Member of the Moth, July 2020, CD57: “AEGEE is all about making meaningful connections with fellow Europeans”

Sometimes it is hard to choose only one AEGEEan as member of the month since one of the many virtues of our association is teamwork and bonding with each other. This is why, for AEGEE’s member of the month of July, we have chosen the whole CD57, congratulations!

Their term had some challenges due to the pandemic. Nevertheless, CD57 has managed to do a fantastic job to keep AEGEEans all around the world connected, motivated and with feeling proximity to each other than ever before. Let’s meet CD57: Daniel Amesz, Oksana Prokopchenko, Refikbaris Ozcelik, Batuhan Carikci, Hanna Alajoe and Álvaro González!

Congratulations on being awarded the Member of the Month! We are all eager to hear your AEGEE story.

Thank you so much! We’re happy to receive this commendation as a team!

What has been the highlight of your time in AEGEE?

For sure, none of us has been through a crazier year than the one we have just been going through. Although we had very different experiences and all went through our own ups and downs, we had all independently picked Agora Salerno as one of our favourite moments of last year. We hold this memory with a smile and tears as it happened to have been the only moment in our year that we spent more than a day together with the whole team. Agora is always a crazy week, for CDs even more so and we had our fair share of challenges there. But the feeling of teamwork and going through it physically together was great and something we really missed the rest of the year.

What are some ways in which AEGEE helped you in your life?

AEGEE brings so many learning opportunities and we’ve taken many of those. It has helped all of us grow as people and we’ve developed many soft and hard skills. Besides that, many of our friends are AEGEEans, some of us even found love. It is clear to see that our lives would not have been even remotely the same if it wasn’t for this association and we’re happy to have been affected by it. 

Additionally, the experience we have gained through our time in AEGEE has been invaluable for us for finding job opportunities. While some of us have already found jobs thanks to AEGEE previously, now is the time to really put the experience in practice to build careers.

What are your words of wisdom to your fellow AEGEEans?

AEGEE is all about making meaningful connections with fellow Europeans. This is something that comes naturally to most of us and happens spontaneously at AEGEE events. Now, it might cost a bit more effort, but it is also more important than ever. We challenge everyone to keep up their AEGEE spirit and try to find those connections in a safe way or online. 

However, AEGEE is not only about the social aspect, but it is also about using your voice and jointly working on a better future. We need everyone to stay loud and draw attention to topics that are central to young people in Europe. We live in turbulent times with many causes that require action, and together we have the best chance to have an impact. 

Any closing remarks?

We want to thank everyone who worked with us during the past year to make AEGEE the best it can be. It has been a pleasure and an honour to be your CD and we hope to see you all as soon as possible somewhere in Europe. Virtual hugs!