Fernweh meets Leadership

Internships and volunteer work abroad are popular among students – especially after almost two years of pandemic, many have been seized by wanderlust. Finally being able to get on a train or plane again, explore unfamiliar places, meet new people, try exotic dishes and return home with exciting stories in the end – many can hardly wait any longer. Internships and social projects also offer a great opportunity to gain practical experience that can complement your studies, get a taste of a different working culture, improve your own language skills, make international contacts and develop personally and professionally in the process.
But an internship abroad can also be a challenge, especially if it's the first time going abroad alone and for a longer period: Where do I want to go? How do I get an internship position? How do I find connections on the ground?
That's exactly where AIESEC comes in. We are an international student organisation that was founded after the Second World War with the aim of promoting intercultural exchange and thereby creating more tolerance, respect and cooperation.It's important to us that you have a good experience. You always have someone by your side who accompanies you throughout the entire process, from registration through application, travel preparations and of course during your time abroad. In addition, we offer you a pre- and post-departure seminar in which you can exchange with others and reflect on your own experiences.
Reflection on our own experiences is particularly important to us at AIESEC: alongside intercultural exchange, leadership development is our second core theme. Our goal is to promote the personal and professional development of young people. The young people of tomorrow are the leaders of tomorrow – we give them the chance to develop their leadership qualities in a safe environment, step outside their comfort zone, try new things, make mistakes and expand their soft and hard skills. 
When I joined AIESEC four years ago, I had no idea about any of this. I had moved to the city at the beginning of my studies and knew only one thing: I didn't want to just study. From the start, it was important to me to volunteer for a good cause in my spare time – and of course to meet new people. AIESEC was by chance the first organisation I stumbled upon, and I signed up without knowing exactly what it was about.
Four years have passed since then and in the meantime I am Chair of AIESEC in Jena and lead my own local committee – something I could never have imagined four years ago. And that's exactly what makes AIESEC something very special for me and why I'm still here after such a long time: It's a place where I can try myself out, where I'm pulled out of my comfort zone and constantly grow through new challenges. Is that sometimes uncomfortable? Absolutely! But in this organisation I am surrounded by people who support each other, who want to develop themselves just as much as I do and who all pursue a common goal. That gives me the feeling of being in a "safe space" where I can make mistakes – because that's how you learn after all.
I've learned an enormous amount over the last four years: How can I convey content in a workshop so that everyone keeps up? How can I speak in front of hundreds of people or approach strangers at an information stand – something that's not so easy for a rather shy person like me. What actually matters in teamwork? How do Google Sheets work and how do I communicate with others? What's it like to be a volunteer in a foreign country whose language I don't speak? (With AIESEC, I travelled alone in South America for the first time in my life – one of the most formative experiences of my life!)
I have worked in various teams and with the most diverse people and gained insights into the areas of marketing, human resources and finance – and although as a future teacher I'll probably work with these less, I was able to take something from each of these experiences that can also be transferred to other areas of my life, such as good time management, more self-confidence and more clarity about who I am and what I want to achieve in my life.

The most important thing: I can do more than I give myself credit for. And what I can't do yet, I can learn.

Henrike Münch