Who would not have ever heard about Michele Turati or Mickey (AEGEE-Brescia)? That person probably has not been active in AEGEE for a long time, as otherwise (s)he would have already met this enthusiastic Italian whose AEGEE life started back in 2003. Continuing our series with AEGEE members and Summer University (SU) impact on them, this time we interviewed Michele.
Michele, the boring question once again. When and how did you join AEGEE?
I joined AEGEE on a Tuesday evening in April, 2003, when I attended the weekly meeting of AEGEE-Brescia. Then, I took part in the SU Craiova 2003 and it was terrible, not really well-organized and it was held in bad hygienic conditions. However, it motivated me to organize one myself to see if I was able to do it better.
We know that you have helped to organise loads of AEGEE-Brescia SUs. What new have you learnt about Europe in the meantime?
After that SU, I learned what AEGEE looks like, but it took me one more year to move out of my city environment into the European level. AEGEE gave me an excellent point of view on how Europe should ideally look like, and how I could work for it.
SUs provide you with an excellent life experience when you’re put together with a group of students from all over Europe. It is a cheap and interesting 2-week adventure of which you will only later see what a priceless experience it gave for your career.
In an SU, you should be open to whatever comes. With a mental box it’s not really possible to fully appreciate all the things happenning around you. And as an organiser, I’d say it’s crucial not to expect the participants to adapt to the situation immediately.
I have heard that you got a job because of organising an SU. Please, tell us more about it!
Three years ago, I was helping with the orgnisation of AEGEE-Brescia’s SU and I was writing a press release for a local newspaper about it. This was something I had already done before even organising any SUs. A person read that article and found my number in an indirect way and he asked me if I liked to organise Summer Schools for his project which was dealing with an American University. I said “yes” and began to gain working experience the following week – and I continued it for two years.
Are you still doing the same now?
No. Right now, I am sitting in the HP office in Wroclaw, a city I’ve discovered in course of their SU 2004 and I fell in love with it. So when this opportunity came to me, I took it immediately!
Written by Anita Kalmane, AEGEE-Ogre