Imagine you are a student faced with the prospect of finding a job over summer, especially in theses hard economic times. Or imagine if the other options would be for you to take up summer school or just wander around Hamilton doing nothing much useful. You could of course go on a short holiday somewhere in Rotorua or in the South Island, but why settle for just that?  

You now have the option of doing something far more exciting, far more adventurous and which you can also get countless benefits from. Imagine having the chance of going overseas on an internship experience for around two or three months over this summer. Imagine how exciting it would be! Not only would it be an exciting learning experience and a mind blowing adventure, it would also be the chance to gain first-hand experience of a foreign culture and society.  

AIESEC Waikato is offering you the chance to do exactly that. Our internships are not as highly priced as other overseas internship or exchange programmes, they focus more on interacting with the local youth population and they are unique in the way they are run.  

Why go overseas? Why not? This semester, we are offering three amazing yet diverse countries for students to do their internships in.  

In India, we are offering students the chance to volunteer and travel in the world’s fastest-growing economies. Add that to the largest human population in the world and imagine all the experiences one could have! Our projects in India include: working with children and helping to improve their welfare, HIV/AIDS awareness, and raising the importance of education in the community. Besides that, we also offer environmental conservation internships in some of the cities in India. 

In the Eastern European country of Ukraine, we offer a highly acclaimed project run by the AIESEC branch in Ukraine. The World Without Borders project is a nation-wide project in Ukraine aimed at school students. The aim of the project is to educate students on international awareness and the various different cultures of the world.  

Now, for the first time, we are also offering students the chance to volunteer in Malaysia. Called by many “the heart of Asia,” Malaysia is a multicultural country like New Zealand that infuses traditional Asian culture and modern Western trends. Besides being among the most peaceful countries on Earth, Malaysia is known for its blend of culture and society. Among the AIESEC projects run in Malaysia are HIV/AIDS awareness and working with disadvantaged children in the community.  

Why not read for yourself the amazing first hand experiences of two students who have gone through our overseas internship programme. The two stories below showcase what it really is like to experience an AIESEC internship. The fun, the adventure, the skills and the experience of a lifetime. 
 

Malcom Laird goes on a Russian Adventure
 
I joined AIESEC because I thought the opportunities offered would provide useful work and life experiences after finishing my degree. Plus it wasn’t really the best time to be looking for employment and I have the rest of my life to be a wage slave. And when the offer to work in an orphanage in Russia was emailed to me, it was too good to pass up. The Kazan State Orphanage No.4 in Tatarstan, Russia is an institution for orphaned children and juvenile criminals that cater for 50 boys and the same number of staff caring, educating and providing entertainment. My duties as an AIESEC volunteer involved organising activities, teaching English, mentoring and shovelling snow (a collective responsibility). I had ample time to teach the kids how to play bullrush and tiggy, and also got a moderately impressive touch team going as well.

Living in the orphanage gave me a totally unique insight into life within a social microcosm, of sorts. While suitably Dickensian, the orphanage was well funded and well managed. Still, living the same life as the children on the inside was humbling, and gave a feeling of solidarity. All those jokes about orphan-grade food turned out to be largely true. These people had nothing, and some had been inside for years (the standard sentence for offenders was three years). But in talking to them (their English lessons were next to useless so I learnt plenty of Russian) they revealed how very little really got them down. It was an infectious optimism that was difficult not to be inspired by.

The AIESEC committee in Kazan was similarly inspiring. Despite only being a relatively small, fledgling organisation, the committee was very professional and helpful. They went out of their way to make my time in Russia memorable. Travelling from place to place and seeing the sights I had only read about in books, I felt like a sober Jack Kerouac. I forged some important friendships and met people that would otherwise remain complete strangers. While everyone in the world seems to dwell on our differences, usually in pursuit of some political agenda, it is refreshing to know we are really more the same than we care to realise. It is also enlightening to know that sometimes people don’t always act purely on their own self interests. At the end of my three month internship I was doubtful that my work had been of use to anyone but myself, but I was told that I had made a difference. A lot better than just sitting at home and sucking up air. 

The China Experience
by Ying Fei Yew

When I finally decided that I didn’t want to spend my summer in NZ, I signed myself up for volunteer work abroad with AIESEC. An AIESEC member told me “this is a life changing experience” and I thought that sounded a little too cheesy, but I was able to testify this when the project RED WINGS offered me the opportunity to volunteer in China. Project RED WINGS mainly involves raising awareness of HIV/AIDS and work with NGOs around China, and I was based in Shanghai.   

My first day in Shanghai was an unforgettable day, although I had done my homework researching, standing in the middle of the central Metro station, dragging my 26kg luggage with a map and instruction of getting to my destination – it was overwhelming! People were everywhere and going in every direction, people were packed onto the trains like the tuna packed in cans. I soon learned the art of gracefully pushing through or else I’d have never gotten anywhere. It was a great relief when I finally got pick up by the AIESEC SISU members at their university – the Shanghai International Studies University (SISU).  

There are various responsibilities and learning opportunities that were given to me during my volunteering work for AIESEC SISU, which included: organising the HIV/AIDS awareness campaign and presenting at the “NGO and HIV/AIDS night”; distributing condoms on campuses (sponsored by Okamoto-condoms.) It was an interesting experience seeing how the Chinese students and community reacted to such activities. We also did fundraising for the “box of love” and Christmas presents for the disabled orphans; Standard Chartered Bank trainings for selected individuals; weekly free Chinese lessons; English speaking sessions with anyone; facilitation in the AIESEC in Mainland China national conference.   

I was extra privileged to experience the university life in China, such as living in a dormitory with EVERYONE else from your year and same degree; dining in a canteen where the menu never ever changed; packed bicycles at the bicycle parking lots and not a single car was seen on campus… I was treated like a VIP!AIESEC members went extra miles in specially arranging with the lecturers for me to sit in their classes; invitations to go to social events; front row concert tickets; national sport championship tickets and many more activities that are exclusive to students only. In the first week on campus, I was known as the VIP foreigner from New Zealand; second week on campus, I was known as someone and someone elses friend from overseas; third week on capmus, I blended in just fine, like one of the students on campus. This is something more than what I signed up for!  

Life in Shanghai for someone like me, who spent the last six years in Hamilton, was like Nemo leaving his small tank and going out in to the huge ocean. The buildings, people, events, food, shopping, nightlife, things that I saw, heard, felt… there were so many thrills, it never has a quiet moment, never a dull second, nothing like what I had prepared myself for. Surprisingly in Shanghai, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, there are places in the same city where unfortunate souls struggled to survive, where three year-olds were begging at hours when they should be in warm, comfy beds. Many times, I clenched my heart walking passed without doing anything and felt useless because there are just too many of them.  

In many ways, I was lucky to be part of AIESEC in Shanghai, which has the strongest and largest network of AIESECers from all around the world. In this place, alongside the new exiting things, new friendships, random strangers, old friends, even true love just naturally happen every single day, everyone crossing paths with each other. The friendships that I have made, the strangers with who I shared laughs and frustrations, old friends who I reconnected with had made my experience even more priceless.   

After 2 months in China, it was time to pack my heart up to head home with many “first time” experiences; many travelling stories; many new friendships made; 30GB of photos and videos; countless lessons learned; and many, many more… I asked for an overseas experience, I got a life changing experience, and nothing would stop me from doing it again.  

 
 
These two stories only give a taste of what it is like to experience an AIESEC internship. Our internships are one of a kind and are hard to replicate elsewhere. The lessons and skills you get out of it are unique. The people you meet are those you wouldn’t meet anywhere else. The impact it would have on you later life and job opportunities are priceless.  

So what are you waiting for? Applications are open now at www.aiesec.org.nz. To find out more email us at aiesec.waikato@gmail.com or drop by our office at MSC next to the ELT building.  

Who are we?
AIESEC Waikato is the Hamilton branch of the world’s largest student-run organization. Run by students for students, we offer all university students with leadership and developmental opportunities, overseas internships and a global learning network. Present in over around 110 countries with over thousands of members worldwide we are a unique student organization in what we do and how we do it.  

Info Sessions
Wednesday 22nd July 1pm L5
Thursday 23rd July 1pm L5