March 8, 2011

Celebrating #AIESECDAY Today

Almost a year ago, on a hot day, I was walking through the West Mall Complex at SFU when I noticed a particular poster that stood out from the rest. The poster caught my eye because it had images of ice cream. Curious, I actually read the copy of the poster (a rarity for me) and learned more about AIESEC SFU.

Fast forward to today, and I can honestly say that joining AIESEC has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve done since coming back to school full-time. I’ve gained some valuable skills through AIESEC. More importantly though, I’ve met many amazing people through it.

What does it stand for?

I often get asked what the acronym AIESEC stands for. To this day, I still can’t tell you – and that’s because it’s in French. According to Wikipedia, the acronym stands for “Association Internationale des Étudiants en Sciences Économiques et Commerciales. If you’re expecting me to pronounce that, then you’re out of luck.

I often tell people it’s the largest student-run organization in the world, and that what we do is to facilitate international internships. This is aligned with how the organization brands itself these days, and it better captures what we do.

So, what is #AIESECDAY?

Today is #AIESECDAY, a Twitter event organized via Facebook (oddly enough) that would hopefully raise awareness about AIESEC. Quoting the organizers:

The idea is to put AIESEC as a trending topic on Twitter. We want everybody talking about AIESEC, or at least feeling curious about it.

I think it’s a great idea because the more students know about the organization, the more likely they are to join.

Learn more about AIESEC!

If you’re a student, consider joining a local chapter of AIESEC. As I’ve said, it’s one of the best decisions I’ve made while in university. My only regret is not joining sooner – I could have done more with AIESEC if I wasn’t so old (and if I wasn’t graduating soon).

To learn more about AIESEC SFU: