BM EXPERIENCE STORIES - EFPSA

BM EXPERIENCE STORIES
Find some more reasons to apply for the Board of Management
Current BM 2011-2012
The role of the president truly allows
you a great insight into the EFPSA
community. This mandate made my
life special and for me it was an incredible
journey. Probably a lot of you
are wondering what it is like to be in
the shoes of the President. Well, to be
honest it is a full-time experience and
I'll give you just a short insight: you
will have the opportunity to meet and
collaborate with the leaders and experts
in the field of psychology; visit
different conferences and events
worldwide representing our organization,
have the impact to present your
own ideas and plans to the rest of active
EFPSA members; lead and closely
cooperate with your international colleagues
within the Board of Management;
gain valuable skills in different
areas such as presentation,
management and monitoring
skills; you will be surrounded by
an amazing crew of enthusiasts and
witness how their ideas are developing
into reality from scratch; give your
comments and feedback to your colleagues
and help others create and develop
their projects. Does this sound
fulfilling to you? Well, it's not everything.
There are a lot of moments and
emotions which are hard to describe
into words but beautiful to experience.
So if you have any interest in the above
-written, take a lead and shape the future
of EFPSA!
- Vedran Lešić
President

Vice president
Being part of an organisation like EFPSA
means being dependent; how things are
going depends on the people you will work
with, depends on the project the BM
chooses to work on, and depends on the
active members of EFPSA and their ideas.
But being part of the Board of Management
also means that you, yourself, are an
important part of this interaction, people
are also dependent on you, you can motivate
people, you can make changes and
you can let the organisation develop. Although
working in an interdependent
community was a big challenge for me, it
is also the most beautiful thing about EF-
PSA!
My main project was working on the basics
of EFPSA, like the strategic plan, and being
in contact with all active EFPSA people.
Monitoring teams can be quite an experience
sometimes, but it’s great to work in an
environment where students can all learn
from each other. It gave me energy to get
nice emails from all over Europe, to see
things change and see things happening the
way you expect them to happen. I hope I
have set some basics which will help the
organisation in the future, but I’m also
proud on what we did this mandate and I’m
glad to have worked in this amazing BM!
- Maaike Geurts
Secretary general
I’ve been in EFPSA for almost all my 4 years
of Bachelor studies, so somehow it’s as if I
graduated from my University and at the
same time I graduated from “EFPSA Federation
of Life sciences”. In fact, being a
member of EFPSA, all this year and especially
during this mandate was more than I
expected: I gained experience, valuable
friends, developed my communication skills
and enhanced my motive for creativity. Although
the Secretary General position
equals administrative tasks, writing the
minutes and publishing newsletters, it is
more than just that! Being a member of the
Board of Management, as a SG, I had a lot
of tasks that, with the support and cooperation
of other BM members, were fun dealing
with. Throughout the year, I was in communication
with all active EFPSA members for
the production of the newsletters, EB Reports,
working together closely with the
Secretary and the BM members throughout
the mandate. Being in this position, it's impossible
not to be updated with the latest
news in all EFPSA corners, something that
always fills me with motivation and enthusiasm
to keep being involved in the organization.
During this mandate I was also the Chair
for the Grants Task Force, and seeing how
members cooperated, having in their mind
the best interest of EFPSA, keeps me thrilled!
Bottom line, in this position I was communicating
and cooperating with wonderful friends
and this year would definitely be in my highlights.
Special thanks to the rest of the Board
of Management members: with their friendship
and cooperation, this year wouldn’t be as
creative, fun and fulfilling. Don’t miss the
chance to experience all that, by simply applying.
- Evangelia Kontogianni

Head of Finance
Having the opportunity to be Head of Finance for EFPSA has
been an amazing experience. It is such a diverse organization
with a lot of constituent components, making its function
unlike the majority of other businesses or organizations. EF-
PSA is a fantastic hub of raw student ambition and motivation
unlike nowhere else I have experienced. It is a unique role with
a lot of power and responsibility and has taught me to make big
decisions quickly in ways to benefit the majority. Financing a
youth organization in this economic crisis has been a both challenging
and interesting prospect. I have been able to see the
effects of the change in the financial world from different perspectives.
It has also fed into my doctorate as a Trainee counseling
psychologist, allowing me to experience both the uniqueness
and similarities within European youth. This has been a
fantastic role allowing me to interact with students whilst negotiating
with professionals. Being in the Board of Management
has been a fantastic way to meet inspirational students around
Europe and work with an exceptional team. The role is a priceless
one.
- Annique Clopon
MEMBER
REPRESENTATIVES’
COORDINATOR
I still remember the first time I was at a Member Representatives'
meeting in The Netherlands two years ago and how confused
I was at the beginning and how, by the end of the week, I
felt like I was within a great group of friends, and the same has
happened during this past year but, naturally, from a different
perspective. I met some amazing people within my team (we
proudly label ourselves "The Bear Team") which made it feel like
we were all in one big family of people sharing different thoughts
and perspectives on several issues not only EFPSA-related but
also related to other broader matters and, in the end, exchanging
experiences and true life-long lessons; these are only learned
when interacting with each other. I feel like being in charge of
such an intelligent, critical, and open-minded team made me
learn a lot about myself both at a (obviously) professional level
but, mostly, at a personal level, in a way I most probably wouldn't
have if it hadn't been for this demanding yet fulfilling experience.
I am trully thankful for having taken this opportunity and
hope I contributed to my team's development as much as they
contributed to mine. A big "roar" to all of them!
- Luís Miguel Tojo

MARKETING OFFICER
Being a member of the Board of Management
is an unforgettable experience - challenging,
sometimes very exhaustive, but on
the other hand: full of joy, pleasure, fun. In
one year I expanded my knowledge, gained
new experiences and what is the most important
for me: I met a lot of psychology
students, who with their determination in
achieving goals, enthusiasm, strength, and
will, made my world better. As a Marketing
Officer I was responsible for taking care of
four teams: EFPSA Day, Travel Network,
Promotion and Web Team. We organized
EFPSA Day, developed social media campaigns,
kept all internal and external means
of EFPSA web communication, and delivered
more options of free accommodation
for psychology students in Europe. And we
did a lot more, to make EFPSA well known
among students, professionals, and organizations.
- Katarzyna Ciechanowska
ACTIVITIES OFFICER
Being in Board of Management (BM) means
you are in a fish tank with all other EFPSA
people. The BM arranges all kind of stabilityrelated
settings to make the residents of the
tank remain happy and productive. At the end
of the mandate, you realize how much you
contributed to EFPSA and how everything
came back to you with new forms of organizational
skills and unforgettable experiences
with outstanding people. I will keep every EF-
PSA moment as a treasure. Activities Officer
(AO) position is demanding in terms of communication
with every event coordinator in an
organized time frame. You go through every
planning stage of event organization with
them; you should have a clear idea about the
potential organizational challenges and ways
to eliminate them. You should give elaborate
suggestions as well as motivational support.
Becoming part of BM and taking the responsibility
of AO is a lot of additional work next to
your studies for a limited time but the experiences
last for a lifetime.
- Dalya Samur
Waiting for your BM Applications……YOURS, 2011-12 BM!