An interview with Lisi Witzani, former President of the Local Committee AIESEC Vienna WU, by Daniela Dandes.

AiA: Let’s get to know each other, so please tell us something about yourself. What have you done so far before joining AIESEC?

Lisi: I did quite a lot so far. In my life I always wanted to try out different things. That’s why I was an
athlete for example, I used to be into literature, I used to study English because I love linguistics and I
love teaching, I also love travelling, dancing… Whatever I did, I was trying to combine different things
and wanted to have a sneak-peak at everything and say to myself ‘Let’s try this out for a while’. That’s
why, after my school and high school years in Vienna, I decided to go for a year in Canada, then came
back to Austria.

AiA: Sounds like you had a rich experience so far, so why did you decide to join AIESEC?

Lisi: I was consciently looking for an organization that I could join, invest energy and get the most out
of it, as I am very passionate about volunteering. So my story is not one of those like ‘I accidentally
stumbled across AIESEC’. What attracted me to this organization was that it was independent and
the whole idea of developing yourself seemed appealing. Because I’ve only read the information
provided online and wanted to know more, I joined one of the info-evenings and immediately I
said ‘This is THE organization for me.’

JUST BE CURIOUS ABOUT THE THINGS AROUND YOU. CHALLENGE YOURSELF.

AiA: After this revealing moment at the info-evening, you applied and you joined AIESEC. How was your first team experience?

Lisi: During the induction, the teams were explained, and what attracted me the most was the
incoming exchange team. It is a very diverse area, because you have a Human Resource part, also
you socialize a lot and there are always things happening.

AiA: Can you describe your best moment as a team member?

Lisi: It is definitely the first meeting I had with a company, when I was joined by my team leader. I
remember that I was nervous, but grateful that I had such a cool person next to me that I could trust
to help me make that first meeting a success. Usually, as a team member, you have all of these great
little successes, which are things you have never done before.

STEP INTO SOMETHING NEW AND MAKE IT A SUCCESS

AiA: You have had so far important leadership roles in this organization, what were your 3 main
learning points from all of them?

Lisi: The first and the biggest learning point is the realization of how I can grow as a person. Before
I was limiting myself by having the mindset of ‘this is what I can do, this is what I cannot’. But after
my AIESEC experience, I proved to myself that there are many more situations that I can manage and
work with.

The second point is that even though you may not trust yourself about doing a certain thing, you
can try it here in AIESEC. You have the environment to do this. Even if you fail, you can still find
something about you or your skills that you can trust to take you forward.

And the third learning point comes in the shape of all of the practical knowledge that I have gained.
For example, I work with companies teaching English now and I remember my first meeting when I
discovered that I can talk with these people on the same level because I understand their processes.
This comes from me dealing with the same situations as them and getting these practical points as
experience within this organization.

LIFE LESSONS, IMPROVING YOUR SKILLS AND PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE. THAT’S WHAT YOU CAN GET FROM AIESEC.

AiA: As a last question, why would you recommend the AIESEC experience for other students?

Lisi: I think that us as students, as young proactive people, we use every opportunity to get active.
Get curious about yourself and get curious about what’s out there and what’s possible. If you have
ideas and you want to try something new, AIESEC is a very good platform for that. I should know, I’ve
tried it.

Thank you, Lisi, for sharing with us your story.

The question is: what’s your story going to be?