The workload of the Comité Directeur can be demanding and they might need some extra help to do their duties. It can happen that open calls are sent out and willing and courageous people join the CD and work for our association. Maria Maris from AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca is one of them, working on communications since October. Her term was extended also for February and we took the occasion to ask her some questions.
The AEGEEan: Please introduce yourself.
Maria: Hey, I am Maria from AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca (hearts, hearts, hearts) or you can also call me Dani, as the Civic Education Working Group does.
Why did you decide to apply for the position of CD assistant?
Last year I finished my bachelor’s studies and decided to take a gap year before my master’s. Until now, I would say it was an amazing idea, because I managed to invest a lot of time in things I enjoy, which means AEGEE too. At the end of summer I was looking at many possibilities of internships and decided to apply for the position of Communications Assistant for the CD. I think it was a great opportunity because the internship is in my field of studies and I was always curious to see how the CD life and experience are.
What was your experience before joining CD as an assistant?
My first experience with AEGEE was the Summer University organised by AEGEE-Istanbul and AEGEE-Skopje in 2014. Afterwards, I slowly started to get more active in AEGEE and last summer I also joined the CEWG.
What are your tasks?
Most of the time I try to help the Communication and Project Director Joanna Pankowska as much as possible. There are always so many things to be done, even very small details that sometimes take quite a while to be done. Mainly, I was taking care of a part of the communications, such as social media, and worked on the ECI-More Than Education. Even though I was just a communications assistant, in the CD, as an assistant, if you wish to also work for other projects or teams, you are free to do so.
Besides these everyday tasks, another task was to cook for the Christmas party that we hosted. What I really liked about it was the moment when all of the people in the house started to prepare for the party, decorating the house and signing carols. Those moments make you feel like home.
What does one typical day in your life in Brussels look like?
Maybe you would expect something super interesting… Sorry, it is quite monotone. You have to go to the office and work. The nice moments of the day are the ones when you take a break from work, go into the kitchen and become sort of a magician trying to cook something very quickly from what you have in the fridge or left-overs. Also, what I love about the CD is that I do not have to attend the board meetings, because they seem to take so long it looks like an eternity. As an assistant, I just have to go for the first 15 minutes, when we update each other on our work. The weekends are more exciting, actually. EU-bodies come for their live meetings and other visitors are in the house. One weekend, we had something like 40 people who entered the house.
Name one good thing in AEGEE and one bad thing.
The best thing are the people. I am so happy and grateful to have met amazing and interesting people in AEGEE.
One bad thing is Tim’s French. Tim, one of CD house renters, improve your French [she smiles, ed.].
Let’s play a game. Describe yourself by using adjectives that start with the letters that compose your name.
Mysterious
Agreeable
Responsible
Intelligent
Awesome
What is next for you?
In February I will be back in Brussels for another month as an assistant and in March I will start another internship in Berlin.
Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona