AIESEC UNDIP - Dimas' Story of His Exchange and Leadership Experience

AIESEC UNDIP - Dimas' Exchange and Leadership Experience

 

AIESEC UNDIP - I knew AIESEC from my brother who is also an AIESECer. My brother said, “If you really want to join an international organization, why don’t you just join AIESEC?”. Then, I tried to join AIESEC in the year of 2007, I failed. I didn’t really care about it at that moment. But in 2008, I really wanted to try to join this organization one more time because I really wanted to have friends from all over the world.  I also wanted to do exchange. So I tried to join AIESEC one more time in 2008, but again, I failed. I was shocked and I also hated AIESEC at that moment. Why didn’t you accept me? I know I’m the one you are looking for! That was my thought. A heart broken thought. Then, I put my dream to become an AIESECer away. I never thought about being an AIESECer afterwards. But in 2009, as I was walking around campus, I saw an AIESEC poster. On that poster, there was a picture of Kremlin, a presidential palace in Russia. I really wanted to go there. That was my dream. I looked for information about it, why they are displaying a picture of Kremlin in their poster.  When I looked at the top of the poster, I saw the words “Global Exchange Program”, but at that moment, I was still angry with AIESEC. 

One day, my boss at the student union, the organization where I worked after I got rejected by AIESEC, sent me as an envoy of that organization to one of the AIESEC events. There, I saw many friends of mine who already became an AIESECer. When I talked to one of them, her name was Fadhil, suddenly without any intention, I asked my friend about how to join that program. When that question came out from my mouth, I didn’t expect that they will answer my question. But the fact was different. My friend was so open to tell me about how to join this program. Then she appointed someone who later became my EP manager, Vera, to show me how to join this program. After she told me everything about this program, I was interested in joining. I decided to come to the selection, fulfill the whole requirement and attended the selection process. There were five applicants at that time. From five of them, they only selected 3 out of five and one of them was me. I still can’t believe when I got the text message from Vera, telling me that I got accepted as an Exchange Participant.

On July 20 2009, I went to Chandigarh for an internship in a rural development project.  I worked with 23 people from 8 different countries and my job was to teach English to the local people there. It was such a life changing experience because through exchange I got so many insight about countries where my friends came from and they broke many stereotypes that I brought from home. Seriously, exchange really can build the understanding between nations because if you go for an exchange, automatically you become an ambassador of Indonesia itself. So, you have an obligation to introduce your country to them and it was shocking when I realized that most of them didn’t know about Indonesia. And after I did some presentations about Indonesia, some of them planned to visit my country. 

Actually after I returned home, I didn’t have a plan to join AIESEC and participate more in AIESEC because I didn’t get what I expected when I was in India. I didn’t get what they promised me back then. But my Vice President of Talent Management at that time Rima offered me an opportunity to become an Organizing Committee of recruitment project. That was my first engagement with AIESEC. After I finished my job as an OC, I said to myself that this is enough. I don’t want to join AIESEC anymore. Because the workload was overwhelming and I wasn’t used to it. But then, my friend invited me to come to Local Committee Conference in AIESEC not long after I finished my recruitment project. I saw so many inspirational people there. One of them is Widy, Local Committee President of AIESEC Surabaya. I was so amazed when she gave her presentation. She made me feel challenged to contribute more in AIESEC. Not long after Local Committee Conference (LCC) there was National Leadership Development Seminar (NLDS) in Jakarta in December 2009. I saw a lot more inspirational people there. If in LCC I saw only one, in NLDS I saw so many of them.  There was a session to become a fictional Member Committee President or fake President of AIESEC Indonesia. I tried to challenge myself to try that one and finally I won. It was so unforgettable and such an amazing experience for me. So after I returned home, I made a promise to myself that I want to contribute more in AIESEC.

After I returned from India, there was a Leadership opportunity to become an Organizing Committee President of Local Committee Conference II. So I decided to apply for that position and I passed the screening. So here I am, finally I could complete my X+L in less than 1 year. I got so much learning in completing my X+L back then. What I got from my exchange was I learned how to get survived even in bitter situations and what I got from my Leadership Role in AIESEC was I learned how to run a project in AIESEC because I have to admit that how AIESEC runs a project is more professional than other student organizations in my campus. I'm so glad that I could take part in that project. After I finished my project, there was another opportunity. This opportunity was much more challenging than before and had more responsibility, which was becoming The Executive Board of AIESEC Local Committee Universitas Diponegoro. Finally I also got elected to become a Executive Board in AIESEC.

Surely, becoming X+L will give you a life changing and unforgettable experience, an experience that you could not find anywhere else but in AIESEC. Complete your X+L experience and feel the changing inside you.

I have lived in my Exchange and Leadership experience. What about you?

AIESECly Yours,