Introducing: the 2009-2010 AIESEC US MC

Hey AIESEC!


It's a been a long and exhausting road for Missy and myself these past few weeks. We received 41 applications to join our MC team for the upcoming term. Aside from reading all 41 applications, we've spent almost 15 hours alone on phone interviews along with Izaz, Nisha, and Kyle joining in for a few. BUT all for good reason! We are confident that we have selected the best of the best to form an incredible team.

It with great honor that I announce to the nation and the world the MC team for AIESEC United States for the 2009/2010 term!

....Drum roll please.........


Birte Kloppenburg
VP Operations
Birte is an experienced AIESECer from Germany. She most recently ran for MCP of Germany after her experience on the National Support Team. She has experience in most realms of AIESEC from TM to OGX to ICX and has strengths in training and process management. She is also very process and detail oriented and passionate about AIESEC. I am confident in her abilities to take on responsibilities on the MC.

Peter McDermott
VP Talent Management
Peter is also a seasoned AIESECer. He has been a trainee in Thailand working on tsunami relief efforts, an LCP in Australia, and is currently on the Czech MC as VP OGX. He is very motivated, articulate, and has a clear vision of how to bring Talent Management into AIESEC US with an understanding of our realities and challenges. I believe he will be a great asset for our team and a great role model for the LCs.

Roxie Ren
VP Outgoing Exchange
Roxie is the current MCP of AIESEC Mainland of China. She is results driven and shows exceptional vision for outgoing exchange for AIESEC US. She is detail oriented and very reliable and has shown she can adapt to interact effectively with American students. I'm confident in her ability to set high goals and achieve them.

Colin McLeod
VP LC Sales
Colin is a US AIESECer now, originally from Scotland. He just finished his term as LCP at San Jose and was one of the delegates at the past International Congress in Brazil. Previously, he was a trainee from the UK to the US. Colin has professional sales skills from outside of AIESEC and will bring in a lot of professionalism and perspective to our LCs. He also is incredibly knowledgeable in terms of IT. I believe Colin will empower our LCs to create more incoming exchange and take ownership over their success as best as anyone could.

Andrew King
VP Business Development
Andrew is another US AIESECer who also just finished his LCP term at AIESEC Madison, was a trainee in China and also a delegate at International Congress in Brazil. Most recently, Andrew was a candidate for MCP of AIESEC US. His in-depth understanding of AIESEC's sales concepts and direction is also outstanding. I am confident Andrew has all the skills necessary to increase AIESEC US's national sales contracts this term and help move AIESEC US forward.

Shannon Guy
VP Delivery and Quality Management
Shannon Guy is a US AIESECer from AIESEC Yale. She is a former LCP and did a traineeship in 2005 in Brazil. She also attended International Congress in Brazil. What is most noticeable about Shannon is her passion, her enthusiasm and her drive. She is a brilliant individual and brings a lot to the table for this term and I am confident in her success on the MC.


Let's give a huge congratulations and welcome to our new team members who will be spending a year working to help move AIESEC US forward for the 2009/2010 term! You can find their emails copied in this message. Feel free to reach out and get to know them!


Yay for the new team!!!


Take care,


Tiffany Curtiss
MCPe 2009/2010
AIESEC US

ZAPS! AIESEC GT Recruitment

Congrats to AIESEC GT for an awesome recruitment round! See below a note from GT's LCP, Amira Choueiki:

Hey Y'all!

SOOO i just thought it would be fun to let you all know (and we're pretty proud!) that AIESEC GT just finished up it's most successful recruitment EVER!

We had about 140 applicaitons, interviewed 100, and now have 45 new members and 18 on our exchange track!

Using new methods for recruitment, including designing our very own I am and AIESECer campaign posters with GTers, the buzz on campus was awesome and everyone was asking us about it. Even people who didn't apply would come up to me and be like hey, you're in AIESEC, what's that all about? ITS A PRETTY SWEET FEELING!

Melissa McCoy, our VP Campus Relations, headed up the tremendous effort. Her email is melissa.l.mccoy@gmail.com. We also had an incredible orientation, lead by Kate Wharton, our VP Talent Management, who's email is Kwharton3@gatech.edu.

If you want their materials, tips, and best case practices feel free to email them, they got tons! I know many of you are mid recruitment, so best of luck to you all! Yay for new AIESECers!!!

LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Amira

Business Development Q&A Sessions

This semester's Business Development Q&A Calls will take place on

Thursdays at 5 PM Eastern Time.

Contact your LCP or VPBD for call in details.
Please bring any and all questions and concerns you may have into these discussions, and I will do all that I can to support you. If you have any in depth questions, or if you have some specific training you'd like for me to present on a call, please let me know ahead of time so that I'm able to properly prepare.

I look forward to working with you all!

Kyle

"I am an AIESECer 2.0"

http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/15974

This is a project from our friends in Rotterdam (AIESEC International for those that don't know). 

Many of you have seen the "I am an AIESECer" stories (if not, check out the wiki on my@ and the facebook group for samples).  Check it out and vote on it!


(Thanks for the tip Preston!)

Events: AIESEC Madison 50th Anniversary!

HEY NATION! Come help AIESEC-Madison celebrate its 50th Anniversary! We would like to invite you to join us in celebrating 50 years around the world and back again. The gala will take place at the UW-Madison Memorial Union on Saturday February 28th from 6:30-9:00pm in the Tripp Commons room. It will include dinner, dessert, and presentations. No mater where in the world AIESEC has taken you, come back to where it all began to join us in this joyous occasion! We welcome all current AIESEC Members and alumni. To RSVP contact Claire Marcus at claire.s.marcus@gmail.com by Feb. 1st. @ly, MADISON (F*** Yeah! Living the dream!)



Click below for the Invitation, Itinerary, and Accommodation recommendations for this event:

/Madison%20Accommodations.pdf

/AIESEC%2050th%20schedule.pdf

/AIESEC%2050th%20Invitation.pdf

RoKs: West Coast

Don't wait, space IS LIMITED!

West Coast RoKS is a regional conference for AIESEC members on the West Coast to come together and learn about AIESEC, network with friends, and PARTY!

It will be held in the La Quinta Inn and Suites in Thousan Oaks, CA http://www.lq.com/lq/properties/propertyProfile.do?ident=LQ2043&propId=2043


For any questions, please contact your Organizing Committee President Katrina from AIESEC San Fran!

RoKS is $85.00

Here are the sites:

1) Registration Site: http://aiesecroks.wufoo.com/forms/aiesec-west-coast-spring-roks-2009/

2) Payment Site: https://secure.aiesecus.org/quickpay/pay.aspx?program=65
Space IS limited, so reserve your spot as soon as possible!

Here is the link to apply to be a Faci! Deadline is Feb 8th.

http://rockypoint08asu.wufoo.com/forms/west-coast-roks-spring-2009/

Latest Staff Profile: Missy Shields!

Name: Missy Shields

What do you for AIESEC US: President of AIESEC US

Education info (where, what did you study, year you graduated): Georgia Tech, BS in Science Technology and Culture, graduated in 2003 :)

Childhood Dream: To own a sandwich shop

Proudest moment: hmm...i need to think about this one

Motto you live by: Live Life

If you could go anywhere in the world tomorrow, where would it be and why: Sudan...I want to see what life is like in Sudan in the midst of the terrible conflict and to meet the amazing people that have overcome immense hardship

Guilty pleasures: french fries with honey mustard, pedicures, and leg massages

What inspires you: teamwork

One thing you can't live without: my planner

Heroes: My dad

Dream job: to own a school teaching young people to be entrepreneurs

RoKs Conferences Spring 2009

Regional Kickoff Seminars (RoKS)

The next opportunity to go to an amazing conference is just around the corner. Preparation is in full swing for the spring RoKS conferences happening in February so loom out for registration emails soon. The dates of each regions conferences are:

Rowdies East – 13^th to 15^th February

North East Beast – 20^th to 22^nd February

Rowdies West – 20^th to 22^nd February

West Coast – 20^th to 22^nd February

MoTxCoKs – 27^th to 1^st March

SoCo – 27^th to 1st

MC Applications and Process

So as you may have heard we have received a staggering 41 applications for the AIESEC US MC 09-10. Tiffany and Missy are working hard along with the rest of the MC to conduct the selection process as outlined in the compendium. Keep your eyes peeled for announcements of your new MC at the end of this month.

Chinese New Year Celebrations

This Lunar New Year Festival is the most important holiday in China and lasts for 15 days starting January 26th, 2009.

History of the celebration:

The year 2009 is the year of the Ox. The legend states that a mythological beast, Nian (meaning "year"), preyed on people the night before each New Year. After successfully being driven into the woods, the festivities begun and red lanterns and decorations were displayed to keep the beast away, as Nian despised the color red. The Chinese phrase for "happy new year" stems from the "Guo Nian" which translates to "survive the Nian" and "Guo" which means to "pass over and observe."

The custom continues today and involves extensive cleaning and hanging red paper in advance, as well as food, gift-giving, and setting off firecrackers the night of to bring about good luck in the upcoming year.

AIESEC US wishes all of our trainees from China as well as AIESEC China a Happy New Year!

Post a comment letting us know what kind of celebrations are going on in your area!

J1 Regulations Training Schedule

The dates for J-1 Regulations training through the end of the springs semester are listed below. All times are EST (New York time), and we begin promptly. Don't be late.

Please remember that you MUST SIGN UP AHEAD OF TIME or you will be asked to leave the training. The reason that we require prior sign-up is so that we can track your contact and LC information with a minimum of inconvenience to other participants. Instructions for joining the activities follow the dates.

January

Tuesday, January 20th - 4pm (sign-up deadline January 19)
Wednesday, January 28th - 4pm (sign-up deadline January 27)

February

Thursday, February 5th - 12pm (sign-up deadline February 4)
Tuesday, February 17th - 4pm (sign-up deadline February 16)
Wednesday, February 25th - 2pm (sign-up deadline February 24)

March

Thursday, March 5 - 12pm (sign-up deadline March 4)
Tuesday, March 17 - 4pm (sign-up deadline March 16)
Wednesday, March 25 - 2pm (sign-up deadline March 24)

April

Thursday, April 1 - 12pm (sign-up deadline March 31)
Wednesday, April 15 - 2pm (sign-up deadline April 14)
Tuesday, April 21 - 4pm (sign-up deadline April 20)

May

Thursday, May 7 - 12pm (sign-up deadline May 6)

Email Shannon Robertson (shannonr@aiesecus.org) to sign up. If you have not signed up for training, you will not receive the PowerPoint presentation or conference call instructions and may not participate. At least 3 people must sign up for each training session. If you're unable to attend trainings according to the schedule due to your classes, please propose an alternative time so that we may add an additional rotation. If you have any questions prior to the session, please contact Shannon.

Worldwide MC Opportunities

Have you ever wondered what it is like to run a whole AIESEC country? Are you exploring what your next step in AIESEC will be? Do you want to develop your leadership skills at the highest level?

Then apply now to be on the MC of any AIESEC country all over the world!

The elections for the 09-10 year of MC terms are coming up and applications have opened in most regions (including the US!). You can check out the Global 09-10 Elections Tracker on myaiesec.net to stay up to date on what positions are open and how to apply.

Good Luck!

Message to the Membership

Dear AIESEC members, AIESEC alumni and AIESEC friends,

The year of 2008 has been a momentous year for AIESEC. We celebrated our 60^th anniversary, we expanded to new countries to give us a total of 106 AIESEC members, we recognized key alumni that have brought us to this place in history, and we exchanged thousands of individuals around the world.

Here in the United States, 2008 has proven to be a challenging, yet remarkable year. Shortly after the year began, at IPM 2008 AIESEC US was placed on member in alert status in the AIESEC association, because of processes that were in place in AIESEC US that were not compatible with the rest of the association. This loss was a huge wake up call for the organization and beginning in March, the membership began to re-look at the way it was operating.

By Summer, many internal changes began to take place within the organization and thus a large turnover of staff occurred by September. This turnover led to a period of rebuilding that is still continuing even as this release is written. By mid-October, the National Presidents Meeting (NPM) was held to bring together all Local Committee Presidents (LCPs) from across the country to determine where the organization would go and how the rebuilding process would take place. Together, over 40 leaders spent hours discussing the recent history, understanding the path that lay ahead and dividing up work to take action and begin to rebuild.

The energy from NPM in October has carried us through the past two months. We have streamlined our operations, currently operating with a staff of 7 full time people and 3 part time. We held our Winter Conference 2008 in St. Louis and elected the next MCP for AIESEC US for the 2009-2010 term, Tiffany Curtiss! At this conference we also legislated our new compendium and basic operating principles. In the meantime, we have been rebranding our EVP+ (Non AIESEC exchange) product and a new website and brand will be launched in January 2009. Applications for the MC team are open and will close on January 16^th, 2009. Two out of our three expansion countries (Oman, Bahrain and Qatar) have become legal entities and we are in the midst of an incredible push to do 60 exchanges between the United States, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman. These are just a few of the amazing things that are going on within AIESEC US right now.

As we close 2008, we have ended the year with just over 400 exchanges. Although lower than last year, we feel pretty good knowing we were able to impact so many lives, even when the organization was going through such an enormous rebuilding process.

We want to thank all of you that have stepped in and supported us through the past few months. We would not have been able to regain our footing without your steadfast advice and encouragement. To all of you out there that may be out of touch with the organization, but are looking for a way to reconnect, I want to encourage you to reach out as there are more ways than ever for you to get involved at a local, national or global level.

In the meantime, please stay up to date with AIESEC US by checking out our blog: http://aiesecus.nomadlife.org or by checking out the AIESEC US wiki at www.myaiesec.net.

We look forward to reconnecting with you soon!

Sincerely,

Missy Shields