1. What are the most valuable skills you have gained through your activities in the Erasmus Student Network?
There are many such skills. The most important include project organization, multitasking, group work and team management. During several years of activity at various levels, I had the opportunity to participate in many projects - from local to international, as well as co-create the first edition of the ESN TEAM project (currently IEG). This allowed me to comprehensively get to know the life of the project with all its "dark" sides, e.g. managing group motivation, dealing with ambiguities or communication in an international environment. As you can see, a lot of learning over six years :)
2. Whether and how the ESN impacted your career and life after graduation?
ESN definitely influenced the start of my professional career and life after graduation. I could use many examples from "living in ESN" during recruitment interviews for which I was well prepared due to the experience gained from the organization. Undoubtedly, international companies pay attention to the entry in the CV, which is activity in organizations and associations - my example is only a confirmation of the rule. In addition, ESN experience also translates into daily tasks and their management. From the first days, the experience gained in ESN helped me to develop resistance to work under time pressure, appropriate communication in the group or effective planning.
3. If you were an ESN project, which one would you be?
ESN TEAM! (Currently IEG) - probably also a sentimental issue - after all, it is a project that I co-created in the last phase of my activity in ESN. Nevertheless, I associate it with a lot of diligence, joy and ambition.
4. ESN for me is ...
Undoubtedly a unique student organization! At this point in my life it is a memory of amazing time surrounded by wonderful people !! :) To this day, a group of my closest friends is largely a group from ESN - we meet in Warsaw, Poznań and Gdańsk. If I were to describe ESN in 3 words, it would be development, people, fun.
5. Is it worth working in a non-profit organization (student organization)?
It's definitely worth it! I have been working for ESN since the first day of my studies and I cannot imagine any other scenario. Being active in a student organization means you are always involved, to a greater or lesser extent. This introduces the young person to a lifestyle in which there are no phrases "boredom", "excess time" or "no plans". In addition to the very fact of studying, you meet a wide range of friends - in the case of ESN from around the world. You gain the opportunity to participate in interesting events and projects, and often also in trips abroad. Being a member of a student organization during your studies is more fun at the time, but above all an investment in the future.
6. An interesting fact from the life of the Erasmus Student Network.
These are a whole bunch, but the one that will crown my answers to previous questions is the curiosity of life after ESN. I have not been active in the organization for over 3 years, but I have just returned from a holiday with a group of eleven friends, of whom ten know ESN. A week earlier we had fun at the wedding of a friend from ESN UAM Poznań, and next week we will be celebrating the 30th birthday of a colleague, also a former ESNer. People are the amazing capital of ESN! :)