Meeting Leo - President, AIESEC City, UK!

It was a pleasure to welcome Leo Szivo, who is currently serving as the President of AIESEC City in the UK for 2011-12,  and show him around. Apart from all the fun, this also served as an incredibly enlightening experience for all of us here at AIESEC in Agra as we got an opportunity to actually sit down and have a chat with Leo. This little chat of ours helped us gain some perspective and idea about how things work in the organization as he shared his experiences on leading an established chapter there in the UK while we are, here in Agra, still a very young entity with lots to learn. :-)

In this little sitdown of ours, we also threw a couple of questions at Leo.. but that's a story for another post. He noted that even though we're just a nascent entity here, AIESEC in Agra still has more members than many established chapters outside India. When asked about whether the AIESEC ecosystem with all the terms and technicalities might be a little too intimidating for new recruits, he answered that such an exhaustive framework, bureaucracy is essential for managing an organization as large and diverse as AIESEC.

All in all, it was a very fruitful meeting and we hope to have more such encounters with AIESECers (freshers and veterans' alike) from round the World in the future.

Here's a message from Leo:

"Leo Szivo - President 2011-12 of AIESEC City / UK.

I was in Agra in mid-July as part of my CEED program (Cultural Envoy for Exchange Development) and spent two days there. My CEED program in India involves me travelling to India's Local Committees and Expansions to improve and develop the partnership between UK and India and BCPs.

My short stay in Agra was mainly for touristic reasons, as the Taj Mahal is something no one should miss when going to India. And of course, I was blown away by the majesty and beauty it. 

But apart from this touristic purpose, I was pleasantly surprised by the hospitality of the people in AIESEC Agra, with them hosting me and taking me around the city for different leisures and discovery.

I was taken to the Taj Mahal and numerous other places in Agra by a group of 5 from AIESEC Agra and they truly made my experience memorable. As everyone knows, simple things can become the best when surrounded with the right people. I was astonished by their enthusiasm to take me around and talk to me, have conversations about different topics including AIESEC.

I notably had an interesting chat in a cafe with 10+ members of AIESEC Agra, and I am confident with saying that this expansion has the potential to become a core LC in India in the future years.

They have the right people, with the right ambitions and right vision for AIESEC Agra and also AIESEC India.

My short stay was a pleasure, I enjoyed going to Agra and would recommend anyone to go there, not only for Taj Mahal, but to spend a good time with incredible people, that forge 'Incredible India'."