Interview with Annika Hanisch

ANNIKA HANISCH, LC Ljubljana, VP OGX

If you met yourself the day you joined AIESEC, what would you say to your younger self? Why?

Right decision! It is time to start challenging yourself and to step out of your comfort zone! Do not be afraid it is going to be an amazing and challenging experience!

What does AIESEC mean to you?

AIESEC for me is mainly a platform where I can develop myself as well as be actively engaged with developing others! It is also a first step towards my career. But it is way more! It’s family, friends, and a group of people who are striving for the same vision, mission and values!

Which AIESEC value you think represents you best? Why?

Definitely Living Diversity. Living in diversity for me indicates to interact with different cultures, share different beliefs, values and traditions. In AIESEC Ljubljana we are working with people from many different cultures and countries. I extremely enjoy listening to different views and perspectives and then developing new ideas together!

Which skills did you develop/ improve in AIESEC?

I definitely improved my public speaking skills, organizational skills as well as leadership skills. The great thing is, that you are constantly developing and improving yourself! In a professional as well as in a personal way!

How did AIESEC help you to recognise your strengths and weaknesses?

I think it is really hard to pinpoint that. What I can say is, that I mainly developed together with my team and my members. They are the ones that made me aware of the areas that I still need to improve, as well as those in which I already managed to gain a lot of knowledge and experiences.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years and how did AIESEC contribute to this?

In 5 years I see myself not in a certain country. My goal is it to get to know as many different cultures and countries as I can. AIESEC gives me the opportunity to do so. Before I settle down, I want to make sure I gained as many experiences as possible and get to know even more amazing AIESECers.

What was the biggest challenge you overcame in AIESEC?

One of the biggest challenges for me was not being prepared at all for my VP position. During my application I was convinced, I already gained most of my knowledge during my term as a member. When I finally became VP OGX, I realized how many things I was not aware of, I realized how much it takes to become a leader. I overcame this challenge mainly with the help of my team, AIESEC in Ljubljana, as well as AIESEC Slovenia. Most important for me was, not to lose my motivation. Therefore the biggest part of my motivation was my OGX team, that was working together with me to overcome the difficulties.

How does AIESEC help people see the world differently?

For me, the most important thing is, to enable students to go abroad, volunteer or work. I believe, that working in a multinational environment, with people from all over the world, broadens you perspective immense. By providing young people with any kind of AIESEC experience, may it be through internships or by becoming a member, we enable them to get in contact with different people and cultures which will help them to start seeing the world from another perspective.

How do you think other people change when they experience AIESEC?

For me, the most important thing is, that I, together with my team, enable students to go abroad, volunteer or work. I believe that working in a multinational environment, with people from all over the world, broadens you perspective immense. By providing young people with any kind of AIESEC experience, may it be through internships or by becoming a member, we enable them to get in contact with different people and cultures from all over the world.

How do you think AIESEC contributes to community?

Our organization is aiming to make people aware of the current situations and problems we are facing in today’s society. By providing with leadership experiences, through internships as well as by becoming a member, we believe that we can create Leaders, who have a positive impact on society and the world.

Do you think AIESEC helped you to become more self aware and helped you to become what you want to become?

Yes.

Do you think you can face the challenges better now compering to the time when you started in AIESEC?

Yes, and I am already doing it now. 😛

 

 

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