Klaudia Brzywcy, member of AEGEE-Gdańsk since November 2013, was elected Member of the Month of May. Crazy about healthy lifestyle, she is studying Dietetics and Nutrition at the Medical University of Gdańsk, transforming her hobby in a future job. Also passionate about sport, cooking, cinema and fashion, she organized a Health4Youth day event in Gdańsk attended by almost 150 participants.
The AEGEEan: Why and how did you joined AEGEE?
Klaudia: I just moved in Gdańsk from my hometown Tczew and I finally had some more time (without spending 3 hours a day on a train) to use my energy creatively. I always liked some additional activities and I yearned for it during my studies, especially because students organizations just don’t have appeal at Medical Uni. I never gave up so I had to find another option. I met once some AEGEEans accidentally, and they informed me about the organization. I decided to try and here I am.
The AEGEEan: What is AEGEE for you?
Klaudia: AEGEE is a possibility for prosperity [she laugh]. I can be open-minded, I’ve learned a lot and I’m still learning. AEGEE gave me a chance to challenge myself and I really appreciate it, cause right now I know that I can do much more than I expected. And the most important thing: I met there really amazing people and I enjoy spending time with them, at the party or working- it doesn’t matter.
The AEGEEan: You were nominated because of your dedication to organizing a Health4Youth day event in Gdansk. What was it about?
Klaudia: The event was kind of open education for students in three different cities (Gdańsk, Gdynia and Sopot). We involved professional lecturers and prepared conferences about healthy lifestyle, sport and nutrition. I was very proud that we could offer our participants not only knowledge, but also additional activities (all of them were for free) like tasty meal from slow food restaurant BIOWAY and professional Body Composition Test. Our guests were very excited. It turned out to be a huge success and we were able to attract over 140 participants.
The AEGEEan: You were able to find a lot of patronage for this event. How did you manage?
Klaudia: How did I managed? I wasn’t alone. I built an extra motivated, hard working and incredibly positive team- those people helped me a lot. I have to mention here the FR responsible, Agata Kolenda, and the PR-responsible, Małgosia Więcław. The girls worked incredibly hard and convinced patrons and sponsors to support us.
The AEGEEan: What are your tips for other AEGEE members to organize events? What have you learned organizing this project?
Klaudia: My tip, what I find most important for organizing AEGEEan events is: find something you love, something that really interests you and that’s the perfect topic for your event. When you believe that something matters and you are enthusiastic, you can easily “infect” other people with your passion and work with a smile. I’ve lerned many usefull things during the preparation of the H4Y event.
From this experience I’ve learned a lot: how to manage people, how to negotiate with them, how to organize time, how many coffees you can drink maximally. But I also lerned a lot of things about myself. Right now I can see that I can really cope well with stress and I love the thrill of emotions when you have to figure out something right now. The lesson is: when I want, I can! And one more tip: Never drink more than seven coffees!
The AEGEEan: How did you keep people motivate to work on the project? But more important, how did you keep yourself motivated?
Klaudia: I was very, very enthusiastic, that’s why I had no problem with motivation. Healthy nutrition is my hobby and my future job. I believe I can help people with my education and I find it truly important. In addition I received a lot of good energy from my team. That was the best kick into action. A good manager, in order to motivate people, should work hard. To give an example, I have good memory and I use it to remind every task to everyone everyday.
The AEGEEan: What are your next projects?
Klaudia: That’s a hard question! I don’t know yet, but I think that soon AEGEE-Gdańsk will be one of the healthiest locals in AEGEE. Keep your eyes open, I think that Health4Youtht will visit Gdańsk again.
Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Venezia