When Ana Evtoski enrolled in university, she knew she wanted to join a student organization. She wanted to make her student days about more than just lectures, exams, and coursework, but she wasn't sure which organization was the right fit for her.
In the end, she chose AIESEC almost by chance. She'd heard it was the only global student organization compared to the others at her faculty, and at the time, that sounded interesting, and honestly, good for her CV. Back then, she thought she was simply looking for one more line to add to her resume. Today, looking back, she can say that "random" decision turned out to be one of the best she's ever made.
The first six months outside her comfort zone
In her first team, Ana experienced a transformation within just six months that she couldn't have imagined at the time. She started stepping outside her comfort zone again and again, sometimes through small tasks, sometimes through situations that felt enormous to her back then.
Talking to people, sales, public speaking, teamwork, meeting deadlines, these were all things that threw her off balance at first. But it was precisely through those situations that she began to grow. She became more open, more confident in herself, and more willing to try even when she wasn't sure she knew how.
More than just a CV line
At first, she joined AIESEC for the sake of her CV. Very quickly, though, the CV took a back seat. She got the chance to improve her sales skills, practice English, meet people, attend conferences, help organize events, and work on projects that had a real impact.
What mattered most to her was that her growth didn't happen only through formal training, but through actual experience, through trial and error, conversations, feedback, and situations where she had to take the initiative herself.
From team member to leader
As time went on, Ana was given more and more opportunities, first leading teams, then an entire department. That was a completely new level of responsibility for her. She was no longer thinking only about her own tasks, but about the people she was leading, their motivation, their development, and their results.
AIESEC gave her the space to practice leadership in real life, not just through titles and positions, but through everyday situations where you have to show up for your team, make decisions, and keep going even when things aren't perfect.
An international experience and people from all over the world
One of the things that opened her eyes to the world the most was the chance to attend an international conference in Italy, where she met a large number of students from different countries. That experience showed her just how special it is to be part of a global organization, that what you do locally isn't isolated, but part of a much bigger story.
Her AIESEC experience inspired her to take another big step and spend six weeks volunteering in Italy, at a children's summer camp. Working with kids, living in another country, and communicating daily in a foreign language helped her face her own fears and become more independent and open to the unknown. Her host family holds a special place in that experience, they became her second family, and to this day she still visits them regularly.
What AIESEC really gave her
If she had to explain what AIESEC gave her, it would be hard to narrow it down to just one thing, it gave her confidence, friends, travel, experience leading teams, and maybe most importantly, the feeling that she's capable of far more than she ever thought.
If you're considering joining AIESEC, her advice is simple: just try. You don't have to be the most outgoing person in the room, you don't need to have all the skills figured out in advance, and you don't need to know exactly where it will take you. All you need is to be ready to step outside your comfort zone and say "yes" to the first opportunity, because that decision might just be the beginning of an experience that changes your student days too.
