Part 1: Starting University & Volunteering |
My journey of development as a dual professional started at university. When I started at the University of Waikato in 2001, I started a Bachelor of Management Studies in Accounting and Economics. I chose these majors for two reasons.
Reason 1: Accounting and Economics were my best subjects in college. Reason 2: My favourite teacher in college was my Accounting teacher who helped me find part-time accounting work, the first time I really appreciated the chance to apply learning from school. While a first year university student I was introduced to the student organisation, AIESEC, the world's largest student run organisation, with its core activity being a graduate work exchange program. I ended up spending more time volunteering than I did studying, as I became more active in the organisation and took up leadership roles. I led a local team in selling the graduate work exchange program to local businesses, and the year after was appointed as a National Trainer, where I attended Train the Trainer workshops, and then delivered training on how to run the organisation to new recruits across the country. This early opportunity opened my eyes to two things:
Because of point 2, I decided to take a break from studies and became a full-time volunteer in AIESEC's national headquarters, helping coordinate the sales of the graduate work exchange program to organisations across the country. Not only was I involved in national level sales, but I got to lead a team coordinating local sales in 5 cities, and delivered training and conferences to help support the development of the organisation's members nationwide. Furthermore, as a member of the national team, I learnt about the management of a national level organisation. |
Key points in my development as a:
HR / Management Professional
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Education Professional
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