The 3 daily commandments

Yesterday after the Strategy class Idar Vollvik held a 45minute presentation about LUDO & his journey to building his several businesses. It was interesting indeed to hear such experiences from someone who has succeeded, failed and now on his way back up again. Getting to know briefly about his background, how he started his business, succeeded and failed were all key learning points. However what I noticed right away during the presentation was his presentation skills. He talked about his ups and downs in a most seemingly humorous way, and it was at some point quite amusing. After all, making fun of losing millions of krones, is no joke.

 

Off course, Mr. Vollvik also used the opportunity to present LUDO, a business group that has been established in cooperation w/ university students. Seeing as how students got access to such an opportunity, I asked myself how I missed noticing about it. A friend of mine is currently working on this project and at times I couldn’t help but envy her for the opportunity. Still what’s done is done.

At the end of the presentation there was some Q&A. The student crowd seemed hesitant to ask the guest lecturer in the beginning. However once the one brave soul dared to start asking a question, the others soon followed in a quite slow tempo, if I may say. Mr. Vollvik’s answers to the questions were somewhat expected and at times I felt like he always connected it to his current project. It was understandable. After all marketing your business is always a plus.

What I took from this session was his last “tip” on time management, focusing especially on how to prioritize daily activities. According to Mr. Idar Vollvik there are 3 commandments to sort out your daily activities:

1. do the necessary
2. do the possible
3. do the impossible

After this pep talk, I walked out of the café quite inspired by it all. The day went on and I thought to myself that it’s worth a shot. Today I based my activities according to Mr. Vollvik’s 3 commandments. Things went well enough till I got distracted and bored by doing the “necessary & possible”. Though after some reminders & struggles I finished the 2 first commandments and got to the impossible chores. This is were my engines started firing up. I realized not long after that I really need to discipline myself when it comes to doing the basic and simple tasks. After all, the results of doing the commandment #1 & #2 comes earlier than the 3rd commandment, right?

September 2010 – Bergen

August 2010 – Finland

Spring 2009 – Leadership in AIESEC

After being a member for 4 months I decided to make a leap and applied for a leadership position as the local committee president of AIESEC UiS ear. There was an election. I held a speech infront of the current members where I had to present my leadership style and why I was the right one to lead AIESEC UiS. It was nervewracking. My attempt to write a speech ended up with a number of notes and scrabbles on a piece of paper, involving my dream of holding a company event on campus, and making AIESEC UiS an official Local Committee of AIESEC Norway. My mind was a mess, my voice nearly cracked up during my speech, and to top it all of my cheeks turned red, not rosy mind you, but beet red because of all the nerves. I never knew that standing out for yourself and your amibitions could be such an emotional roller coaster. To my concolation price I did win. However right after it finally sunk in that I am officially a local committee president, I wondered what I got myself into. Then my second thought was: I will do it! At the very least my year will be interesting.

 

So there I was, fresh and green, wanting to achieve something out of the ordinary. Making AIESEC UiS official was indeed a challenge. The Local Committee had a few number of members. One can count the active members in one hand. It was depressing, however it was also understandable that students had other activities to prioritize aside from being active in a volunteer student organization. However there was an AIESEC member and according to his words: “AIESEC is a volunteer organization. You can get in if you want however while your inside you have to work.” It is put rather blunt however it serves its purpose. AIESEC gives an opportunity to students to learn more about themselves and to work for their targets, may it be in life or work. However it is also true that if you don’t work you won’t get results. No pain, No gain, so to say. Not that work in AIESEC hurts, on the contrary actually. So I worked hard. Whenever there was an opportunity for me to do the things that I love to do, like designing posters, making booklets, doing something with my hands, arose, I jumped to the task and got to work immediately. As a result I gathered a lot of information about the things that I want to learn more about.

 

I also went to another international conference in Italy, WenaLDS, early in 2009. This time this conference delegates were all current and aspiring leaders in AIESEC. We were to learn about leadership and management, personal development and personal leadership. Also during this conference I learned about my core, what moves me, my values, my tools and my aspirations in life. It was not something new to me, to look to my inner self, and find answers. However the approach that we had during this conference was more powerful as I had the opportunity to work within a team and especially connect to someone and recieve feedback. The drill was familiar (sessions, excercises & parties) and it was nothing unusual so I got more or less quickly adjusted to how things were supposed to work. Off course there was the typical misunderstandings, as Italians had some challenges with both the logistics and English. In the end everything turned out quite fine. Although I have to admit that there have been challenges for me during the conference as well. Our team leader was a professional, organized and strict fellow. He gave me an impression at first of being very opinionated, however he turned out to be a very cool and inspiring person. Also there was a person that I had a very difficult time of understanding, not because of the nationality, but mostly because of the personality and attitude. The guy behaved nearly overbearingly arrogant and intolerant, throughout almost the entire conference.In the end everything turned out quite fine. All in all, it was a good conference.

 

 

After WenaLDS, there was a national conference in Oslo, UNITE. Here the new leaders of AIESEC Norway were presented. We were 3 people from Stavanger. At that point our local member list was dwindling. I had to learn how to attract and recruit students to become AIESEC members. Which was easier said than done. To make things more challenging I also needed to be able to maintain these members. It was a tough moment. Considering the lack of members and also dwindling motivation… However time still passed. Not too long after UNITE we had a summer local seminar in Stavanger to prepare for recruitment in august 2009. Afterwards there was the ScaLDS conference in Copenhagen, where the scandinavian AIESECers gathered to plan and support each other for the further growth and development of AIESEC Scandinavia. It was here that I got introduced to the book of “7 habits of highly efficient people”, which turned out to be a very interesting read. Also I learned about time management, 4 quadrant of priorities, reward and recognition, etc. Again I got to gather a lot of information.

 

 

Come August 2009, we were basically 2-4 people doing the recruitment, thankfully we had a CEED (AIESEC assistant from LC abroad). The recruitment was hard basically because we were struggling with the communication and promotion of AIESEC to the students. We managed to get a cooperation with a local restaurant but the cooperation turned to be shortlived. The materials were difficult to gather and the interviews had to be cut as we did not have enough people to do them with. Despite all the troubles the recruitment turned out well and we got several new members. Among them were some very talented and very motivated members, which was a huge relief and source of motivation to get pumped up once again. This time when EXCEL was arranged in Bergen once again, most of our local committee participated and we recieved 2 awards, one individual which was for me called, Olympian Champion, and a team awards: Local Committee Spirit Award. Our team this year turned out to be full of talented quality members, with a good combination of passion and direction.

Local Activity LC UiS 09.09.2010

Arranging events has been always always a challenge for me and my nerves. Especially when it’s almost starting and when I wait for the people to come. Will all the people that have registered arrive in time? Will they even arrive at all? It is a trivial thing and perhaps it is not the most important thing to focus on so I alter my actions and try to focus on something else instead.

 

Yesterday our Local Committee arranged an information meeting for the students on campus. We presented a basic introduction on facts and opportunities in AIESEC. There were roughly around 10 new students at first. After the meeting there was the assessment center where we did some excercises and discussions. The flow of the meeting and the assessment center were very good thanks to our 2 lovely alumni whom were responsible for hosting this sessions. The excercises focused on leadership and our task was to explore the term and share our thoughts about it. This kinds of excercises are always a challenge as they can easily turn into something that you could’ve never expect. In my case, the eexcercise went beyond my expectation. The participants were active and the flow was structured. There was a good flow of communication and it seemed that the participants had a good time. This is important for me because I believe that the moment you stop enjoying what you’re doing, you’ll stop learning.

 

To this date it is still a challenge for me to be the president for UiS. It is not an easy feat however I enjoy scheming plans and setting goals together with the members. The best part of it all however is when we start doing activities that contributes to our goals. Once the results come in, the feeling of satisfaction and achievement is indescribable. The recruitment period for this term 2010/2011 is definitely an achievement. We have overachieved our goals for number of applicants. However this period is yet to be over and there are other goals to be achieved.

 

The recruitment period is yet to be over and off course there are things that will be improved for the next time. My key learning points so far involves planning, setting goals and increasing effectivity in processes and production of results, and last but not the least understanding of when and where strategies should be applied. The theories about these planning, settting goals and production have been introduced  to me before on either lectures or in conferences. However there is something about learning by experiences that made me realize some new aspects on these things

 

I expect nothing less than divine…

Either it be food, clothes, places, relationships or amibitions, it seems like I will not be able to settle for anything less than divine.  What does that mean?

 

Let me phase it like this: If I do something I either do it all the way or not at all. Which means I either do something completely amazing or I am simply just bad at it. Luckily I choose to do things that I am capable of, or willing to learn myself into.

 

Indeed times have changed. I, myself, am not quite what I used to be. At least, this is what I like to believe. When I just moved to Norway and I was randomly chatting with my new classmates, someone told me that it was impossible to learn Norwegian in one year. The irritation that I felt for being told that something was impossible made me more fired up for proving this person wrong. Due to this event I became quite reclusive for a period of 6 months.

 

The library was my new playground. I was borrowing books, tapes, videos, fairytales, picture books and whatever I could get my hands into so I may reach the goal of learning the Norwegian language in a year. Participating in classes was not an easy bout, as I was still struggling with the language. However I defied my senses for shame and humiliation when I pronounced or uttered something wrong. I kept telling myself to remember from the mistakes and move on. Moving on was ok however i learning from the mistakes was the main challenge. Remembering the mistakes was easy enough however it was a major challenge to teach myself to focus on how I can improve rather than repeating the embarrasing mistakes over and over inside my head.

 

Practicing pronounciations infront of a mirror helped me only to a certain degree. The thought of having to move outside my “safe”-recluse life style was unending and scared me to death. I was doing pretty ok as a school girl with books, homeworks and praises from teachers. That was enough. For some maybe. Me, myself and I wanted more from life though. I started sorting out options of new challenges. What should be my next activity? Sports? Another language? Work? Heck, why not do it all??? My days changed from school, homework and TV-sessions, to school/homework/games/volleyball/dance/singing/part-time-job and hanging out with my new best friends.

 

Life was hectic and fun. By the time I reached my 10th grade, I succeeded not only did in learning Norwegian fluently, I won one dance competition, been on the national tournament for volleyball, and even won a trophy. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any better I participated an audition for a talent competition. Feeling confident that I would somehow at least pass through the eliminations, I was slightly disappointed when I didnt. When I got home after the rejection, I comforted myself  with the thoughts like: “It’s ok, it’s not like its the end of the world, there will be several chances”.  I was kidding myself. Basically I was annoyed and I started finding faults. At first at the judges, then at the crew, then I came to the thought: They’re just doing their job. After that I took a break, then tried for another audition, ending with the same result. I guess the world of fame was not meant for me.

 

I took another big challenge short after my high school years. I applied for engineering, which I got accepted into. It took me not to long to discover: “This might take some time”. It felt like a cold flashback. The setting felt just like when I was at the audition, where I had to prove myself of my own worth. The program was hard and long, and the days even longer. Not to mention a tad boring. At least to my taste. Given a few months after starting the semester, I withdrew. It seems that having experienced a rejection during an audition taught me a good trick: It is quite easy to give up when things get rough. So I did. Then I tried again. What the?!

 

Well, I guess I really wanted it bad after all. The engineering degree I mean. This time I got into a university closer to my home town and my mom. Just in case I get cold feet again. Since the program was slightly similar from before, the semester start went smoother this time around. I was doing pretty well as a student however it didn’t take long before I soon dicovered that something didn’t feel quite right. I was getting bored. What now?

 

I was on my 2nd first year in the university, still feeling insecure about my choice of education. Should I stick to it or should I risk it? Off course I risked it. I found all kinds of reasonings trying to prove myself how logical or sensible my new choice was. While deep inside I was just really hoping that the 3rd time around would really be a charm. I switched to business administration, actually economics and  informatics.

 

My 3rd first year in the university went by, and I even joined a student organisation. Knowing how I like to challenge myself, either just to see whether I can do it or not, I applied for presidency in the organisation as well. I got the position. Today I am on my 2 year in my BA degree, planning even to finish 1 semester earlier than the usual 3-year-course. Perhaps only the heavens knows how that will happen. All I know is that I am trying to do my best with my studies and hope for a miracle to happen.

 

This past 3 months have been crazy. I have never thought in my whole entire life that I would be able to do the things that I have been doing so far. The things that I was doing, the challenges I took, the uncountable mistakes I made and the memorable successes I have achieved, were all something that I did to prove something. Prove to whom? Sure I was doing things so my mom could be proud of me, but theres more to it than that. I certainly did some because of the money however my motivation wasnt entirely based on the cash I could earn. I got new friends and aquiantances through my activities, although again, this is not the trigger to my actions. I am digging deep, deep, deep into myself: Who am I trying to prove myself to?

 

Me. It’s all about me. It’s all about how I can do it, why I can do it, when I can do it and what I can do. Basically I was just trying to discover what I was capable of. My skills. Me and my abilities, my potential. I was trying to prove myself of my own worth. Some may call it self discovery. My mom calls it life. My friends call it adventure, and perhap some may find this just plain odd.

 

I know myself slightly better today than I did yesterday, and the main reason for this is because I dare to try myself out on new things now and then. Fortunately I have people that care for me and give me support even though perhaps they don’t really know what I am doing. Still, I appreciate the trust, and especially the chance, to prove myself my worth.

 

I expect nothing less than divine. I expect nothing less from myself aside from trying my best every single day. I expect to have fun, enjoy my the things I do and keep on having goals to pursue.I expect nothing less than divine 

 

mood: hopeful

 

En vanlig dag på AIESEC-kontoret

Klokken tikker og viser tiden. Det er ti over ti på morgenen og jeg sitter inne på AIESEC kontoret på Paviljong 9 for å få litt fred og ro slik at jeg kommer i gang med leserinnlegget. Jeg sjekker planen for dagen og oppdager, til min store overraskelse, at jeg har faktisk fulgt det etter punkt og prikke. Mailen er sjekket og besvart. Jeg har kontaktet en intern angående hytteturen neste helg og fått oversikt over hva vi skal ta opp på møtet i morgen.

 

 

Dette er helt nytt for meg. Rutine var noe som jeg avskydde før. Det virket kjedelig, firkantet og sløvt. Slik er det ikke nå lenger. Nå er dagene lange, jeg står opp tidlig om morgenen og legger meg sent på kvelden. Likevel så er det en følelse av tilfredshet og lykke som blir med meg enten jeg lå våken eller sov.

 

 

Ett og halvt år siden så var hverdagen en sammensetting av skole, jobb, og veldig lite sosial liv. Jeg gjorde det jeg måtte som student. Forelesningene, gruppetimene, lekser og diverse gjorde jeg, men følte at det kom lite ut av det. Det måtte da være litt mer med livet enn dette her, tenkte jeg.

 

Så kom en dag hvor vi fikk besøk fra en studentorganisasjon AIESEC, midt i en forelesning. Det virket interessant, internasjonal kultur, ledelse og karriere utvikling var noen av de tingene som virket interessante. På slutten av dagen sendte jeg en påmelding til AIESEC. Ikke lenge etterpå ble jeg intervjuet og invitert til å komme på et seminar. Det virket så seriøst, så profesjonelle tenkte jeg. – De er jo bare studenter sånn som meg. Hvordan får de det til? Nysgjerrigheten grep tak i meg. Nå, ett og et halvt år senere har jeg deltatt på 9 konferanser og seminar både lokalt, nasjonalt og internasjonalt.

 

 

Hva er AIESEC? Hver gang jeg får dette spørsmålet så blir jeg både glad, ekstatisk og panisk alt på samme tid. Interessen setter jeg stor pris på for den gir meg mulighet til å dele min historie. Samtidig blir jeg litt stresset for jeg vet ikke hvor jeg skal begynne. Det er så mye å fortelle.

 

 

AIESEC er verdens største student organisasjon. Det er en ungdoms organisasjon for studenter ved høyere utdanning mellom 18 og 35. Kjernen i organisasjonen er å tilby et plattform for de unge til å utforske og utvikle deres leder kompetanse i et internasjonalt miljø. Det er mye kultur, teori og reising, og jeg elsker det.

 

 

Det ligger mye arbeid og enda mer kjærlighet i det jeg gjør i AIESEC, noe som både jeg og mine kollegaer setter stor pris på. I dag er vi et team på fem og kun damer, foreløpig. Om ikke lenge, omtrent to uker faktisk, så vil vi få våre nye medlemmer sammen med oss. Da blir det mye å sette fingeren i igjen, og jeg gleder meg.

 

Målet i år er å sette AIESEC ved Universitet i Stavanger på kartet ved å bli offisielt. For å gjøre dette så må vi oppfylle kravene som ble satt opp av det høyeste organet i AIESEC. Kravene som følger er å sende ut to medlemmer, som er studenter eller nyutdannede, i arbeid i utlandet, og å ta inn to medlemmer fra utlandet som skal settes i arbeid her i lokal området. Halvparten av kravene er oppfylt. Vi har sendt to medlemmer til India og Elfenbenskysten. Nå gjelder det å få samarbeid med bedrifter for å ta in ansatte gjennom AIESEC. Her ligger utfordringen.

 

 

Klokken er kvart på elleve. Innlegget ble visst lengre enn jeg trodde, men det er nesten ferdig. Det er fremdeles så mye å fortelle. Så mange historier, minner og erfaringer. Jeg har på følelsen av at jeg har vokst når jeg ser tilbake. Nå kan jeg faktisk styre meg selv og vente til neste gang jeg får mulighet til å fortelle mer.

 

I dag sitter jeg på kontoret som leder for styret i AIESEC UiS. Det har vært slitsomt til tider, men nå har jeg et bra og kompetent team å samarbeide med. Det er mye arbeid og mye kjærlighet i det jeg gjør i AIESEC UiS. Bak dette ligger det en ganske enkel forklaring. Jeg har fått mer tilbake i forhold til hva jeg har gitt og gjort i AIESEC. Jeg har lært å kjenne mine grenser, men jeg har også lært å strekke og trå til for å oppnå et mål når sjansen byr seg. Sammen med meg og mine andre medlemmer så skal AIESEC UiS strekke seg langt og nå målet om å bli en offisiell lokal komité.

 

Starting w/ career development

1st Step: Get a higher Education

My path to getting a higher education was a challenge at first due to some physical restraint (bad eyesight). Between some tumbles and falls I switched from engineering studies to Economics.

 

Today I am happy to say that I honestly enjoy my studies. Not only I found a study that I enjoy doing, it has introduced me some interesting careers and projects throughout my years on campus at UiS.

UiS Ambassador: November 2009 – April 2010

I applied for the job at the end of November if I remember it correct. The advertisement was posted on a bulletin board at campus and it seemed interesting to travel around Norway. There was also the opportunity to put the skills that I have learned from AIESEC into use, including the challenge of doing something with marketing. So I went to an interview, which turned out to be an almost 30 minute interview. The conversation was comfortable, the questions more or less expected however the interviewers were nice people, which was for me an important factor

Not too long after the interview I found out that I got the job. Then together with the other ambassadors we went to a job training and even a photoshoot (This picture is one of the results. The photographer made me look good. Thank you!)

This January I will be holding presentations in some highschools around Norway. Hopefully I will succeed in attracting some new students to study here in Stavanger.

I enjoy being a  student at the University of Stavanger (UiS). Firstly because the facilities at campus are a good combination of comfort and modern/contemporary design. Secondly the people are friendly and there are plenty of opportunities for students like, sports, student organizations and other recreations. Also the university has a good cooperation with the local industry, which show on the annual showcase of companies during an event held by the civil engineer students. Also the local industry supports UiS by providing instruments used in the local industry, which is quite important for those that study engineering, seeing as Stavanger is the Oil & Energy Capital of Norway. The SIS (Studentsamskipnaden i Stavanger) also supports the growth and improvement of the student environment by providing financial support given that there is good documentation off course.

The Stavanger city is quite vibrant, if I may say. I find it just about the right size. It is international, yet it has this romantic feel of a city near the coast. The architecture is a combination of both old and new, which highlightens more the value and presence of the young and growing student culture. Stavanger was also a European cultural capital in 2008, resulting in a growing interest for more culture onwards. There are several tourist attractions unique to this region as well, like for example, the Domkirke, the Old City, Kjeragbolten, Lysefjorden and Prekestolen, just to mention a few. I have personally hiked Prekestolen and I have to say that considering the amount ot time I invested in climbing the slippery stairs and the mass of people I passed along the way, the view at the top was definitely worth it. It was almost as if the gods of the sky knew that we reached the top, because upon our arrival the sky cleared and the sun come out. Then on our way down off course it poured again

I recommend to study in UiS for those who want to have a comfortable tempo of their student life. The sessions at the university are given by some of the reknowned people within their respectable fields, and the pace of studying is quite comfortable. If you have a good discipline of studying, you can enjoy your time here. The city allows you good access to all the facilities available, from shopping centre, to entertainment venues, and all in good reasonable time and value. The city is aiming for a good development, both within culture and the energy industry, however it also gives plenty of space for those who wants to find their place in life.

3rd Step: Several part time jobs…

Juggling with my Dream

Today has been a long day as usual. Luckily this early morning I had some time to sleep in a little bit more than the “usual”. I got up at 9, hit the shower, had a decent breakfast and went to the university. Then I had an apointment with an aquaintance and went to my only class for today: production management. So far my impression about this subject is that it is fun. This is the first subject by far that I think I can really have fun studying.

 

Then came the doubt. Will I have time to study? When I get thoughts like this one, I try not to think: It’s impossible”, “I don’t have time” or “It will never work”, because if I do I know for a fact that it will be “impossible”. I believe that rather on focusing on the why, I should instead focus on the how. Now this is where I should review my know-how on making things happen.

 

There are 7 days a week, 24 hours a day and 60 minutes in an hour. This is a fact. Although I wish sometimes there could have been more hours day. Then again do I really need more time, or do I justwant more time? What’s the difference? Well I think sometimes it is easier to wish for more of something, especially when you think you are lacking it, simply because it is easier to wish. Also if you wish for something and you don’t get it, you can put the blame somewhere else aside from yourself. Take for example time or money.

 

There are 7 days a week, 24 hours a day and 60 minutes in an hour. This is a fact. A normal week for me this january has been so far a mix of travelling, studying, AIESEC work, UiS-ambassador-job and researching for CCPro. My Mondays are packed with lectures, so I don’t have much time to read. Although to my surprise I still find time to blog… Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays are more flexible. The weekends are now, for a change, available unless I am put on duty at my part-time job at a bar downtown.

 

Due to my recent travelling and work lately, time seems to have passed me by, not swiftly, but at a speed of light. Thankfully, due to my painstakingly hard work from December, I have results to show in AIESEC. However I am not completely satisfied at how my time is being used. Off course I am getting things done. I am having fun doing my activities but there is still something that seems a bit off. I sense some randomness in my schedule and I don’t like it. My boyfriend tells me I am a control freak. Now I don’t acknowledge that because I only try my best to keep things organized. Does this sound like an excuse?

 

There are 7 days a week, 24 hours a day and 60 minutes in an hour. This is a fact and I like it like that. I do want to have more time. 24 hours a day is just about right for me. I know for a fact that if there were more hours in a day, I would either work myself to exhaustion or simply get lazy. I do not wish to control everything that is about to happen within a minute. What I want to achieve is to attain a sense of flow in my activities and a sense of meaning. That each of my action contributes to what I want to achieve at the end of the year.

 

Fall 2008 – new course, new stud. org…

Membership in AIESEC I first become an AIESEC member back in September 2008. The semester have just started and we had some visitors that held a presentation about AIESEC during class. The fact that it was an international organization was most interesting to me, including the opportunity to learn about leadership, local opportunities and learning. I signed up right away not really knowing what to expect. Then I was invited to come to a cabin trip. My first reaction was doubt. A cabin trip? Then it turned out to be a local induction seminar which main purpose was to give a detailed presentation of AIESEC, it’s history, values and purpose. It turned out to be very interesting and I learned a lot just from those 2 days and 2 nights. The location was in a Red-Cross Cabin that AIESEC UiS rented and the company was very good as well. A surprise to us all during that seminar was that the curren president of the AIESEC International joined us due to his visit connected to a local event for the cultural capital of Stavanger 2008.

I got my first introduction about AIESEC and the opportunities that lied within the organization. The main activities for members were being active in several teams like: communication, corporate relations, talent management, exchange and finance. It was all very interesting however I was first assigned to the communication team where I have later on learned on how to make a communication plan and how to use various media channels to promote a message. My passion though lied in organizing and leading events. I love gathering people and doing something fun. Not too long after I became a member I was assigned to hold a welcoming party for the first intern in AIESEC UiS. See this is the core of AIESEC: exchange and leadership. AIESEC runs like a business where our product is the learning experience and job opportunities abroad. The members learn how to run a business, including all the runs and shots. Product development, marketing, leadership and management, project development and all. I have a lot both my being in groups and working individually. However there has been nothing more exciting and enjoyable other than participating in conferences, both national and international.

My first conference was Excel in Bergen at 2008. It was a national conference where I first got introduced about how AIESEC’s organizational structure and procedures. Also this is where I met other AIESECers from other norwegian universities from Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim. I mingled with a lot of people, solved tasks and excercises with many students just like me. The conference also had some guests from companies like CTI Coaching and Yara. The companies presented their companies and opportunities for students and newly graduated students within their companies. Everyone on the conference learned a little about coaching, leadership in an international company, and other useful practical skills that can be used both in AIESEC and personal life. During this conference I also got the honour and pleasure of receiving  the most proactive delegate award. To this day it still amazes me and I can not express my gratitude for having the opportunity to be recognized for my curiousity and learning with and from others. I have to admit that if I were to make a report about the things that were on the conference agenda, the result would be a mini book. The memories and learning from that time still lingers in my mind and I believe that it will take some more time before I completely digest the information.

After going to a national conference and experiencing the spirit, the company, the diverse environment and huge learning possibilities I yearned to experience more. See more. Learn more. So I went to an international conference in Malta, WeGrow, in  2008. The conference focus was to promote AIESEC growth on an international level with a good dosage of personal development. It was almost the same as the EXCEL conference in Bergen, just that this is on a grander scale. The conference had around 150 delegates, perhaps even 200 including the several teams running the conference. We visited a university, held a global village, to share food, culture and stories of different countries from around the globe to both local students and members. There were sessions, team and individual excercises, an official dinner and 2 theme parties. The schedule for the conference was so dense and packed that it seemed nearly impossible to run. However it all happened. Even though there were some glitches and delays now and then, the conference sailed  by smoothly and everyone had a memorable stay. During the conference I gathered a lot of new friends. Staying in a hotel together with all other AIESECers gave us all a good opportunity to get to know each other. I still have contact with the people that I have met from that conference. Among other things I also learned about leadership and management, exchange processes within AIESEC, and how to contact companies. There was a huge leak of information throughout the whole conference and I could barely keep hold of all the data, but the experience is something that I will never forget.