Thursday, November 26, 2009

I am an AIESECer!

Networking was the word for me! I had newly shifted to Hyderabad and was looking for a good friend circle. I joined the nearest Gym, joined in some student group in college, did everything to increase my 'friend-o-meter' in the city! I joined AIESEC for the same reason! Initially I was very happy to know that I was one of those 50 who were selected out of some 2000 odd applicants in the city! But it didn’t take me much time to realize what I had actually got into! It was not just about networking or a certificate which would add to my resume; it was about the AIESEC experience, which I am not very sure if I would be able to blot down here on this piece of paper!

I was an ordinary boy with decent acads and satisfactory exposure. AIESEC gave me the platform to explore my potential! A platform so big and huge that it blew my mind! I never imagined that I’d be able to give a formal seminar to an audience of 50 MBA students who would listen to me with note pads in their hands wearing suits! Trust me it feels good! I never thought I’d be so clear about what I want and how would I go about it if it wouldn’t have been for AIESEC. I still have managed to maintain a balance between AIESEC, my studies and my attendance.


I am an AIESECer and I am proud to be one. If I tell you how good AIESEC is it might sound obvious! So, I’d rather tell you why I don’t like AIESEC. I don’t like AIESEC because I haven’t been able to know everything about AIESEC yet even after 9 months of my experience in AIESEC. I guess, even after 2 or 3 years in AIESEC the experience wouldn’t be over! AIESEC is an idea which if you adopt, you’d grow endlessly, I am still growing and I have a long way to go! I don’t like AIESEC because I know that one day I’d have to leave and then I’ll have so much of free time. Time, which I would probably waste then, rather than meeting big-wigs of the corporate or sending mails to Europe and Africa! I hate AIESEC cause today when I log onto my gmail account I have about 25 people online 24X7 from all over the world pinging me! I miss those times when I used to log onto orkut and keep sending random scraps to offline people and keep waiting for their replies! I hate AIESEC because today I have the smartest of the people in the city as my friends around me and so I don’t get to boss around! I hate AIESEC because I came to know about it when I was in 2nd year of engineering or I would have joined in earlier!

Moving on from the sarcasm and talking of practicality, today everyone wants a job with a heavy pay! To the companies, we all are like products in the market which they’d buy by paying money (salary). I know that I have increased my worth in the job market! Because, I know how to work in a team environment. I know how an organization runs. I have the AIESEC experience! Today I don’t need a piece of paper to justify that I have fluent English, or which says that I have been in AIESEC. I have the exposure and it shows!

AIESEC doesn’t give you benefits in bullet points. It’s a gradual change and a very fruitful one! Today, I know that I have grown more mature and sensitive towards issues. Today I am more aware about things. I have a clear picture in mind about what my priorities are in life and my goals. I know where I want to see myself after 10 years from now and how to achieve that! I have moved up from worrying about petty issues in life and now know how to look at the bigger picture!

Buying that piece of paper in college and attending the AIESEC recruitments was probably my best decision ever! Yesterday I was just another bookworm in college. I rose from the routine ordinariness and became something which others look up to.

I am an AIESECer!!


-Dhruv Mathur
Team Leader, Education Sector

3 comments:

  1. hey i just read this ur-aiesec-experience. really inspiring. i like this part, "AIESEC doesn’t give you benefits in bullet points. It’s a gradual change and a very fruitful one!"
    greeting from lc surabaya, indonesia :)

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