Gloria Llopart is another law student who wants to join the Juridical Commission. She studied in Madrid for her bachelor and has since then been living in Heidelberg (Germany), where she continued working and is currently taking a Masters degree of Law. Besides that, she has been the subcommissioner of Juridical Commissioner Diana Tupchiienko and now is eager to be a JC member herself.
The AEGEEan: Can you tell a bit about yourself? What do you do you for a living? How old are you? Where are you from?
Gloria: I am 25 years old, I come from Barcelona and I have a degree in Law from the University Complutense of Madrid. Since October 2013 I am doing a Master in Law (LL.M) at the Goethe-University Frankfurt. I am also a working student in a multinational corporation at the contract management of the area “Mobility”, where I revise all the contracts between my company and car manufacturers, airlines, hotel groups, etc.
The AEGEEan: How did you learn about AEGEE?
Gloria: My first contact with AEGEE was in 2011, when I was an Erasmus student. I studied the last two semesters of my degree in Heidelberg (Germany). It was there where I learned about AEGEE by participating in all sorts of activities and events that AEGEE-Heidelberg organized. That helped me a lot to become part of the young European community, and that is how I started to truly live Europe.
The AEGEEan: You are Spanish, but you live in Germany, why is this the case?
Gloria: Almost three years ago I did an Erasmus year in Heidelberg, Germany. After that I stayed there because I did an internship in the Human Resources and Labor Law department of a company. When I finished the internship I started a Master in Law (LL.M) in Frankfurt and since last January I am working ifor another company. Living abroad is a unique and a great experience that is really worth it. I love living in Germany and I hope I can stay here some more years!
The AEGEEan: How do you see it as a benefit that you speak several languages?
Gloria: If you want to work on a European or international level you must speak several languages, otherwise you are not going to be able to communicate effectively with the people. In my opinion English is not an asset anymore, because it is supposed that everybody speaks it. To me speaking several languages is the best way to communicate and interact with another person and is essential if you both want to be on an equal footing. It also gives you the key to express yourself with people from different countries. Languages and culture are connected, so the more languages you speak, the more chances you have to learn about new cultures and ways of thinking.
The AEGEEan: What have you learned as a subcommissioner of the Juridical Commission (JC)?
Gloria: As a subcommissioner of the JC I have learned two main things.
Firstly, I became acquainted with the JC and its working method. Thanks to Diana Tupchiienko and Atanas Nachkov and their Knowledge Transfer I have learned about the sources of the JC, its tasks, its communication, etc. The JC has constant tasks that have to be always done and it is very important that its members and its subcommissioners work well together. Second, I have learned how to work in a group which members can only have online meetings. The way you work in the JC is not the same way you work in your antenna, so you have to get used to it.
The AEGEEan: You do not have any experience of attending any AEGEE conferences. How can you assure that you have enough knowledge about AEGEE to be in the Juridical Commission?
Gloria: Being a subcommissioner of the JC has been the best preparation in order to be a member of this commission. The best way to know something is from experience and the position of subcommissioner gives you this first experience. The JC works and communicates constantly with the Comité Directeur, the antennae, the Network Commission, etc., so if you are in the JC, you have a global view of the whole AEGEE.
The AEGEEan: You have also only taken part in Agora Rhein-Neckar as a helper, will you be able to take part in the upcoming future statutory events?
Gloria: Yes, I will be able to participate in the upcoming future events and I really want to do it!
The AEGEEan: You are not a board member, but organize several things in AEGEE-Heidelberg. Can you explain a bit about your tasks?
Gloria: I have arranged all kind of events and activities for students. In particular I was responsible for the “Sprachcafé” (“Language Café”), a weekly meeting where people improve their foreign languages and also teach their native languages. In March 2014 I elaborated a new structure for our antenna that has been implemented in April 2014. The main goal of this new structure is to organize the antenna, so its members can work more motivated and the tasks can be done more productively. Since April 2014 I am the responsible of the group “Workshops and Exchanges”. In this group we want to offer the members of the antenna intern workshops in order to go into AEGEE’s structure in depth. We also want to organize external workshops for all members of AEGEE and exchanges with other antennae.
The AEGEEan: You mention keeping a close relation to the Comite Directeur. Do you have any possibility to specify this?
Gloria: It is essential that the JC and the CD keep maintaining a close and a good relation. They communicate mainly by mail, but in some cases it would be better if we could meet all together, for example once each semester.
The AEGEEan: And how would you like to bring the JC closer to the Network?
Gloria: I would like that the members of AEGEE do not see the JC as an unknown commission. I think that most of the members of AEGEE feel they don’t know a lot about this particular commission. For example, I think they do not see the CIA as a “near” way to solve problems. That is why I think that creating a workshop about the main tasks of the JC or creating a “simple-fast CIA” with the most and useful answers would help the members.
Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-Zaragoza