My AIESEC story - or 'how I travelled the world and learned to lead'
AIESEC is the world's largest student-run volunteer organization, providing young people around the world with the opportunity to manage and participate in a global work exchange program aimed at cultural understanding and cooperation. Based in universities in over 100 countries, AIESEC works with multinationals and small businesses to realize over 3000 foreign internships a year.
The non-profit was started just after World War 2 as a way to create peace and cooperation between nations, and inspire young leaders to create a positive impact on the growth of their communities. Students are in charge of creating partnerships, managing visa applications, recruiting members and interns, organizing events, managing funding, and leading the organization at a local, national, and global level in planning, marketing, and member development.
The Beginning
I joined AIESEC my freshman year at the University of Texas at Austin as a member of the Corporate Sales and Services team. I was trained in lead generation, prospecting, cold calling, networking, and presenting sales pitches to local executives. After initial success with the program, I quickly rose to the challenge of training new members and was eventually selected to be the next Vice President of the Sales and Services team.
As VP I led a team of 10 students in Austin in creating sales and networking relationships with local companies, including Austin Technology Incubator, the International Hospitality Council of Austin, Valley Research, TiE Austin, and the Adjunct General's Office. The team's participation in networking events such as TiECon, the International Consular's Ball, and various corporate forums increased brand awareness and developed strong networking skills in our members.
As my love for the organization and its mission grew, I became more involved with our chapter by uniting my team with the Cultural Integration team and the Outgoing Exchange team. My efforts to promote cooperation were rewarded with the Ambassador Award, and I became an integral member of the chapter's leadership team to lead AIESEC Austin towards achieving its goals.
As a marketing student, I applied my studies to the organization to create a new brand initiative and campus promotion strategy. My success was noticed by the leaders of the global organization in Rotterdam, and I was selected to be on the Global Branding Team representing the US, Greece, Sweden, and Malta in rolling out the organization's brand redesign and messaging framework.
My Leadership Path
By my second year in AIESEC I was leading training seminars at regional and national member conferences, and inducted into the National Leadership Team for goal-setting and planning. I received specialized training on our new consultative selling approach and participated in the National Sales Team during our push to secure new large-scale national partners for the organization.
Year 3 I was elected to serve as Local Committee President, leading our community in planning retreats and weekly general meetings. During my term I revamped our website, created an online collaboration community, and developed new communications initiatives to increase the chapter's cooperation. I also helped transition the members through an intense organizational restructuring aimed at increasing exchange numbers and enhancing skill development.
My International Experiences
I was selected to be a member of AIESEC Hong Kong's marketing and sales team in the summer of 2006. I worked with the leaders of the HKU community to increase sales partnerships and discover new networking opportunities to promote growth. My experience led to the creation of 4 new corporate sponsors and various other partners, including Pacific Smart, Harvest International, Workplace Solutions, Transcedge Limited, and the Australian Chamber of Commerce. I helped the National Team develop a new corporate marketing plan, and participated in national seminars and recruitment events.
I also led a leadership development conference for AIESEC Monterrey in Mexico, and chaired a regional conference for chapters in the southwest United States.
Entrepreneurship in AIESEC
Leading an AIESEC community is much like running a small business. Students are expected to manage every aspect of the organization, including goal setting, recruitment, account management, delivery, financing, mediation, member development, training, and event planning. My experience with the organization has transformed me into a capable leader comfortable with managing teams across the world, solving problems, and executing innovative solutions. I've pitched the organization to CEOs and worked with people from over a dozen countries around our initiatives.
