Guillermo Macia Diaz was also one of the organisers of the Spring Agora Alicante 2011 and a board member of his antenna. He tells us that AEGEE has changed his life completely by easing him to improve English language and to find a work thanks to the contacts he has cultivated inside the students association.
The AEGEEan:Can you tell us about your age, your current studies and your ideal work in the future?
Guillermo: Well, I am an adorable 30 year old guy who is finishing a master’s degree in Renewable Energies while working as an engineer. I am lucky and really happy with my job, but I am not sure about what my ideal job is… Probably being the President of the world, or even the Vice-President, but I don’t like it very much. You know, it is too much fame and I hate that. So I would prefer to work in something where I can help people to save energy and money in their bills, which I am good at. And I also love doing spreadsheets. I know, I am weird.
Why did you decide to join AEGEE?
At that time, in 2009, I didn’t have any interesting plans for summer, so when I heard about the SUs, I didn’t doubt it: I wanted adventures and tried. Fortunately, I wrote the worst motivation letter ever and I was rejected, and I say fortunately because thanks to that I was helper in our SU, living the most stunning days of my life, which changed me, and it was the beginning of everything.
Why did you leave the position as a board member in October 2015?
Simply because it was time to leave. In AEGEE at some point you notice that all the time you are talking about the things of the past, and you think future events are not going to be better than the ones you have already attended. You start to say that “Years ago AEGEE was better”, but it is not. AEGEE is not different at all. It is you who has changed, maybe it is because at some point, I just attend events just to be with my friends and I am not so interested in meeting new people. I do not want to say “I am too old for this”. Maybe I am, but my plans now are to focus on being a great engineer and travelling beyond Europe with my AEGEE selected friends like expensive and VIPs SU [he smiles, ed.].
How are you helping the new generations in your Antenna?
Nowadays, I just write in the mailing list when I see that I can help or when they ask me something. Apart from that, in order to help new generations, you just need to create a strong group of friends in your local, which is the most important thing. Right now they are doing it great by themselves, so now I spend my time being a pain in their asses, which is funnier [he smiles, ed.].
Can you tell us about your feelings in covering the position of President in AEGEE-Alicante?
I am glad of my work. I had enough knowledge (there is not better way to know everything you need about your Antenna than being a secretary, and I was the secretary before being the president). I was obsessed with AEGEE and I had plenty of new ideas. Four years after that, the Antenna keeps working in the way I introduced, so I guess that I did it well.
What has AEGEE given you? Have you improved your language skills with AEGEE?
Have you found a work because you are an AEGEE member?
The right question would be what it has not given me! Thanks to AEGEE I decided to be an Erasmus student (I was not interested before), I have improved in public speaking, online tools, in English (my arch enemy at school). Most importantly, all of my friends are from AEGEE. I am more mature thanks to AEGEE, and I got my job thanks to an AEGEE friend! Everything I have lived in the past seven years has been thanks to AEGEE.
How can you invest energy in keeping your local alive?
When you have had so much responsibility in your Antenna, you just cannot leave it without taking care of it. AEGEE-Alicante is part of me and I would never allow its death.
Have you ever thought to candidate as a member of the Comitè Directeur?
Not really. I have always been skeptical about the European bodies and their goals. European bodies are
for politicians and dreamers, and I am not one of them. If I had been in a European position, I would have tried to change everything, and when I say everything I mean it. I could not do it, I could not have changed all the minds I need to change to get it.
Why do not you organise another Agora or an EPM with your Antenna?
No, please [he laughs, ed.]!! I was part of the team of the Spring Agora Alicante 2011 and it was really hard and I don’t recommend to organise one! Of course, I am glad of what we did there, but when you organise an Agora, you do not have real contact with the participants because there are too many and a lot of them are ungrateful. Of course it is because they do not know all you need to do to organise it but, anyway, you feel more rewarded in a small event.
Written by Matteo Lai, AEGEE-Cagliari