14 years ago at this time of the year, I started my journey as a member of LSE – the students’ organisation in ETTI. One of the most transformational experiences for me at both personal and professional levels. I spent almost 8 years (2008 – 2016) actively involved in the organisation’s projects developing my own and developing the organisation in return.
I am so grateful that I had the chance to be part of the history of this organisation for the reason that here I refined my leadership and public speaking skills. Also, here I tested for the first time my entrepreneurship competence and learned the importance of being part of a big community.
I always considered LSE a great place to simulate real life – a place where you can do trial and error with your ideas without a high cost. As a result, after so many years spent here, I gained a lot of community experience (including international experiences), increased my level of self-confidence, and discovered how to transform a hobby into a job.
Besides all this, the most important takeaways are, of course: lifelong memories and lasting friendships.
Yesterday I had the great honour of returning as a special guest to ETTI and participating in the IT department’s weekly meeting. This is the department I founded in 2011, after having 3 years of prior experience in the Sports department, where I implemented multiple websites for the purpose of organising events and competitions.
The new team invited me to present my experience as a volunteer at LSE in general and coordinator of this Department particularly, and later in my career. I presented how I started as a volunteer, what was my motivation, why I spent so many years as an active member and how that helped me develop further. (Presentation slides here or here.)
I enjoyed discussing with the new generation about software development, career opportunities and the great timing they have now in terms of learning cutting-edge technologies in the context of the rise of AI and Blockchain nowadays.
I am always glad to be back there and I have the intention to keep in contact and support the new generations many years from now. The world is a small place and I am sure that we can build ambitious things together in the future.
