International Congress 2008 in Sao Paolo, Brazil was an experience I will never forget. I have been involved in many leadership roles and been to many small conferences in AIESEC, but there is really nothing that compares to the energy and the feel of an international conference.

We were in a fantastic hotel with bright college students and leaders from over 100 countries for almost 2 weeks. There’s probably no other time or place in the world where you can make friends with so many people from so many different countries all at the same time. And the people you meet are already great people, but they’re also the cream of the crop of AIESECers – the LCPs and MCs of each country are represented there and are some of the most brilliant minds this organization holds.

It was a really energizing experience to learn from all these people from different cultures, listen to inspiring alumni speakers, and experience traditional Brazilian culture as well. International conferences are a  very unique experience, though are often out of reach for many members because of the high cost of travelling abroad. I would not have been able to go to IC last year if I hadn’t received the JoAnn Boland fund scholarship – it helped reduce the cost of the trip tremendously.

It’s funny to look back at the conference because the thing that stands out the most about IC to me now was the really incredible, inspiring individuals I met, and how they changed me. I’m so glad that I was able to attend an IC as part of my AIESEC experience and to have made such incredible friends as a result, with whom I still am in touch today.

Nisha Chittal on the left

But then something quite unexpected happened the minute the alumni walked into the room - something changed.  As we began to address the group, the energy went from room temperature to 110 degrees. So much so that I am certain that if anyone in that room had struck a match on the wall, they would have started a fire – it was that amazing! And this level of “amazing” stayed throughout the rest of the conference.

Thank you to three alumni who volunteered to speak and share their AIESEC experience at the AIESEC West Coast Regional Conference on October 24 in Simi Valley CA. (L-R) Dee Olomajeye (Cincinnati), Trice Mason (UCLA), and Jason Call (UCLA).

I started to wonder what it was that made the experience so magical? What was it that inspired these young AIESECers about their alumni? Was it our impeccable mock sales call skills?  The fact that we re-established “AIESEC Sales is Tough As Nails” as the sales teams’ call to arms? Our regaling stories about that “one time in Prague”? What was it?

As I drove home, it hit me – the word I was looking for was VALIDATION.

You see, we all need encouragement, we all need appreciation and we all need some sort of corroboration from a trusted source, that what we are doing in this world is not in vain and that it means something. Those young AEISECers may believe that AIESEC can change the world but it sure helps if every once in a while, an alum who has been in their shoes and continues to believe in AIESEC, stops by, gives them some “words of wisdom” and a pat on the shoulder. “Carry on, press on, for what you do here does make a difference – I guarantee it!”

The lesson I learned from ROKS was this: We as alums have a lot to give back to AIESEC.  And as we consider how we go about doing this, we should never forget that the most powerful gift the alumni have to offer IS the alumni. 

First, start with yourself.  Give of yourself, and the rest will follow.

International Congress 2008 in Sao Paulo Brazil was absolutely one of the greatest experiences of my life.  It is one of those many adventures that travelers come across so often that are difficult to express adequately to anyone who has not been on the journey. 

How do you appropriately articulate being in a room with 600 delegates from over 100 countries and territories, plus such incredible alumni and influential world leaders?  How does one express the incredible sensation of walking into a room to see my mentor when I first joined AIESEC, who in 2008 was on the MC in Colombia, and is now going to be living in Rotterdam and working for AI?  Or, the excitement of dancing before a session with hundreds of other people who have learned the exact same moves you did when you did not even comprehend what "AIESEC " could mean to you? 

Gina Palmisano on the right

The simple truth is, it is not possible.   I realize continuously how each day of IC impacts my life in a new and enriching way, and while I can give glimpses of the joy, growth, challenges, excitement, knowledge and passion, the most important thing is to encourage others to make the plunge and go for themselves.

That is why I am so incredibly lucky to have been given the chance to go to IC through the Jo Ann Boland Fund.  If I had not received this scholarship there is no possible way that I could have made the journey, and I would honestly be a less well-rounded, internationally influenced and driven person had I not been given the opportunity to attend.  I am a self-proclaimed proud conference junkie.  To me conferences are where I see the potential in myself and others most groomed and the spark to be a change agent shine the brightest.  They are the foundation for building a stable local community and for brainstorming how to create a better tomorrow, and realizing the implementation process that can actually get everything accomplished. 

The period right after a conference is when I see people being the most productive because they are riding the high of what they experienced.  Conferences provide the environment for expanding your mind and spirit in so many ways including world view, AIESEC competencies, global network, and so much more.  Given that AIESEC has a conference somewhere in the world happening almost every single day of the year, just think of how motivated AIESECers around the world are at any given time!  I truly believe that this motivation and spirit manifests itself into progress towards a more culturally aware and collaborative world.  I cannot help but use a quote I wrote down during a presentation at IC 2008 to sum up the impact AIESEC makes, "The Future Lies in AIESEC.  Better leaders.  Better world," Martin Stier, Deutsche Post World Net.

Thank you again for providing me with the means to participate in the greatest AIESEC conferenc e of my life to date!  I am eternally grateful.    

I joined AIESEC while attending Cal Poly State University (San Luis Obispo) in 2003 and that is also where I heard about Thunderbird for the first time. My advisor, who also happened to be the advisor for our LC, recommended that I keep Thunderbird on my radar after I graduated if I was serious about wanting to be involved in international business.

Several years later I started to investigate further and made a trip to visit the campus during one of their Hospitality Weekends (now known as a 360 Preview Weekend) which invites prospective students to spend an entire weekend on campus meeting current students and alumni. The weekend ends with a Regional Night, full of food, music and dancing. I couldn’t help but feel completely at home. It was as if I had gone back in time and was attending just another AIESEC regional conference.

Kelly A. Fuson and her classmates at the Thunderbird Pub

Now that I am an official student (1^st Trimester, Traditional MBA program) I can say that it’s not exactly like old times. There is a lot more reading, a lot more writing, and a lot less free time than when I was an AIESECer in undergrad. But that’s what I came here for: to be challenged intellectually and culturally.

Thunderbird has absolutely lived up to its reputation for being a truly global business school. Just last night I was out on the town with thirty of my classmates. I turned to my right and spoke to two friends from South Korea, then I turned to my left and joked around with another classmate from Iceland. My learning team, which I was assigned to for all of my classes, consists of myself (Californian), a girl from Jordan, a guy from South Korea, a guy from India, and another guy born in France. This is typical for Thunderbird, but not so for other business schools.

But enough about my experience. Let’s hear from some other current students about their previous experience with AIESEC and reasons for coming to Thunderbird.

Jesse Markham was a member of AIESEC at Arizona State University (ASU) located in Tempe, Arizona. Jesse was in the process of being matched with a company in Australia last fall until the global economic downturn ended the process.

Much in the same way that I heard about Thunderbird, Jesse first heard about the school from his advisor at ASU. Also, being located near the school itself meant that he occasionally crossed paths with former T-birds (affectionate term given to students who have attended Thunderbird). He, too, attended a Hospitality weekend and “realized I truly belonged at Thunderbird and the other schools I was considering were not even close.”

“Thunderbird embodies everything in an educational institution that AIESEC represents as an organization. I believe that if you loved your AIESEC experience and want to further your career in a global setting that Thunderbird is the next logical step in achieving that goal. There is no other graduate business program where you can find the kind of diversity, cultural understanding and global mindset like you can at Thunderbird.”

Saloni Lahkani joined AIESEC in 2004 as a member of Mumbai, India. In addition to matching trainees to internships, she organized the first AIESEC MUN (model united nations/mock UN debate) for AIESEC Mumbai.

She agrees that the same force that drove her to join AIESEC also drove her to choose Thunderbird.

“The fact that so many countries are represented on campus makes it overwhelming (in a good way). I just hope that behind all the assignment, mid terms and finals chaos we do break international cultural barriers and get to know everyone a lot better!”

That brings up another point as to why more and more multinational companies come to Thunderbird to hire their students. The classes here don’t just emphasize business practices, rather, they emphasize the practice of business across different cultures. Therefore, every lecture and every assignment provides us with an opportunity to learn about the perspective of our international classmates.

As Saloni says, Thunderbird is “the next best thing after AIESEC that will keep cross cultural interaction, intellectual diversity going.”

Tamaho Quinn was also a member of AIESEC at Arizona State University from 2001 to 2003, where she met her AIESEC love who is now her husband of five years. Tamaho was in charge of building relationships with local businesses in the Phoenix area and organizing social activities for the members, including a trip to the Grand Canyon. Since she was already an international student who came from Japan, she did not end up going on a traineeship.

According to Tamaho, the “sense of an international community is very unique to Thunderbird, it's not just a diploma mill, where people go to school and then leave. Thunderbird has really established an international community, something that AIESEC strives to achieve.”

Tamaho Quinn at her wedding

But how about from the school’s perspective? According to the Director of Admissions and Recruiting, Jay Bryant:

“AIESEC and Thunderbird are a perfect match for each other since our missions are so similar. The Global Mindset that we appreciate so much here at Thunderbird is found in every AIESEC member that I have had the opportunity to meet. “

In case you’re wondering, Thunderbird’s mission statement is: “We educate global leaders who create sustainable prosperity worldwide.”  

IC is SUCH an experience! This was all I heard about International Congress prior to going. As it turns out, there truly are no other words to describe the magnitude of such a 10 day conference.

I was in India on my second developmental traineeship when I applied to be part of the US delegation at IC. There, I worked closely with the founder and president of a globally broadcasted NGO called ArriveSafe, the only NGO in India dedicated to Road Safety. As he was paralyzed from a car accident and I had experienced personal losses due to car accidents, the two of us were part of a team determined to challenge a country’s attitude about the severity of an issue barely turns heads, yet annually leaves over 100,000 Indians dead, impacting so many millions. I gained a crucial sense that summer of the potential one individual has to make monumental impact.

Cynthia Wong (Illinois) on the far right

It was during this time I became a recipient of a scholarship founded to honor JoAnn, the former MC VP HR in 1992, who herself was a victim of a fatal road accident. I was touched that the JoAnn Boland Scholarship provided me with the financial capabilities to attend International Congress 2008 in Brazil and enable me to play my role in growing AIESEC and ensuring more socially impactful experiences like mine.

Fast forward a couple months and I found myself caught in the crazy world that is the IC Global Village. Over 100 booths brimming with scrumptious delicacies and embellishments brought from faraway lands.  Eager AIESECers at each booth clad in traditional wear, ready to bless you with an orange Hindu dot on your forehead or paint your name in Arabic or Chinese calligraphy on your arm. You find yourself lost in the sea of AIESECers getting lost in the aroma of each country as you traveled around the world, table by table. Cue Bebot by Black Eyed Peas, and the building erupts in cheers as hundreds flock to the central dance area to follow the AIESECers onstage from all corners of the world leading the dance made an instant international sensation when the AIESEC US delegation introduced it at the previous IC. Indeed, International Congress enabled me not only to grasp the scope of such a global organization, but to fully engage in it. Never in my farthest reaching dreams did I imagine that I would have friends from such exotic countries like Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Côte d'Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, and many more to complete the alphabet. Yet, here I am today with a truly global network, having transversed 26 countries for AIESEC internships, conferences, and reunions.  

AIESEC was founded in 1948 after WWII on the key principle that direct student interactions will foster cultural understanding and international cooperation for a peaceful and sustainable future. Nowhere else did this become ever more apparent than 60 years later at IC 2008. National pride in one’s own country as the Summer Olympics in Beijing, China captivated the world audience. A cultural dosage during Brazilian night. Countries such as Morocco and Mexico woven together side-by-side at Global Village. Swapping AIESEC t-shirts. Constructing kites in workshops to build group social-venture enterprises. Collectively sharing and brainstorming with LCPs across the world about how to dream big for our LCs. Country meetings to build partnerships between countries to increase exchanges.  Global unity in classic AIESEC dances such as Le-Le and Tunak Tunak. World issue discussions about AIDS/HIV, climate change, the Israel Palestine conflict and how AIESEC plays a role. Applauding the growth of AIESEC in countries like Iran, Algeria, and Oman. Talk about how we could further expand AIESEC into North Korea and Saudi Arabia.  And at the Closing Ceremony, AIESEC Togo singing “We are all AP… We are all MENA...", and AIESEC China adapting the Olympic theme song to “One Dream, One World, One AIESEC“….

So much of the IC experience illustrates the relevance of AIESEC in our world. AIESEC has not merely existed for 60 years, we have thrived. As the conference theme would most accurately articulate, Responsible Youth. Sustainable Future.