Newsletter I n th i s Issue: • Welcome letter • Reconnect with AIESEC SFU
• Coastal Conference • EB Intro • Interview with Katrina Bollozos
Issue 3 - Spring 2010
It is with my great pleasure to address the Alumni on behalf of the 2010-2011 Executive Board. Another year, another Alumni Newsletter, another opportunity for members of AIESEC SFU to make an impact! The Executive Board has high ambitions for a stellar year, and is off to a fantastic start! Our Corporate Relations team, led by Ruby Lin, has already signed a contract with SFU career services, and we expect an intern to arrive in early June. We have three amazing candidates ready to go on exchange in the upcoming semester. On behalf of the Executive Board, we look forward to meeting all of you at the upcoming Alumni events, and please feel free to contact us for coffee! AIESEC-ly, AIESEC SFU LCP
AR Committee posing for the weekly LCP Photo Challenge with Go Go Flamingo, the AIESEC SFU mascot!
C o n ta c t U s AIESEC SFU
Office: 604.291.4187 www.aiesec.ca/sfu Bealaine Pamandanan: bp.aiesecsfu@gmail.com
AIESEC SFU | www.aiesec.ca/sfu
AIESEC CANADA
Office: 416.368.1001 www.aiesec.ca
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Coastal Conference 2010 Coastal Conference is an annual event involving an intense three-day learning experience for the purposes of uniting the local committees of Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia, University of Victoria and Kwantlen Polytechnical University in working together under the AIESEC name. In addition to strengthening the ties between the four local committees, Coastal Conferences aid in realizing the values and goals set out by AIESEC Canada. This year’s theme for Coastal Conference is One Vision and it will be held from the 26th of March to the 28th at the Vancouver Airport Marriott Hotel in Richmond, British Columbia. This year’s Organizing Committee has promised an epic conference day with even more epic nights. Let’s see if they can live up to their promise!
Katrina Bollozos Here is a short interview with Katrina Bollozos who is one of our newest Alumna to join our AIESEC SFU Alumni family. She is originally from AIESEC AdMU, Philippines and did her internship with AIESEC Saskatoon. Recently, she has been involved with NBC during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
What did you do in AIESEC? I found out about AIESEC in my fourth year and initially I thought it was all about parties and having fun. I finally decided to join in the last semester of my last year. I was not part of a portfolio but I did organize a lot of events including a cart-racing event in which we contracted a famous racer to attend and sign autographs. After graduation, I remained in AIESEC working with my account manager. Did you attend any conferences? There were no conferences in the semester that I joined and not many in general in the Philippines- it’s not as glamourous! While working I attended as many conferences as I could such as Western Regional Conference, National Conference in Montreal and MASS (Manitoba, Alberta, and Saskatchewan Seminar). I expected a lousy hotel with awful accommodation but the hotel and food was amazing. Did you go on exchange? I worked as a business management analyst for Centennial as part of my management internship. Centennial is a plumbing and electrical retailer based in Saskatoon. I went from department to department, trying to improve them and I was surprised at the outdated methods they used. I managed to improve the company’s performance so much that they won the best business award for that year, which I was told they were trying so hard to win! I also won several other awards during my internship and the company extended my internship to two and a half years and even assisted me in getting my Canadian PR. Interview continued on page 4
AIESEC SFU at WRC 2009 in Victoria
AIESEC SFU | www.aiesec.ca/sfu
2 AIESEC CANADA | www.aiesec.ca
AIESEC SFU Executive Board 2010-2011
Colleen Wong LC President
Bealaine Pamandanan VP, Alumni Relations
Favourite Conference Memory Colleen Wong: I don’t think anyone could forget their first conference and mine was the Western Regional Conference 2008 hosted by Edmonton. During this conference, I saw how much I could contribute to AIESEC and most importantly, how much AIESEC can give back to me. Bealaine Pamandanan: Apart from the opening plenary and the occasional dancing and cheering, my favourite conference moment was playing AIESEC Kingdom way back in NC 2009.
Alex Juy VP, Communications
Alex Juy: The best memory of a conference is waiting for opening plenary to begin and everybody is in their respective LCs trying to out-cheer everybody else, but conform to one winning cheer.
Carlo Inigo VP, Fiance
Ruby Lin: My favourite memory? National Congress 2009/2010 hosted by AIESEC SFU--walking into the opening plenary room and being totally shocked, amused, nervous, confused and excited all at the same time. “Why in the world are these people cheering and DANCING?”...after a minute I stopped questioning and jumped into the bandwagon, and have been on it ever since. Carlo Inigo: My favourite conference moment was when SFU won the Spirit Keg in my first conference (WRC 2009 in Victoria)
Nicholas Cheung VP, Talent Management
Ruby Lin VP, Corporate Relations
Naomi Zheng VP, Outgoing Exchange
Naomi Zheng: The best part of NC 09, and at any conference in general, was the inspirational people I got to meet, as well as the cheering and dancing! Nicholas Cheung: “ The best part of the conference is meeting people from different places with different personalities and the refreshing feeling you get when you talk to them. “
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AIESEC CANADA | www.aiesec.ca
Interview with Katrina Bollozos continued from page 2
What was your best AIESEC experience? The internship of course! I had a lot of freedom to implement what I wanted and I managed to accomplish a lot. I heard stories from interns that there was not much work during the internship but I think that depends on the individual. In my case, the job description definitely did not match the job. I also met many AIESEC interns in Saskatoon- from Kenya, Turkey, Brazil, Grenada, etc. I was also not prepared for the culture shock or the snow! What did you like best about AIESEC?
Can you suggest some ways for AIESEC SFU to reconnect with their alumni? AIESEC Saskatoon was very involved with their alumni. Perhaps you can have more parties or pub nights and events that involve more people on campus, not just AIESEC-ers. In university, AIESEC was more interested in barbeques or potlucks which were exclusive to AIESEC-ers. Events that are open to more people could improve recruitment. AlumNight is a good idea which Saskatoon does not have. You should pick the right elements for your events and work with sponsors because they really help.
I liked the LCs the best. The Saskatoon LC took care of me when I expected to be alone. I also enjoyed meeting other interns and attending conferences. I actually learned a lot about the Philippines while living in Canada because it was so easy to see the different attitudes and rules. What are you doing now and how has AIESEC helped your career? I am currently looking for a job and considering going back to the Philippines to work because I heard it is easier to find a job there. Just recently I was working with NBC as a Ground Transportation Dispatcher during the Winter Olympics. I was in charge of sending dispatches and drivers from our headquarters. AIESEC has really helped me to build up my resume and get attention from potential employers because of my affiliation with AIESEC. I am interested in getting a Masters Degree but I also hope to enter management school back in Manilla. Are you still involved in AIESEC? I am on the Review Board for AIESEC SFU and AIESEC Saskatoon, so I do my part in helping interns. I also attend alumni events and occasionally I give talks during MASS conferences. How do you think alumni can contribute to AIESEC? Alumni can assist AIESEC by providing contacts, networking and selling internships. They have been in the job market for a while and have already built their careers, especially after five to seven years. AIESEC interns are quite highly valued, for example, my fiancé got his job because his employer was excited about his AIESEC experience.
AIESEC SFU | www.aiesec.ca/sfu
Reconnect with AIESEC SFU By: • Taking an intern • Mentoring • Being a guest speaker • Joining our Exchange Review Board in early April • Joining us at an upcoming Alumni event
For more information, email Bealaine Pamandanan at bp.aiesecsfu@gmail.com
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