Réka Salamon joined AEGEE back in 2012. Since then, she has worked with several antennas, organised and took part in dozens of events. The AEGEE Member of the year two years in a row (2017 and 2018) tells about how AEGEE changed her life and how privileged she is to call Europe her home.

1.    What does it mean to you to be the double winner of the AEGEE-Member of the Year award?

I have reached this point in my AEGEE career path when I am glad people even remember me. I am really touched by the warm words (I said this last year as well, I think), but I truly believe there is no “one member of the year”. AEGEE grows thanks to the tireless work of hundreds of active volunteers – it just so happens that some of the faces become more popular than others. My white hair might help to stand out these days.

2.    What is the most heartwarming experience you have had in AEGEE that you always remember?

Again, cannot have had only one. Let me take us down in a short memory lane…

I remember I visited the AEGEE house for the very first time exactly 7 years ago, in February 2012. It was the old AEGEE house in Schaerbeek (the bad part of town), that was the day the Hungarian Airlines went bankrupt. But I was adamant about going to Brussels and arrived 12 hours later than planned and spent a lovely awkward weekend with CD members for a non-existent PRC meeting. The heartwarming part was the dinner with all CD members, listening to the stories and that wishing one day I would have so many stories as well. I do now!

I remember my first trip to Italy, it was NWM Salerno. I remember the hospitality and amazing food and just all-around feeling of falling in love with the country. The country, the sea, the feeling for life, the people – but not any particular person. Throughout all these years, the Rainbow has always been close to my heart and I cannot wait for Agora Salerno!

I remember the last heart-warming experience at the closing plenary of Agora Istanbul. I do not remember exactly every detail or what I said in my last speech as part of the organiser team, but I remember the epic group hug when I suddenly just got surrounded by a flood of red t-shirts and I could not stop crying. I then had to pull myself together and watch over people surviving the epic boat party on the last night!

I also remember that the most heart-warming experiences happened not on big stages but in private talks with AEGEEans; every single time we got to that level of confidence and honesty, vulnerable to share a story and a secret, and be in that moment to really understand each other. I often wonder, amazed, how there is no scientific process to this “open mind” process, because every single conversation opens your mind a bit more.

3.    Do you remember your first year at AEGEE and why initially you decided to join the family?

I attended a Summer University information evening because one of my friends wanted to go. She ended up not joining, and I still have never been to a Summer University. I joined because the presentation included AEGEE’s ties to the European institutions and I was interested in it. I remember the first weeks after joining, I attended meetings of board members of AEGEE-Debrecen, who were revising the statutes of the organisation. Remember, all the fun people were at SU and I did not go. I think the board members were also wondering why am I joining for the boring part – but I just got hooked on the promise of a new discovery and wanted to learn everything, everything that there is to know about AEGEE. This habit followed through all my years.

I remember my first Network Meeting in Hamburg in 2012, and as I often say to AEGEEans: it is your first international event abroad that will truly make you fall in love with AEGEE. The Network Meeting was partly about topics I didn’t understand (Strategic Plan and Action Agenda, say what?), but it also had a parallel full day of PR training where I learnt a great deal and really enjoyed it. I also enjoyed the intercultural exchange part a lot (not in the way you think!)

4.    You have already been in AEGEE for a long time and organized a lot of nice events. How do you imagine your future?

I am moving into alumna status. People don’t believe me when I say it. Maybe because I am living in Brussels and I happen to live 5 minutes away from the AEGEE house. For real, my time to contribute with ideas on internal affairs is done, my time to leave my mark is over. I would truly like to be the story-telling alumna who is also a source of information when the newbies request it – I did read a lot in the archives of the organisation, trying to uncover AEGEEs magic since 1985. But my story-telling role is more important, therefore, expect more sentences to start with “I remember…”

I am also currently working for the  World Organisation of the Scout Movement. I did not stray far from the youth organisation world, but I have the opportunity to work with a new one, a global educational movement that happens to be so similar, yet so different from AEGEE.

5.    Describe what AEGEE means to you in three words.

You mean like I did here? This one went really well. Also brings up a lot of fun memories.

6.    You have worked in many places previously. Which AEGEE antenna is your favourite one?

That is not fair to ask. I love AEGEE-Debrecen for giving me the opportunity to discover AEGEE on the first place, I love AEGEE-Aachen for a lot of great memories I have had with the polar bears, and I love AEGEE-Istanbul for an unforgettable summer in Turkey and the craziest project I have ever done. Yes, Agora Istanbul 2018.

7.    What advice would you give to young or new AEGEE-ans?

Explore. Dream. Discover. I am super cliché but take a moment to analyze the true meaning of those words. Explore: yourself – take on challenges, be brave, because this is the way to grow as a person. Dream: follow AEGEE’s vision for a borderless Europe – practice empathy to your friends who might not have the same opportunity as you, dream of a world of equality and also work hard on making it happen! Discover: Europe – our continent is truly magical and every new discovery will bring you not just closer to understanding, but also closer to appreciating that we live in a time of peace and prosperity (for the most part) and we are privileged to call Europe our home.

Now that the Comité Directeur 2014 – 2015 has been elected and was already introduced to you, it’s time for the Comité Directeur 2012 – 2014 to make new plans for their future. The AEGEEan spoke to Luis, Lucille, Anna, Miguel, Pavel, Kathrin, Beáta and Pavel to ask about these plans, but also to give them a chance to reflect on their time spent in Brussels.

Luis Alvarado Martinez (President)

The AEGEEan: What are your plans for the time after the Comité Directeur?

Luis: I have been accepted to study for nine months in the College of Europe with a full scholarship, so I will go back to do a Master, which I didn’t have before. What I will do in between those studies is still unknown. I plan to keep being involved in other big civil society platforms such as the European Youth Forum and to be engaged in different participatory and political processes too.

The AEGEEan: Are you planning to stay involved in AEGEE?

Luis: Well, I have been promised an invitation to enter the newly refreshed Les Anciens. I have no plan to be actively engaged in the network. As me and my Comité Directeur have always been saying, the active involvement, political processes and active development of AEGEE should remain in the hands of the young, fresh and motivated generation. This way, AEGEE is able to ensure a high level of energy, creativity and idealism in its work.

The AEGEEan: What will you miss most about being in the Comité Directeur?

Luis: The laughs in the office, good moments with members of your team, the results of your work, people thanking you for what you do, the never ending brainstorming of ideas and initiatives and the satisfactional feeling of getting a good job done.

The AEGEEan: What is something you probably won’t miss?

Luis: Lack of privacy, a messy house, the full time working weekends, collecting bills and the unnecessary stress and drama. [he smiles]

Lucille Rieux (Secretary General) 

The AEGEEan: What are your plans for the time after the Comité Directeur?

Lucille: First of all, resting and taking things slow for a month or two. After that, I’m also looking into jobs in Brussels, as I’d like to stay here a bit longer. After doing EVS and two years of Comité Directeur, I believe it’s time to find a real job that will enable me to get some money to plan things out in my life. I plan to travel too, and in a longer perspective I want to discover and experience different kind of organisations working with creative innovation and young people, which could inspire me to create something on my own too.

The AEGEEan: Are you planning to stay involved in AEGEE?

Lucille: This is a question I cannot answer yet. I won’t cut the link right away, and I could imagine working on a project or in a position I really enjoy, but at the same time, I also feel the need to open a new page in my life, and get to know other associations and other forms of engagement in the civil society.

The AEGEEan: What will you miss most about being in the Comité Directeur?

Lucille: I will probably miss the flexibility and work style of this CD, which gave us space for creativity and leadership. It’s great to work on a variety of topics and also to be able to go from thematic work, to an official meeting and leaving for a training the same week. I’ll probably miss working with the six other specimens [she laughs] that spent those two years with me.

The AEGEEan: What is something you probably won’t miss?

Lucille: Writing Comité Directeur minutes [she smiles]

Anna Gots (Financial Director)

The AEGEEan: What are your plans for the time after the Comité Directeur?

Anna: Definitely to stay in Brussels: find a job here, maybe study a bit more, master my Dutch skills, engage in other voluntary activities… I have plenty of options in fact [she smiles]. In general the plan for the next year is to slow down the level of stress and responsibility if possible, make more room for creativity and more time for dreaming and developing myself.

The AEGEEan: Are you planning to stay involved in AEGEE?

Anna: For now I see myself solely as a supporting or advising person for the new generation, only if asked of course. The general feeling is that my time has been, and it’s time to leave a space for the new leaders and new dreamers. But who knows, maybe I can still find some challenges in AEGEE, big enough to keep me active!

The AEGEEan: What will you miss most about being in the Comité Directeur?

Anna: The amazing team, flexibility and diversity of my working days and being ‘boss’ at the Agora [she laughs].

The AEGEEan: What is something you probably won’t miss?

Anna: Cleaning the house, travelling with Ryanair in a big group, the registration desk at Agora and reporting General Subvention [she laughs].

Kathrin Renner (Vice President and External Relations Director)

The AEGEEan: What are your plans for the time after the Comité Directeur?

Kathrin: I’m taking a break for a couple of weeks, and then most probably I will start a Master in Brussels and look for a part time job at the same time. I would like to develop myself into a bit of a different direction though, more business oriented, collect a couple of new experiences and see a different environment.

The AEGEEan: Are you planning to stay involved in AEGEE?

Kathrin: I will probably stick around for a couple of months in the beginning to support the new Comité Directeur whenever they ask for it. Also, a lot of my friends are members in AEGEE and I will miss seeing those faces regularly. At the same time, I will probably not take any active position anymore. It’s time to make room for the new generation and start a new phase in my life [she smiles].

The AEGEEan: What will you miss most about being in the Comité Directeur?

Kathrin: My six team mates, because even if we fought and hated each other at times, in the end they are very precious to me, and I will miss especially our stupid jokes and bickering. Also, of course, being able to shape our own ideas into plans and implement them, developing and experimenting with different strategies, setting our own agenda and being our own bosses.

The AEGEEan: What is something you probably won’t miss?

Kathrin: Collecting bills, sharing the house with up to twenty people a weekend and not having my own space, and being a slave of my inbox.

Miguel Gallardo Albajar (Projects Director) 

The AEGEEan: What are your plans for the time after the Comité Directeur?

Miguel: I only know one thing for sure: I want to stay in Brussels. It’s the first time I want to stay in a city after my planned period finishes, so I will follow this impulse of settling down, which is surprising my family and friends. I like the city and its culture, I have a circle of friends and more, so now I just have to find a job and a new apartment.

The AEGEEan: Are you planning to stay involved in AEGEE?

Miguel: Well, I do not want a traumatic break up, but I will not have an imporatnt position anymore. But, it’s quite likely that I will be trying to be useful in one or two teams that are struggling now.

The AEGEEan: What will you miss most about being in the Comité Directeur?

Miguel: Having an overview of all that happens in such a great organisation is a feeling I love, and I have no idea if I will have the same kind of role in my future job. Also, being in all those meetings where important things are discussed, and decided, is thrilling. I will also miss living in the AEGEE house (can you believe it?), with all its randomness and the surprise invitations for cakes and dinner from other team members. And the ritual of watching Game of Thrones in the basement.

The AEGEEan: What is something you probably won’t miss?

Miguel: Filling the reimbursement forms for my expenses. I did it for three years during my research in Morocco and now two years in Brussels. I am fed up with collecting bills.

Beáta Matuszka (Network and Human Resources Director)

The AEGEEan: What are your plans for the time after the Comité Directeur?

Beáta: I am currently looking for a job in the corporate world, mainly to get experience and preferably start my own business after that or go back to the civil sphere. But I am already thinking about new crazy adventures, such as taking part in the Transsiberian Express TSU next year or just generally discovering everything which is outside of Europe. (I have never really left our old continent [she smiles])

The AEGEEan: Are you planning to stay involved in AEGEE?

Beáta: I still have some unfinished business and I would like to be a bit involved in one project, but definitely not with the same intensity like in the past. The friendships I had during these years won’t fade with the end of my active years, I will definitely keep in contact with my friends all around Europe.

The AEGEEan: What will you miss most about being in the Comité Directeur?

Beáta: This crazy lifestyle which was way cooler than my Erasmus, this unbelievable experience which is barely comparable to anything else, the never-ending trips, the possibility to meet amazingly enthusiastic and inspiring people on a weekly basis…  I think I will only realize what I am going to miss once I moved back home.

The AEGEEan: What is something you probably won’t miss?

Beáta: I would say the weather in Brussels, but in the past months it was better than anywhere else in Europe, so I can’t really complain.

Pavel Zborník (European Institutions and Communications Director) 

The AEGEEan: What are your plans for the time after the Comité Directeur?

Pavel: Quite simple for me: I finished my study two years ago, so I will work unless I win in a lottery. I don’t limit myself in terms of places, you never know where life will take you.

The AEGEEan: Are you planning to stay involved in AEGEE?

Pavel: I think and feel my time in AEGEE is over. I might stick around for a few more months, but then it is time to move on, make a clean cut and look for new adventures.

The AEGEEan: What will you miss most about being in the Comité Directeur?

Pavel: Being my own boss and having the flexibility to decide what to do when or not do it at all.

The AEGEEan: What is something you probably won’t miss?

Pavel: Hypocrisy, egoism and lack of identification of members with the organisation.

 Written by Svenja van der Tol, AEGEE-Nijmegen