OGX Hookah Event Extravanganza

(Brianna and a potential intern's first hit off of a hookah!)

The hookah recruitment event last Thursday turned out to be a success! Hooray...three cheers for India for creating such a sublime invention! Students grouped around the campus mall to smoke tobacco-free shisha made from tea leaves, enjoy some ethnic music, and gain a perspective of the life-changing opportunities AIESEC has to offer. Even though the weather was a bit murky with slight drizzle action, many people stopped by. We had to close down early due to a potential storm headed our way from Menominee, but all in all 39 people signed up for interview emails. What's even more promising is that 5 people have actually signed up for a designated interview time. Kudos to everyone who was involved! A successive hookah day is to be scheduled the week following spring break to maintain the buzz and possibly recruit new members for next semester.

Beginning of Jake's LCP Election Speech

Sorry...this is only the beginning...my camera ran out of battery power.

MAJOR CHANGES!

For those of you out of the loop, a couple of tremendous changes took place at the past GMM.

First off...we now have a new faculty advisor-Dr. Julia Pennington. She is more than qualified for overseeing our AIESEC chapter on account of her background in International Business and having traveled to over 50 countries. She now teaches International Marketing here in UWEC and has taken a keen interest in us, so let's all be sure to make her feel welcomed!

Secondly...the new election process was put into effect. From now on we'll be handling things the way they do on the national level and holding LCP elections at the end of first semester, so that the new year-long term will be start in January. This also entitles a new voting system. After each candidate presents a short speech, teams will separate to discuss possible questions to pose. Post Q&A, teams regroup to collectively vote. The twist is that each candidate can earn either a 2 (highly confidant), 1 (moderately so), or 0 (hell no!). The LCP, a random VP, and a random GM then tally the votes, and in case of a tie, the current LCP chooses. All of this is confidential of course, so as not to raise any drama. For a grand finale, the new LCP is declared by having a cup of water poured over his or her head.

Last but not least, our new LCP elect is.......Jake Hammes! He'll run the show for a short term from May 2010-January, so as a whole let's lend our support. The decision was a tough one, but I believe that Jake's experience compared to the other candidate, Eric Larson, was what pulled him through. The three main points he made as to what he'd like to see occur in AIESEC Eau Claire were transparency, sustainability, and growth. In addition to these goals, he aims at creating an identifiable culture within our chapter, as well as raising our status to the top 5 in the nation. These are major ambitions, but they aren't to be confused with the impossible. One attributable quality Jake has is charisma, which is a critical factor in being a motivating leader. If we work as a team, and hold him accountable for his communication skills, I think these goals can be accomplished!

Cinco De Mayo Volunteering

HEY AIESEC EAU CLAIRE...A fabulous opportunity has arisen. For those of you who would like to not only feel great about yourself for benevolently donating your time volunteering, but also celebrate Cinco de Mayo in the Twin Cities, help is needed! Megan Buehl, Ashley Ohearn, Brianna Niemi, and anyone else who's interested will be teaming up with @ St. Cloud and Minneapolis to be a few of the 300+ dedicated volunteers that make the Cinco de Mayo Fiesta a success. Service options include stage set-up, fiesta preparation, traffic management, parade assembly, parking attendants, greeters, salsa tasting, and many more. The date to keep in mind is Saturday, May 8th during the 3-6pm shift. The rest of the time is yours to spend having a jolly good time. The plan is to carpool there and back for the weekend; houses will be arranged for people to stay at, so there's no need to worry about hotel costs. Make sure to email Brianna Niemi ASAP at niemibr@uwec.edu if intrigued by this incredible offer; include your t-shirt size. It'll be a blast guaranteed!

RoKs Spring Conference 2010

I joined AIESEC as a general member my first semester of college (i.e. fall 2009). Having a keen interest to travel the world and indulge in as many new cultural experiences as possible, this organization seemed to be the perfect opportunity for someone of my financial status--one who does not have the funds to study abroad. Ironically, I would not have become an @er had it not been for my ex-roommate, who is now an ex-@er.... :(

After having adapted to the college lifestyle, I came into second semester amped to engage more in AIESEC and acquire the knowledge needed to apply all that I had to offer....VOILA, SHAZAM, BADA-BOOM...the 2010 Spring RoKs Conference held in Minneapolis presented itself.

Feeling a tad bit apprehensive, combined with a mixture of excitement and topped off with a dash of anxiety, I didn't know exactly what to expect from RoKs, but had the notion that I would gain a lot from the experience. Such was the case; what I walked away with was more than I could have hoped for.

Hands-down, the best aspect I took from this experience was the camaraderie that was forged--not only with the members from our own LC, but from every LC that attended. It was very reminiscent to the first couple weeks of freshman year; everyone was a relationship whore and had to get their fix of getting to know as many people as possible. One could call it networking, but that word is too corporal for the genuineness of people's intentions. I mean, we're all brought together by a similar purpose--to learn more about ourselves and AIESEC so that we can give it our all to sustain the organization and continue offering liberating life experiences. Feeding off of each other's strengths is a given.

To keep this as brief as possible--because we're all college students and are extremely busy--I would like to underline for all of whom have yet to attend a conference that this experience is undeniably, 100%, to the 1st degree WORTHWHILE. In fact, I would go as far as to say that it should be mandated to be required in becoming an @er and not just to intern abroad. So if you're like my ex-roommate and are feeling iffy about where you fit into the scheme of things, I would most definitely go to one of the upcoming conferences--whether it be the summer national conference in Detroit or next semester's fall RoKs.

Over and Out....Your Humble Narrator

FYI: Eau Claire won best roll call! Shoutout to Kallie for creating a killer dance!