I learned a lot about myself: what I am passionate about, what values matter to me, what are the things I am good at, what I have to learn, etc. However, the biggest learning has been humility.
1. Please tell us about your background and journey.
I am a student of certified chartered accounting, which is what I started right after finishing my A levels. As a student, I became a part of AIESEC and have been a part of it since 2016 onwards. I also worked in finance full time from 2018 onwards before leaving the role to take charge of AIESEC in Bangladesh from July 2020 full time.
AIESEC has absolutely changed who I am as a person, my goals, and even what I want from people around me. I have been privileged enough to have been part of an organization that offers you the opportunity to find your purpose and live it every single day of your life.
2. When and why did you join AIESEC?
I joined AIESEC in September 2016, which was the first time AIESEC in Bangladesh was recruiting in the country. As a student of certified accounting, our scope to really explore self-development was really low and AIESEC seemed like the ideal place to be better.
Before the interview, I went through AIESEC’s programs and the idea of global professional and voluntary internships seemed like the best thing for me to invest my time on. Imagine being able to develop yourself but also making sure people’s lives around you were getting better.
3. Why do you think it is important for people to develop leadership skills early on?
I feel as though the word leadership is very misunderstood. People fail to understand that leadership starts with yourself and that the journey of leadership is you being the best version of yourself via various experiences that allow you to document your growth and learnings.
I am sure people would love to be at their very best at whatever they do in life and leadership paves the way for just that. Once you have completely understood yourself and can empower the people around you, there are no more boundaries to what you can achieve. If that state of being is achieved early, what you can do for yourself and your communities would be nothing short of special!
4. What have been your biggest learnings from your experience?
I learned a lot about myself: what I am passionate about, what values matter to me, what are the things I am good at, what I have to learn, etc. However, the biggest learning has been humility. I have learned that practicing humility actually opens you to a world of infinite growth and that is something I never want to pass up on ever.
The other big learning was understanding that there is nothing you can not sort without sitting down and being open to others, conflicts mostly occur when people are adamant about being closed to ideas and eventually, growth.
5. What advice would you give to people who just enter college?
I would ask you to not pass up on any opportunities, no matter how it may seem right now. This is legit the best time to learn as much as you can so do take them on.
At the same time, ensure to take care of yourself and not ignore your mental health. If your mental health isn't at its best, you will not be at your best, so ensure you learn to cater to it.
6. How has AIESEC adapted during Covid?
Covid has been difficult for us as an organization. However, it has also given us the opportunity to pivot and focus on looking at alternate ways to develop leadership in young people.
Because, exchange or no exchange, AIESEC will continue to empower young leaders to achieve peace and fulfillment of humankind’s potential. We have been able to use this time to form long-term sustainable partnerships and focus on the heart of our organization; our members; all of which will help us achieve our vision of engaging every young person on the planet and develop leadership skills in them!
7. Which is your favorite book and why?
I am a huge fan of social businesses because of the impact it creates in the communities it operates out of. The first book that introduced me to this concept and made me learn more about this concept was “Banker to The Poor” by Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus.
It talks about how Dr. Yunus used the concept of social enterprises to solve an age-old issue of microfinance in the rural areas of Bangladesh by creating a bank for and by the people of the rural areas. The book was extremely insightful and I enjoy going back to it from time to time just to take inspiration from the struggles and the eventual success of the concept!
Md Ragib Rakesh | President, AIESEC in Bangladesh
Interviewed By: Nishad Kinhikar
){kind=link}
Social