Mourad Kolsi - My Experience with AIESEC

My name is Mourad Kolsi, student in Financial Software Development Engineering, and AIESEC member since 2007 in LC University and in the Member Committee of AIESEC in Tunisia. Since the first day of my university life, my first professional objective was to work in a progressive and challenging environment at a highly profiled IT international company, where I could apply and use my capabilities, enhance my skills and seek professional growth by making a difference in the company’s success. My first step to attend this objective was joining AIESEC in 2007. I was highly motivated and dedicated to enlarge my learning towards new ventures and experiences. I was delegate in many local, national and international conferences and I didn’t miss any opportunity to learn new things and to meet people from all around the world. In 2009/2010 I held a leadership position in the national committee of AIESEC in Tunisia as National Vice President of Projects, and I seize the opportunity to attend the international congress 2009 in Malaysia. It was one of my best life change experiences. Being exposed to a variety of leadership styles served with concrete models of implementation, enriched my personality and helped me to develop my own approach to impact the world around me. After a rich and intensive AIESEC experience as an active member, I decided to take a new challenge and to be a part of the global exchange program of AIESEC. My choice was to move to Quebec City in Canada for 18 months internship with LGS (An IBM company working on Information Technology and Software Development) to work as analystprogrammer. In the beginning, I thought that it will be difficult to integrate this international environment, and to adapt myself with their way to do, how they organize their projects and how is relationship between team members, but finally I was surprised by the relaxed atmosphere and how people helped me to understand this new system and to be productive just after few days of work. Concerning my new venture in Canada, it was difficult to adapt myself with weather which is totally different compared to Tunisia, where I lived, and where temperatures drop rarely under zero. But, I equipped myself with the suitable Canadian clothes and winter boots, and it was really funny to confront the snow and the wind, and to learn how to walk in icy roads and to avoid slipping. I feel lucky living this opportunity and this experience in my life. Now, I realize that my AIESEC experience is amazingly impacting me. Living and working within an international environment including different points of view, several cultural backgrounds make my experience outstanding. I always said that ‘’Life is not about finding yourself, life is about creating yourself ’’, and AIESEC gave me the right opportunity to do it and to choose my destiny.