN AN INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE, ANOTHER FIRST FOR HIS FAMILY. WEEKS OF BEGINNING HIS
WITHIN
UNIVERSITY CAREER, DOMINIC JOINED WHAT HE BELIEVED WAS HIS TICKET TO AN INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE.
HAVING JOINED AIESEC EARLY ON IN HIS UNIVERSITY CAREER, DOMINIC HAD AMPLE TIME TO LEARN AND IMMERSE HIMSELF IN THE ORGANIZATION AND TOOK ON MULTIPLE ROLES. LEADING A CONFERENCE OR THE LOCAL COMMITTEE AS
FROM LIVING THE EXPERIENCE OF A GENERAL MEMBER, TO
PRESIDENT, DOMINIC CONTINUOUSLY STRIVED TO PROVIDE HIGH
QUALITY EXPERIENCES TO EVERYONE WITH WHOM HE INTERACTED. COMMITTEE TOOK
THE SUCCESS HE BUILT DURING HIS TIME IN HIS LOCAL
DOMINIC UP TO THE NATIONAL LEVEL WHERE HE CURRENTLY WORKS WITH A TEAM OF SEVEN WHO LEAD AND OVERSEE THE OPERATIONS OF THE ORGANIZATION.
“BEING ON THE MEMBER COMMITTEE OF AIESEC CANADA HAS BEEN BY FAR THE MOST CHALLENGING YET THE MOST REWARDING.
EVERY OUNCE OF ENERGY WHICH YOU PUT IN THIS EXPERIENCE AND ORGANIZATION WILL GIVE BACK TWICE AS MUCH”
– DOMINIC
DOMINIC CONTINUOUSLY STRIVES TO FIND SOLUTIONS TO ANY OBSTACLES HE OR THOSE AROUND HIM FACE. WITH THIS QUOTE AND THE WAY IN WHICH
DOMINIC SPEAKS ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION, IT IS EVIDENT WHY HE CONTINUOUSLY GOES
ALL-OUT TO SUCCEED IN THIS ORGANIZATION AND EVEN NOW AS HE APPLIES FOR A ROLE WITH
AIESEC INTERNATIONAL AS
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER. WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE DOMINIC WILL NEVER FORGET ABOUT HIS ROOTS. DOMINIC CARES DEEPLY ABOUT THOSE AROUND HIM AND HE WILL ALWAYS BE THANKFUL TO THOSE WHO HAVE AND CONTINUE TO SUPPORT HIM AS HIS DETERMINATION DRIVES HIM TO FUTURE SUCCESS.
DOMINIC MAKES THE BEST OUT OF ANY SITUATION AND NEVER
HESITATES TO ENJOY LIFE AND HAVE FUN AMONG THE HOURS OF HARD WORK.
biography. katrina oropel Today
Best advice ever received (from Dad):
Katrina currently lives in The Netherlands with a family of 21 people from all around the world. She travels frequently to pursue sales and partnership management in Germany and the UK.
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way”
2012 2013
LCP AIESEC San Francisco
40
San Francisco, CA
2010 2007
Moved to San Francisco for university/joined AIESEC
40
About Me
2011 2012
1989
San Francisco, CA
40
BD Manager, AIESEC International Rotterdam, NL
Born and raised in California, USA
40
40
MCVP BD AIESEC US New York City
Los Angeles, CA
Family, love <3 Integrity Excellence Freedom
Hobbies
University Katrina majored in International Business and Economics. She challenged herself academically by studying Japanese and taking honors courses as part of the Business Honors Cohort Program. To support herself, she worked as a student fundraiser a n d q u ic k l y b e c ame o ne o f t h e t op performers in the office. During her third year, Katrina competed in the Russ Berry Ins t i t u te N at ion al S ale s Ch alle nge, repre se n t ing USF. It was dur ing this experience that she realized her passion for sales and business development, and was determined to gain as much experience in this field as possible.
Origin: Filipino, but born and raised in California Family: 4 siblings - 2 younger (t wins! boy & girl) and 2 older (half siblings) Studied: International Business & Economics First sales job: Nordstrom department store
Values
Growing up Katrina Oropel was born in Anaheim, California (near Disneyland!) on May 13th, 1989. Even as a young girl, Katrina had big dreams – move to New York City, become a businesswoman, wear suits to work, travel the world and explore different cultures. A natural leader, she always took leadership roles throughout high school: she was cap tain of her soccer te am , St ude nt Association Social Vice Pre sident, and organized the annual Christmas Gala for over 500 guests. Katrina loved trying new things; she especially had a passion for music and grew up playing the piano, violin, and alto saxophone. It was no surprise that by the time she arrived at the University of San Francisco, she had already researched her options for involvement on campus. However, it was AIESEC that found her and since then many of her childhood dreams have already come true.
Despite obstacles and challenges, this advice always pushes her, and as a result Katrina has a positive, “anything is possible” approach to everything in life.
Finding AIESEC About the same time, Katrina was also working to re-start AIESEC San Francisco. She became LCP in January of 2010 and, together with her team, drove the most absolute and relative growth in OGX realized and second-most absolute and relative growth in TNs raised during that year. Because of AIESEC’s increased presence and impact on campus, Katrina was invited to be a Student Ambassador for the USF Business School and represented the student body by serving on the 5-Year Strategic Planning Committee. Immediately after graduation, Katrina moved to NYC to serve on the AIESEC US MC as Director of Business Development.
(mostly pre-AIESEC...)
Alto Saxophone Oil Painting Board sports: snowboarding, wakeboarding, surfing
Random Facts Traveled to 22 countries New York City is my favorite city of all time Childhood nicknames: Kat, Katri, Tree, Trini, Trina, etc... Foodie <3
Olga Tsygankova Born in Krasnoyarsk, Russia in a family of lawyers and policemen. Since childhood parents have been growing up her as a responsible and independent child, making her own decisions and baring responsibility for its consequences. In the age of 8 decided to go to the music school to learn how to play guitar and was up to that for 6 years. When it was time to decide which specialty to choose, she has chosen Economics. In the University she never could do only studies, that’s why she joined University volleyball team and played for it for 5 years.
caring and respecting, value people around you , value every single moment
to move forward
in people, in possibilities
At the age of 19 she joined AIESEC to try something new. From that moment a very different life began for her. She discovered herself and people around her, realized what does ‘value’ mean and how important it is to her. She realized that her passion is actually to serve others. She always wanted to travel around the Globe. Started with her own country – has been to more than 40 cities in Russia, from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok Determination, persistence define her character. Values and beliefs define her soul.
being honest with yourself and others, walking your own talk, staying true to your values but respecting others
to develop yourself and others on the way
See opportunities everywhere Have a courage to risk
Peter Kürti Slovak with Hungarian roots studying in the Czech Republic while living in Austria
“Leadership is Action, not Position!“
1990 Peter was born in Slovakia in a lovely little spa town Piešťany
From the very beginning, Peter was an active athlete. He was actively playing handball for 6 years and became the captain of the team
He was always very committed to his studies and successfully graduated from Gymnázium Pierre de Coubertine with the best possible grades 2000 - 2008
Republic 2008 Thanks to his strong dedication and
Peter has joined AIESEC
ambitions, Peter has passed the entrance tests at the Faculty of Economics and Administration, Masaryk University in Brno, the most desired economic faculty in the Czech Republic. His field of study: Business Economics and Management
= the huge milestone of his life
2008 - 2012
2013 - 2014 Rotterdam?
He has moved from Slovakia to Brno, the Czech
1999 - 2005
Peter successfully earned a bachelor´s degree. Now he is
Since the very beginning of Peter´s AIESEC journey, he is
studying for his master´s degree in the same field of study
actively involved in sales and has taken several leadership roles. Starting as IC GIP Team Leader, continuing as LC VP ICX and finishing as LCP of the
His current achievements: 30% growth in revenues 100% retention rate of partners Huge partners´ satisfaction
Half of his family has a Hungarian nationality. His family name is Hungarian
5 new national partners
Best and second biggest LC in
2012 - 2013 Thanks to his MC experience, Peter has realized what he truly wants to do in his life. He has found out how much he enjoyes his job and internationalism. Health, family, keeping body in a good shape and his lovely girlfiend who he loves so much, are much more precious to him than ever before.
the Czech Republic 2012 Peter was selected as MC VP CR/BD of AIESEC in Austria. He has moved to Vienna
Vinícius Tsugue – AI VP Operations 13-14 Applicant
Bio VINÍCIUS was born in Maringá, in 1987, a medium city in the south of Brazil and has always faced much diversity in his life. He has an older brother and his ancestors come from 4 continents of the World, he spent his childhood in the city and countryside and was always in touch with many different people throughout his life. His life was not one of the usual since in the age of 4 his parents went to Japan in order to work and he and his brother stayed in Brazil with their aunt. This was a very important moment in his life because it made him become more independent and always do his best to please people around him. He always had it very clear that his parents were away from him so that he and his brother could have a better education, and it made him always be very purpose-oriented.
After finishing high school he joined the university and for almost four years things were under control and going according to plans, until he found AIESEC in 2008. The organization really changed his life. It made him see that life could be different and really discover who he really is. He found out that he cannot avoid being a humble and empathetic, that is spreading happiness and calmness to people around him and that has really strong values, like honesty, friendship, ethic and religious.
Another important fact in his life was the first time he went to Japan to work; it was in 2002. He was 15 years old and the thing that really surprised him was to work together with his mom. In this moment he noticed how strong she was and how much he used to complain for small things. It really made him a very committed person with no excuses!
Currently he is a Civil Engineer, with one and a half year of labor experience, and lives in Lima, where he works as president of AIESEC in Peru. He is always searching for non-usual challenges that will bring the most intense development and impact to himself and to people around him. He looks for self-development so that he can help other people to make their dreams possible and find their balance with the society and the environment.
During his high school a very strong situation also marked his life. He suffered bullying but due to his previous experiences this was no reason to complain to someone else, so he found another solution: religion. This is something really strong in his life and shapes many behaviors until today, he found his safe place and comfort being faithful and dedicating himself to religion. Focusing Leaders to the Tipping Point
1
Chapter One
Junior was born in Fortaleza, a beach town in northeast of Brazil. He used to live in a duplex house with his grandparents. He started talking earlier than his brother and sister and he has always used that voice for what he believes in. He used to be involved in everything such as volleyball team captain, tutoring students, being class leader and representing the school in National Math and Biology competitions. At the age of 6, Junior was given the title of class valedictorian for his kindergarten graduation. The same happened for High School graduation. At 12, Junior travelled for the first time to another city to represent his school in a regional volleyball championship. He kept playing for 8 more years.
Junior lived in USA for 1 year and a half through a Fulbright and US State Scholarship selection process.
Chapter two
He had a broad, deep and focused exchange experience on issues from the global perspective, economic development, leadership development and international understanding. Demonstrate a commitment to community service by volunteering in the Iowa Jefferson Jackson Democratic Party 2008. He shook Obama and Hillary Clinton's hand, but, he couldn't take any pictures...
In 2008, when he went back to Brazil, he decided to found an AIESEC extension in his home town. His dream was to make people live an exchange experience. His passion in AIESEC has been the power of leadership, the impact of an exchange experience and the endless global le Junior worked for 3 years as project manager in an IT company where he learned hard skill such as research, design, product development and marketing
In 2011, Junior went to Buenos Aires for his first AIESEC exchange developing the fundraising and projects areas of Habitat for Humanity Junior moved to Sao Paulo to work at AIESEC in Brazil to develop and implement National Global Community Development Programme. AIESEC has exposure him to different countries and realities where he learned a lot about cultural understanding and different business models
Chapter three
He believes in values, education and people development. In the future, he wishes to work creating projects to develop communities through Education on HIV prevention, sexual education, child abuse prevention and gay rights. Junior loves music, dancing and playing volleyball because makes him feel free. He is addicted to movies and TV shows and his favorite book is The Kite Runner. He enjoys spending time reading books and drinking coffee in a bookstore.
Junior decide to stand for AIESEC International because he believes in the power of the organization to engage and develop every young person in the world.
Innovative Thinker | Enthusiastic Leader | Creative Spirit "The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience...The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." -Eleanor Roosevelt This is the quote that drives Rachel Whitehead, a young woman born on the other side of the world. Having studied Law and Arts at Victoria University of Wellington, Rachel has spent the last four years leading a student-run social enterprise, co-ordinating start-up internship programmes, researching gender issues in the pacific, and being part of the international movement of youth leadership. Rachel has experience in managing high performing teams, communication and facilitation with young people, operational planning, building strategy, networking, creating marketing plans, working in the start-up community, stakeholder management in difficult situations, high-impact sales, negotiations and mediations, academic research and account management. The quote above highlights Rachel始s key values that she strives for in everything she does;
Life is to be enjoyed
Rachel does not take herself too seriously. Her previous roles have lead her to do some important and serious work, however Rachel believes that the best leaders are those who inspire success through fun. She strives to enjoy life and make life enjoyable for others.
Everything Starts with Curiosity
Rachel has always had a keen sense to go beyond, travelling from her home in Christchurch to 23 countries in 23 years. She was lucky to enjoy a childhood of exploration, where her parents, both scientists, taught her the value and responsibility of curiosity. Her family spent time living in Atlanta, Vancouver and Bordeaux and curiosity remains one of Rachel始s key values. !
Creativity for a better future
While growing up Rachel always had a keen eye for design. She spent her afternoons drawing, sketching and building models, not all of which worked out too well! Creativity is an important value of Rachel始s, and she believes that creativity is needed to build solutions to biggest problems facing the world. !
Nikita Singh 21 Years Born on 17.04.1991
About&Nikita:& Nikita& is& a& graduate& in& Commerce& and& Advertising.& She& has& always& studied&in&the&best&places&and&been&a&topper&in&school&and&university.&She&& changed&three&=ields&before&being&sure&of&her&biggest&dream.& &
Her&Biggest&dream&is&to&be&a&leadership&coach.&And&help&individuals&and& organizations& construct& and& live& their& dreams.& She& believes& she& can& transform&individuals&through&this.&&
Why$AIESEC$International?$ !
“It!is!my!love!and!!belief!!in!the!purpose!of!AIESEC!that!has! made! me! apply! to! AI.! I! believe! in! individual! leadership! transformation.!and!always!wonder!what!this!world!would! be!if!more!young!people!had!the!opportunity!to!access!this! platform.! ! I! feel! a! strong! sense! of! responsibility! towards! AIESEC! 2015! and! want! to! play! my! role! in! contributing! to! 2015.! ! Being! on! AI! I! know! will! give! me! a! fulDilling! experience! and! enable! me! to! Dind! a! newer! and! improved! form!of!myself!.!I!commit!to!giving!this!role!my!100%!and! promise!to!deliver.!“! !&
Nikita&used&to&play&the&piano.&She&learnt&one&of&her&biggest&life&lessons& every& time& she& played& and& looked& at& the& piano.& She& related& the& black& keys& to& the& dif=icult& times& in& life& and& the& white& keys& to& all& the& good& times&and&every&time&she&played&a&piece&of&music&she&felt&that&it&really& was&the&black&keys&that&made&the&music&(life)&so&perfect!&& & Ever& since& she& has& been& a& learner,& taken& risks& and& tried& to& overcome& fear&because&she&knows&on&the&other&side&of&every&challenge,&there&is& something&amazing&waiting&for&you.&And&if&one&learns&to&play&the&black& keys&as&well&as&the&white,&life&can&be&what&we&want&it&to&be.&&
&
“The greatest use of life is to spend it on something that will outlast it”
!
My Biography In November 19th 1988 in Buenos Aires, Argentina born a child named Firnando Buenayre Sirait. Since he was born in a Latin country, his mom usually calls him Andito or Ando. He is the 3rd child of the Sirait Family after his 2 older sister Efi Impola Sirait and Silfi Pauline Sirait. He is coming from a Bataknese family, which comes from North of Sumatra. People said that bataknese people are stubborn, rude, hard, and etc. But seems he’s not that typical of person. He’s actually quite calm and kind person who likes to help and care about people around him. Ando grew up in different environments because his father is a diplomat who travels to place to serve the country. He grew up in 5 different countries, from Argentina where he was born, Vietnam, Slovakia, Japan, and for sure Indonesia as his origin country. Through out his experience living in different countries, everything related internationalism becoming his interest. Knowing people’s culture and to understand their behaviors becoming something he like. He has a vision, which keeps him motivated in doing everything he put his hands on, which is
“Contributing to people’s solutions in his surroundings” From that stand, he strives the best in anything he contributes to. He has a dream to be a diplomat (truly an inspiration from his father) or being an executive in a Multinational Company back at his country. Why back at his country? Because he is eager to contribute to the development of Indonesia. He wanted to gain knowledge and practices from all over the world in order to contribute back to his Country. Because he believes that Leadership or self exploration is the key to a solution. He learned these from AIESEC, the world’s largest student organization, which he joined since 2006. Through the 6 years experience, gives him the opportunity to travel to more than 10 different countries and it changes his life, in a way he thinks and in a way he sees things. He sees leadership in 3 ways, in the front giving example, in the middle giving encouragement, and from behind giving motivation. Just like wise the Indonesia proverb “ing ngarso sung tulodo, ing madyo mangun karso, tut wuri handayani”.
“Leadership is about learning being a better person everyday..” !
YOUNGPEOPLEAWARDS
COSMOPOLITAN|UK 7 March 2013
COSMO’S FUN AND FEARLESS
Determination, ambition and a whole lot of amazing people save 20-year-old from an early quarter-life crisis By Anonymous
“It’s just another poor grade. It’s no big deal,” thought Cassandra Ruggiero, 20 at the time, to herself. But the selfdoubt and discouragement had already sunk in. After struggling through her first year-and-a-half of studies at the University of Guelph, her dream of becoming a Pediatrician was feeling more and more unachievable with every lecture and exam.“I had never studied so much in my life, and coming out of each exam with a feeling of dread was starting to take a toll on my morale.” It is a tale that many young people face when they start their postsecondary education at 17 years-old, and Cassandra was no different. She had been a straight-A student since joining the world of academia, excelling in math and science classes, and demonstrating an uncanny interest in biology and languages. An avid equestrian, her childhood plan was to become a veterinarian, setting her sights on the University of Guelph when she entered high school. A high-school trip to the Dominican Republic changed her entire perspective on life. Not your average “spring break” she embarked on a poverty exposure trip with a few friends, and was changed by what she experienced. The warmth of the latin american culture, the pure happiness of those who had less than she and the joy
Strong friendships make the work fun. Cassandra, second from right, pictured with the leaders from before and after her at AIESEC Guelph. All have been selected for national offices in Canada and abroad in the past 4 years.
“Life can sometimes not turn out the way you expected it to. But I’ve found if you just work hard, have fun and be open to new possibilities you can end up exactly where you were supposed to be!” Cassandra Ruggiero
themselves out of their comfort zone and discover where they fit in the world. It was exactly where I needed to be at the time.” Her journey in AIESEC was not easy. Starting out in a struggling local it brought to the children just to take committee, she worked tirelessly and on pictures with each other, completely different executive teams to turn it threw her in a tailspin. around and break the stereotypes that “After experiencing what I did, I had surrounded it for years. The time just knew that I had to do more for the and energy that she put into it was world,” she recalls. “It didn’t feel right constantly questioned by her friends and to come home and not contribute in family, who watched her abandon her some sort of way. I set myself on a path career dreams in medicine. She has no to combine my love of science with regrets, “I am glad that they questioned helping children who just need a what I was doing. I am glad I had to chance.” fight and work hard for something. The oldest grandchild in a large They were just looking out for me at the Italian family, Cassandra was no time and making sure I stayed grounded stranger to taking care of those younger when I could have lost focus on figuring than her. She set her sight on this new out my future.” career path. The passion that she felt for Her hard work paid off, and her cause was challenged when she secured her a full time job after didn’t excel in her studies. “After graduation with the Canadian national working so hard towards something, and office as the Vice President of not achieving what you need to reach Communications, a role she barely had your goals, you start to second guess any prior experience in. Her success in yourself, your values, your this role led her to a position heading capabilities...” she said, “and thats the national operations team of when I started searching for something AIESEC in the United Kingdom. else.” “Ultimately, all of these experiences She added a political science major have pushed me to learn so much about to her degree after finding enjoyment myself, others and the world around me. in one of her elective classes. It is here I excel at things that I never thought I where she first heard about AIESEC, would end up doing. I have traveled to “I originally joined for an exchange places I never thought I would end up experience. I had no idea what I going to. And I have met people that wanted to do anymore, so I figured I have inspired, challenged and motivated would just go see the world instead.” me all at the same time.” explains Almost 5 years later in the nonCassandra, “and I am so grateful for profit, and Cassie still hasn’t completed stumbling upon this organisation at the that exchange experience. “I got right moment in my life. Who knows completely addicted to taking where I would be without it!” responsibility for the mission the Cassandra is currently applying to organisation was trying to achieve: the global headquarters for an executive helping young people to push position in Brand Experience.
Biography - Sophia Fan I grew up in a normal family of a small seaside city called Zhuhai. There are 5 kids in my family (it’s very rare in China because of the One-Child Policy), so I grew up fighting with my sisters and brothers. I became very independent at a very young age, when my parents lived in the hotel they owned and only came home 1 hour everyday for dinner, because of heavy workload. I like adventure and different cultures. After graduating in high school, I decided to go to an university 21 hours away by train, in Beijing (an ancient capital, a modern metropolis). “The quality of life is not determined by your wealth or social status, but by the relationship you have with people, especially with your family.” Someone once told me this at a training, which changed my life. Happiness, Authenticity, Respect, Proactiveness are my most important values of life. All of those realizations didn’t come naturally, I am grateful that AIESEC has given me the opportunity to experience the inner journey, really start to explore who I am, purpose of life, what I am passionate about etc. Throughout my 6 years AIESEC experience, I always got rewarded and recognized: National Star Member, National Star Leader (LCVP), National Leadership LC Award (LCP), Global Innovation Leadership ING Awards (MCVP), Global Innovation Leadership ING Awards and Global Achievement Leadership ING Award (MCP) And the deepest reasons behind are 1) because I truly understand why we do everything we do, having a strong purpose push me to always give out my best to everything I do, no matter how small it is. 2) I believe we have 100% control to define our own experiences. 3) I always believe leaders create more leaders, not followers. So I constantly remind myself always to empower my teammates. Therefore, all the successes later on are actually all team and not individual successes. I love AIESEC because it build strong values inside people that lasts, changing people from “I don’t care” to “I care”. This is the AIESEC I stand for, and I wish to keep contributing to AIESEC.
Believe and Beyond: The Crew of Tomorrow Sophia Fan - AIESEC International 2013-14 application
Essa Esam Hadi
ﻋﻴﺴﻰ ﻋﺼﺎم ﻫﺎدي Born in Bahrain, the land of two seas. Nationality: Bahraini and proud. Age: Officially 23, always young at heart. Joined AIESEC: April 2008. Speaks: English, Arabic, Huwly. Essa grew up and lived all of his life in a tiny country that he had always seen as the best place to be in the world. After graduating from high school, he put a clear plan for his future. Essa liked the idea of being an accountant, because of how shy he was. 1- Get a bachelor’s in Accounting and Finance and get done with University by 2011. 2- Work as an accountant in the top firms in Bahrain. 3- Get a CPA by the age of 25. 4- Live and enjoy life being wealthy and happy! 5- Get married and get 7 kids. But then, one day in 2008, he decided to listen to a close friend of his, Mariam Rahimi, that was convincing him to join as a member in an organization called AIESEC that she just joined, he wasn’t interested at all, so he decided to take the internship program and try it out. He went through the a small induction, skipped half of it and was uninterested at all, ready to head to the interview as soon as possible. Then, he went through the interview hoping that he will soon be heading on an internship, but he was shocked to know that it was an interview to join the organization, so he decided to continue just for the sake of it. Few months later, he fell in love with the organization and started a journey of figuring out his purpose in life, his values and leadership abilities. Everything changed in his initial plan on he wanted to live his life, except for the 7 kids of course. After seven team experiences and five years in the organization, Essa has become a different person, all thanks to the organization the enabled him to become way cooler.
Ramita!Vig! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! !
! Age!24!years! ! Graduate!in!BCom!(H)(Finance!and! Accounting)!from!Sri!Ram!College!of! Commerce,!Delhi! ! From!Chandigarh,!India! ! Lived!in!3!cities!till!now! ! Joined!AIESEC!in!2007! ! Been!for!6!International!Conferences! and!20!National!Conferences! ! Been!a!part!of!8!teams!in!AIESEC! !
! Born and brought up in a sm all town in the north of India, Chandigarh, Ram ita m oved to Delhi in 2007 for her college education in the m ost reputed college for the course she wanted to do in India. College was unable to give her the kind of real life cut throat experience she was looking for and she ended up joining AIESEC for som e adventure and as it turns out, her adventure with AIESEC outlasted her tim e in college. Ram ita is now 24 years old and if there is one thing that she is sure about in her life, it is the want to study in the best colleges/universities and to be a successful corporate wom an. If she were proud of som ething about herself it would be her honesty and determ ination. She is straightforward perso n who sticks to her values and sense of righteousness and is a realist. She is am bitious and well educated and loves reading books. She has been in AIESEC for the last 5.5 years now and it has taken over her life but she loves it and that’s what keeps her from quitting this organization. In AIESEC she finds a bigger purpose for herself that gives her the self-m otivation to keep on continuing in spite of the hard ships that com e her way. Her 1.5 years on the M C of AIESEC India have been the m ost challenging and hence the m ost fruitful experience of her life till now. They have been fruitful because they have taught her a lot and m ade her want to be a better individual everyday. They have also given her two team s that she loves and respects and will hold on to for a lifetim e. Applying to AI has been a difficult decision for her take for m ultiple reasons but when her successor as M CP sent her the quote below she was sure this is what she wanted to do: “Let yourself be silently drawn to the strange pull of what you really love, It will not lead you astray” ~Rum i
MILENA NGUYEN - AIESEC INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER 13-14 APPLICATION
MILENA NGUYEN, NGUYEN THUY DUONG Milena Nguyen was born in 1990, in Hanoi, the capital. Her stubbornness personality has always given her traditional parents a hard time teaching her to be a “good girl”, obedient to Vietnam social pressure. In her first year in Hanoi University (one of the best State Universities in Vietnam), Milena was academically the best and extra-curriculum wise, one of the most active students of the faculty. Joining AIESEC Hanoi recruitment in March 2009, she realized that AIESEC opened for her a whole new world. Passionate with AIESEC, Milena stopped all other activities (her academic result also dropped, but she didn’t care). She worked in Talent Management function for two years, from a member to a Vice President. She discovered that she felt a great sense of fulfillment when seeing other people around her develop. Milena decided to run for President of AIESEC Hanoi in December 2011. Talent Management was an internal function, her big fear was to interact with business professionals as a Local Chapter President. Attending IC Kenya was her dream. However, Milena didn’t have any money. Her mentor told her to raise fund for herself. Everybody else told her that it was impossible. She did it anyway. In 6 weeks, with zero sales experience, she alone raised USD 2,000 from 8 sponsors (considering average monthly salary in Vietnam is USD 185, it was a huge amount of money for a student). That was a turning point when Milena realized that, with pure determination, everything is possible. Milena was inspired by AIESEC International team 2011-2012, and saddened by the small exposure of AIESEC Vietnam at Global Plenary. After IC Kenya, Milena promised to her local chapter that she would make her country proud by being the first Vietnamese person in AIESEC International. Milena stood for President of AIESEC Vietnam after her successful Local Chapter President term. She was not elected. Having no sales training ever in her life, Milena applied for Vice President of Business Development position. Due to internal problem, the number of sales persons in MC level dropped from 2 to 1, only her left. Milena went through the most stressful 6 months of her life, thanks to which, she learned about the power of self-learning, of attitude, of balance and focus. Milena achieved the result that none two-people Business Development team has ever achieved for AIESEC Vietnam. In January 2013, Milena stood for President of AIESEC Vietnam again in the middle of a successful term. She was again, not elected. Milena was hurt and disheartened; still, her principles pushed her forward. Now Milena Nguyen is running for AIESEC International Business Development manager, to be a part of the crew of the future, which has been always her dream, and also is the promise she made 2 years ago. _____________ Milena’s hobbies are swimming, reading book, listening to music, travelling, writing, and playing with her kitten. Milena’s dream is to run a leadership and management school for small and medium enterprise in Vietnam; and to publish her own book. She is in a happy long distance relationship. She hasn’t graduated and her professor supports her decision to run for AI and graduate in 2015.
”When are you going to get a real job?” Future quote of my mother when I tell her that I have applied for “another” AIESEC position Rolf is a 30 year old entrepreneur in the making. He dreams and plans to one day starting a variety of different organizations and businesses. He is half Norwegian and half German, speaks 5 languages fluently and has lived in 6 countries in 2 continents. There are, however, three life-changing experiences which made Rolf who he is today: 1.
2.
In October 2001, age 19 and ambitious, Rolf moved away from home to study Computer and Electronic Engineering at York University, UK. Never enjoying his studies, Rolf showed a distinct lack of commitment and motivation to succeed in engineering. He spent the better part of three years actively avoiding serious work and instead found pleasure in doing nothing of academic importance. He never completed this degree and left university without much to show for it, while his friends were celebrating graduation.
In August 2004, age 22 and fresh from failure Rolf booked a one-way ticket to Italy. Without a network, without speaking Italian and without much of an idea what he was up to, on the second day he bought a season ticket for his favourite football team, AC Milan. Rolf ended up constructing a life and career in Milan at the European Reservation HQ of the Multinational hotel chain Best Western. To this day, constructing a life from nothing while alone in a foreign country, learning Italian and succeeding professionally and personally represents Rolf’s proudest life achievement. During conferences you will still see Rolf happy and upset about his football team’s latest result. 3.
In 2008, age 25 and back in Norway studying for the second time around, Rolf met a promotion flyer of an organization called AIESEC. Determined to have a relevant internship while completing his degree in European Studies, Rolf discovered Leadership for the first time and has been on the journey ever since. For the record – he graduated top of his class with straight A grades second time around while being on LC level. Rolf was first Project manager and then LC VP Talent Management in AIESEC University of Oslo. He continued as MC VP Corporate Relations and MCP in AIESEC Norway. He went on to be AI VP Finance for two years and just submitted his application for President of AIESEC International. He has promised his Mum, this is the final application I will send for a role in AIESEC.
”I am not looking for a job anymore – I am finding my calling” My response