Our Member of the Month award this past July went to Erika Bettin (AEGEE-Venezia), for her outstanding lead of publications such as the Key to Europe 2013/14 and The AEGEEan, and initiatives such as the Election Observation Project. However, there were other nominees in this past month that have done a great job and deserve their story featured in The AEGEEan.
Today we are introducing you to Marta Martínez Moro, current President of AEGEE-Santander. She has been an AEGEE member since July 2012, and since then, she has been unstoppable at the local level. In fact, she was nominated by several La Nave (Spanish-, Portuguese- and French-speaking locals) because “AEGEE-Santander experienced a difficult situation the past few years. Due to some irregularities in the past, they had some debts that needed to be settled up […] and Marta was a key for their success due to her high motivation, perseverance and hard work. For two years, she is being devoted to the antenna (working in all fields -economical, management, administration, human resources) making its recuperation possible and helping to achieve a good financial situation“.
Anna: First of all, please introduce yourself!
Marta: My name is Marta Martinez Moro, I have a degree in Physics at the University of Cantabria and nowadays I am doing an internship in the Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo (UIMP) Information Technology department. Helping people with their request about wifi and computer problems are some of the task I have been bestowed with. In a few months, I will move to Madrid where I will study a Master of Nanophysics.
I joined AEGEE in June 2012 and since then I have been working as Human Resources Responsible motivating people who recently joined to participate in local and European levels. Last year I was elected President of AEGEE-Santander.
How did you find out about AEGEE?
In June 2012, one friend of mine, who was actually a member of AEGEE-Santander, told me about the 5th Anniversary of the local, an event where I could have the opportunity to meet people. It was a fantastic experience. A month later I participated as a helper in the AEGEE-Santander SU and in September I was able to be the Human Resources Responsible of my antenna. I took up the Social Drinks every week again, updated the webside (with the help from Bruno), the Facebook members group and page (we are one of the most liked pages), etc., in order to motivate our members and give them all the necessary information.
You are very much involved and motivated in the local level. What keeps your motivation up?
My motivation comes from the feedback I frequently receive from all the participants of these events. People telling you that you have changed their lives and because so, they would like to get more involved in our projects or activities, is the key to keep you going. Motivating our members is the main object and what we try to keep doing every single day because that is the key which makes AEGEE still successful.
You were nominated because you have been a very important piece for AEGEE-Santander and its recovery from some problems in the past years. What did you do to make the antenna recover?
We motivated our members, let them know what AEGEE is, to organize different kinds of events and try to collaborate with different institutions or companies. Now, AEGEE-Santander is better known in the city of Santander not only for the youth but elder people as well, as we do a lot of different activities around the city. I would like to mention Bruno (our Vice-President) for all his support and help in all our projects. It would not have been possible without his help.
And which are the current and future plans for AEGEE-Santander?
We are doing the Summer University right now which started on the 17th of July. After that we will do the activities we prepared for students, which are open for the students of the University of Cantabria (most of these students are exchange students). We have an event in mind which we have to set on the calendar. On the other hand we are also thinking of organizing another event related with Democracy in Practice but it will take place next year.
Having an upcoming European Planning Meeting (EPM) and Agora so close, do you plan to have any pre-event?
We will definitely organize a pre-event. Santander airport has really good connections to most of the big european cities and we are less than two hours away from Burgos and Oviedo, so we are going to do a pre-event for either the EPM or Agora or both.
You recently became a subcommissioner for La Nave, too. Why did you decide to apply?
I really wanted to move forward, to bring myself a bit further and being a subcommissioner can bring me to that level. I would like to help other antennae. I did realize how important it is to have someone nearby when you are in trouble, someone who can built a link between you and the Network Commissioner.
And how has the experience been so far?
Wonderful. I really love working together with all my colleagues from other antennae. I always do my best at work and I am very pleased with my performance as well.
Which are the AEGEE members that have inspired you the most?
Álvaro Espinosa, Bruno and Pablo Laboreo (AEGEE-Santander) are essentials. Without them, I would not be able to do my best. And also, Carmen María (AEGEE-Alicante). She is a hard-working person and our personalities a very alike.
And do you have any future plans in AEGEE?
At the moment I would like to keep enjoying my experience as a subcommie. That is my idea. I can not predict my future but I can say that I would like to be in AEGEE for a while longer.
Written by Anna Gumbau, AEGEE-Barcelona