Belatedly, but a tradition nevertheless

Although it's not readily apparent from looking at the photo, we spelled out AIESEC under the famous St. Louis Gateway Arch following that historic winter conference.




Arcadiy and I are the "A", our LCP Amira is contorting herself into the second half of the "S", and I suspect Preston is hunched over as the bottom half of the first "E". I also want to say that our very own Kate is the top half of Preston's "E"? I wish I could identify everyone else in the photo, but suffice it to say they are awesome AIESECers from around the nation.

Photo courtesy of the equally awesome Sohaib.

Full Circle

On the night of December 29, 2008, I was in a Zen state.

My former teammate and one of the greatest people I have been blessed to know, Tiffany Curtiss, was elected Member Committee President of AIESEC United States in the first free and fair MCP elections in twelve years.

I haven't cried in a long time, but I came pretty damn close as Missy poured the water on her head and everyone cheered for Tiffany. What was clear to me, though, is that as much as we were cheering for her, we were cheering for the process, for student ownership, for having a voice. For having come so far just shy of six months after the July 4 letter.

The only thought that had space in my head after the bucket fell was back to the weekend of May 12-14, 2006, when I was told "you have no future in AIESEC US" by the top leadership after trying to bring people together and think for themselves. Instead of doing whatever college students do on the weekend, Tiffany and my AIESEC mentor and former LCP of AIESEC LC Cornell, Arthur Maas, spent the entire weekend on the phone with the key players in New York, and when they were talking about "next steps," Tiffany was talking about right and wrong. Tiffany, of course, was right, and despite being right, her hours and hours on the phone that weekend got me back into AIESEC US. How incredibly appropriate, how it fits in with the music of the Universe. How justice was served and how progress was lifted up!

I turned off my video camera and I walked up to my room, alone. I could barely even shut the door before the immensity of what had just happened washed over me like a tidal wave. I gripped the table and I put my head against the wall. I closed my eyes and let the reality of it flow through every bit of my being. How years and even months ago, this moment was an unthinkable fairy tale - regardless of the winner of the election. I felt like I have not felt in an incredibly long time, and to the powers that put the breath in my lungs, I let forth in an exhale, "thank you."

Words cannot express the pride I feel that Tiffany was elected MCP.

And finally, mere hours before my term as LCP ended, I was able to participate as a proxy for Milwaukee (Amira taking the seat for GT) in our legislation, where we established our first compendium in twelve years - and I am proud that I was a key part of writing it. I skipped sessions and I stayed up late to work on the constitution and accountability with Jason, and I personally spent the entire day after the election tweaking and perfecting the range voting process, which was one of the final motions we passed - by acclamation. Though it was hard work and it kept me from hanging out nearly as much as I wanted to with the people who matter to me and friends I haven't met yet, I realized at the end of the conference how much more valuable it was that we spent our time on things that mattered. We did work together, we built the foundations of a new AIESEC US together. That was far better than anything else I've experienced at a US conference before, and I hope for the future members that it only grows and does not stop.

While banging the table to close legislation, we heard loud sounds from above - and through the skylights we saw the fireworks heralding a new year. We did it! And the fireworks let everyone know it.

Poetry upon poetry, the formal New Years Eve dinner that night took place in the exact same room as the plenary of the last Winter Conference in St. Louis. My LCP term ended in the exact same room in which it began. A year ago in that room, as we finished singing "Auld Lang Syne," I thought to myself: "This is either the year AIESEC US will save itself, or the year in which it will be lost forever."

I could never have pictured us in that same room one year later, triumphant. The truth is stranger than fiction.

A sincere thanks to all of the people who are a part of the fabric that has been my AIESEC Experience thus far. There are many of you to name, and rest assured you will hear it from me soon. But other than Tiffany, the person I must thank most of all is Missy Shields, outgoing MCP and former LCP of AIESEC at Georgia Tech. Without her AIESEC US would not be here today, and I would not be the person I am, plain and simple. She deserves adulation for years and years, and she will be a golden legend for as long as the word "AIESEC" spurs the heartbeats of people looking for a better future.

To you both: because you have changed me, you have changed the world. Hold me to that.

The New Generation

In spite of everything else going on in AIESEC US, here in Atlanta the academic year has begun with the usual bang. Fall recruitment is officially over, culminating in the orientation of over 20 new members this past Sunday.






Just look at those bright-eyed, bushy-tailed new AIESECers.

Let's hear it for Atlanta's newest generation of AIESECers!

The Chinese Olympiad

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.






My obsession with jump shots couldn't help but exert itself over me, so I decided to at least look goofy in an Olympics way. I think everything else speaks for itself, though.


There seems to be quite the storm of activity brewing back in the States, specifically in Madison. I know I'm riveted over here in the Orient. Let's see where this takes us!

aiesec...the biggest family in the world :)

óla @gt!

sorry i haven´t posted until now, but just wanted to drop a quick line to say hey and tell you guys about something i´ve noticed here that makes me miss you guys so much yet feel like you´re right here with me :D for those of you who don´t know me, my name is johanna (or tater tot as some call me) and i´m currently into my 3rd month of my traineeship in salvador, brazil. check out my blog if you want to learn more about my experience here so far, but today i wanted to talk about something a little different.

i hang out with brazilians a lot here, but because this is aiesec, there are always people from all over the world around too, which is awesome :) right now we´ve got reps from canada, colombia, ecuador, norway, england, and the u.s. (that would be me, ha ha). some of my fondest memories in @gt (and i´m sure many that i´ll make in this next year) involve getting together with aiesecers to check out new foods, celebrations, movies, dances, etc. from other cultures...it´s a great way to explore the world from your own backyard, and you´d be amazed at how much you can learn and experience (check out the holi post on this blog for a great example). i´ve always loved that about our lc at gt, and i´ve missed you guys like crazy, but have been soooooo happy to find here that the lc here is the same way! just goes to show how alike we all are, right?

this past sunday was colombian independence day, and with the help of our 2 colombian trainees and their other colombian friends here, this past weekend was a celebration to remember. the picture below was taken at a colombian independence day party organized by colombian ex-pats living in salvador. note that in this picture only 2 of the people are colombian, yet all are aiesecers - and that, my beloved lc, is what makes us the biggest family in the world :D

beijos do brasil!