”What are you going to do next year?” I’m surely not the first one to be asking this. At fall time recruitments are in full swing , as clubs, subject associations, special status associations and even the student union are competing for volunteers. Last autumn, as an unforgettable yet demanding year as a chairperson was coming to an end, I stated loudly that the year to come would be ”the year 2015 of academic achievements”. One night I ran into the recently selected former of the board of AYY, who at KY’s open office (RIP <3) started challenging me to run for the board. What the heck is AYY? But, one thing led to another and now, about a year later, I’m sitting in 103T writing a blog, heart filled with love of AYY.

Even though I did my best to prepare myself for a year in our student union and its board by meeting people, listening to their experiences and wading through action reports, budgets, the representative’s council’s decisions and plans of action, I had no clue of all the things that 2015 would bring. Hundreds of new acquaintances, good friends, becoming familiar with important issues, crowning Manta (twice!), Sauli Niinistö, all-nighters, laughter – and of course also frustration. However, in the middle of this sentimental gust of nostalgia it’s good to remind oneself that there’s still eight weeks left before Christmas.

Another thing about AYY that I had heard of but had no way of truly understanding before my year here is the amount of volunteers working within AYY and especially the high level of enthusiasm, energy and good humor among them. This spirit of doing things combined with the large spectrum of volunteering possibilities has convinced me: even though next year will be the year of diligent studying, it’s more than possible for me to do things in our student union on the side.

One of the best things in AYY is the work environment, no doubt. Even though the colleagues are young and enthusiastic, there’s an incredible amount of know-how and experience to be found within both the volunteers and the employees. This is precisely why I find it difficult to come up with a voluntary job which would be impossible for anyone to manage – you learn by doing and at AYY you get to learn from the best. The huge expertise is luckily mixed with a decent dose of student spirit, so you don’t have to be worried about the atmosphere being too uptight.

Deadlines for applications are closing one by one, the application for HOAS organs being the first on 8^th of November. Before you make your decision, you can get to know the opportunities to experience and grow AYY provides. You can do it by visiting ayy.fi/stop/en or participating the Recruitment Night at Elisa Living room on 10^th of November, where you get to hear the volunteers’ own experiences.

What are you going to do next year? Whatever you do, do it to the fullest. I know I will, as a volunteer at AYY.

– Rosa

This entry was posted on Friday, October 30th, 2015 at 14:02 and is filed under Culture & Community. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.