Dearly beloved members,
Almost three months have already passed since we officially became the new board of AEGEE-Groningen. And oh boy, so much stuff has happened already. You probably have already seen our faces at the Brouwerij (remember that blissful time we had physical social drinks? Oh how we miss those times), on Discord or maybe during a committee talk during which we interrogated y’all about blender-related actions. But for everyone who doesn’t know us yet, or who wants to get to know us even better, let me introduce the group:
Let’s start with our board-baby and European Affairs Director, Aleksandra (a.k.a. Ola because Polish has weird linguistic habits). With her Polish roots she turns the, otherwise very Dutch, gang in an international bunch. Ola is excited about a lot of things in life and loves to share it. Some of these things include AEGEE-Europe, vodka, European bodies, Kawa Kip, Russian History, hazelnut vodka (preferably with milk), other AEGEE-locals and inflatable chairs. During the last three months she has already shown some hidden skills. Did you know that Aleksandra is a really good surgeon? When our dear mascot and son, Kawa Kip, had some neck troubles she gave him a quick and – mostly – successful surgery involving some AEGEE-materials. Ola is always up for a party and doesn’t believe there is such a thing like ‘partying too hard’. If you see her around, don’t hesitate to start a conversation with her in Dutch – especially if a drink is involved.
Next up we have Romy, our Local Affairs Director. She is always excited about the upcoming activities of the committees, and loves to hear all the creative ideas everyone comes up with. However, she herself, is also very good at coming up with creative ideas for activities such as the Active Members ‘Wie is de Mol’ (EN: ‘Who is the Mole) Activity! At the beginning of the year, Romy had some trouble with planning. Like buying a planner which actually is for the academic year 2020-2021 and sometimes being on time. But now, after enjoying many, many anytimers she is almost always exactly on time – nice job Romy. Romy is responsible for all the local activities and committees, which also means acquiring fantastic prizes for the winners. Really nice task, sometimes has to be done twice after the prize miraculously ‘disappeared’ before handing it out to the winners 😉. Romy is also my buddy for any games we play, with her keen business sense she is very good at trading her anytimers for information and she may or may not be somewhat susceptible to bribes…
Of course we shouldn’t forget our Treasurer, unofficial IT-Responsible and official print-responsible, Djené! Djené keeps track of all the money of AEGEE-Groningen, which sometimes requires some relationship therapy with Davilex (all good though, they understand their mutual dependence). Although Djené doesn’t drink alcohol herself (so healthy) she will not hesitate to give out anytimers, or hide some Ice for her fellow boardies. She also started the year of with having the best adt-skills of the board, and could easily down two alcohol-free beer while we could do one (with varying ‘adt-skills’ among the board members). In addition to these functions Djené is also very enthusiastic about Asian foods. She can make a mean Japanese curry and will not refuse any Asian snacks you will offer her, you could probably bribe her with some good wasabi peanuts.
Then on to our Secretary and PR-Responsible, Astrid! Not only is she super good at designing (I mean, have you seen our beautiful PR on social media?) she is also super a super thorough secretary. Astrid is a real perfectionist in every area, whether it is about PR-materials, minutes or food. Although a disclaimer for the minutes, her typing speed depends on the temperature in the room. But she can proudly say that she will win any typing contest, and likes to challenge old secretaries (so, who’s next?). Djené and Astrid share a beautiful love for Davilex, and you will often hear them bond while discussing the logical structure of the programme. In addition, Astrid sometimes has some relationship problems with her Wi-Fi router and enjoys cradling it in her lap with the hope of having a better internet connection. Then we also have her love for limoncello, great for European Nights. Is it a secretary, no sorry sexytary thing? Who knows…
For my own introduction I will hand over the article to Aleksandra for a moment, as introducing myself feels a bit inappropriate.
At last it’s time to write something about Kirsten, our President and FR-responsible. She is excited about everything AEGEE related, and you can always catch her attention by saying “Summer University”. Kirsten knows how to sweeten up our board meetings with a homemade cake. Apart from baking she also enjoys watching musicals, that’s why our board playlist has many musical songs. Unlike others, Kirsten always bravely listens to our broad music taste, and never dares to skip a song from our shared playlist. It’s great to have a caring and hardworking president like Kirsten. Her daily good morning messages… with a list of things to do, give us a good start of the day. Even though she’s nice to us, we still know that she’s one of the greatest plant killers. We had to give Kirsten a long-term action point as a reminder to water her plants and keep them alive. Despite all our efforts to help her plants, Kirsten still managed to kill one.
Lastly, it is an honour to be part of the board of AEGEE-Groningen. The last three months, although totally different than previous years, have already left their impact on us. We hope to be able to see everyone soon again during activities and create more great memories of this year. We want to thank all the members for staying active and visiting the online activities, hopefully in the near future we will be able to see everyone again in De Brouwerij.
For now, take care and stay safe!
On behalf of the XXXIII Board of AEGEE-Groningen,
Your President
