Every semester, GSA(Graduate School Association) Campaigns arrive and a new team is selected. Here we have Team C.I.C.A. consisting of the president, Stefani Lew , and three vice presidents: Lara Ysabela Delos Santos , Martin Svilicic, and Jisu Baek . In this interview, we will dive into more about their story and contributions at Yonsei GSIS! As all four members have previous leadership and on campus experience being part of the current Yonsei GSA Team this semester part of manager and social committee, they explain the differences in being an executive vs manager and also know how it is important to be part of the community and continue to improve yourself(professionally, personally).
Interview:
- Can you each introduce yourselves and share your roles within Team C.I.C.A.?What inspired you to run for the student council?
Stefani: I’m Stefani Lew, and I’m the next president. I’m a second semester student majoring in ITFM. I’m about to be a third semester student, and what inspired me to run for GSA is that I really enjoyed my time. And also I think both from my experience as a first semester student and on the council, there are areas I want to improve in and continue to better GSA’s offerings to the students because I think we’re not quite levelling ourselves to our maximum, so I have a lot of hope for that.
Lara: I’m Lara, second semester majoring in PIC. I basically started my journey in GSA as an intern last semester and I continued being a manager handling inter-GSIS activities, and now I’m going to be vice president of external affairs, which is basically just an umbrella area for the inter-GSIS role, which I previously had. Part of the inspiration came from wanting to extend the connection of Yonsei GSIS to other schools.
Jisu: Hello, I’m Jisu. I’m also a second semester student majoring in ITFM. So I will be the vice president of internal affairs.What motivated me(to run for the election) was the other running mates. I saw them doing their manager work in GSA and I thought they would do great as president and vice president. And as someone who isn’t part of the GSA executive, I always wanted to participate more, so I thought that it would also be a great opportunity for me using my previous experience in Ewha GSIS, in which I managed internal affairs in the office through this Yonsei campus.
Martin: Hello, my name is Martin, I’m from Croatia and I’m soon to be a third semester ITFM student. When I first joined GSIS, initially as an intern, people at GSA were friendly and accommodating and I wanted to learn more about it. As I became a manager, it became about supporting vibrant student life where I meet more students from different cultures and all of that and trying to enable that for as many students as possible as well. We’re not necessarily a part of GSA for what I am, rather it is because GSA allowed it and made it possible for me. Now we want to make it the same for everyone else.
2. Team CICA had some strong competitor(s) this semester. How did you all react to winning the election?
Martin: I was questioning it a lot. I didn’t know what our chances were. I think it was about being sociable and both teams showed that and we were very good with people, as well as our attractive campaigns. So we didn’t have an idea where we stood until the very last moment. We are very happy with the result, because we will work well together and we are great communicators.
3. You all are in the same semester and know each other well, and on top of that are involved in GSA this together(Martin and Lara- interns, Stefani – manager, Jisoo- committee member) What are some things you expect to be different in the next semester?
Lara: I think a big difference between manager and executives is communication with the office. As a manager, you don’t really get to communicate with the office, so as an executive, managing expectations with students and the office is important and keeping a balance within that.
Stefani: To add to that, as a manager, you only have to complete your tasks, and as an executive you have an oversight to what’s going on, and have a bigger picture in mind, so the key is finding a balance of all aspects and not just focusing on your own timeline, but know how to balance everyone’s needs.
Martin: Preparing GSA is the future. The last two semesters, GSA has become more structured and now we have a say for the direction and we want to make it easier for the next semester(and future execs), in terms of managing the managers and interns. It is more ‘forward’ thinking compared to before.
4. I am sure you have stated your visions, goals for the next semester. Besides events or activities, what is something new or unique you want to bring to GSA?
Martin: Korea is one of those countries, where students have a harder time to integrate into and feel isolated. We want to bring more awareness and support the student life experience and atmosphere through being part of Yonsei GSIS as a whole.
5. I am sure you will be busy over this summer with the transition process to being the next GSA. Have you all started yet? What do you think the process will be like?
Stefani: We’re actually starting very soon, once the current GSA execs are finished wrapping up with Gala and other things. As far as the timeline goes, we already started discussing and once we get the ‘green light’, we can really start on working on the logistics and everything.
6. What are some future expectations for managers?
Stefani: Balance in personality for the managers is important. As for expectations, I think it’s important to have the ability to be professional and approachable. Approachable doesn’t necessarily mean outgoing in this sense, cause there’s different styles of being outgoing. Because managers are part of the big picture, they fit into that professional capacity and commitment.
Martin: We hope to clarify what it means and what it takes to be a manager during the interview process, by then when we interview the candidates, we can figure if this is a good fit for them.
7. What is your most favorite GSA event so far and why?
Martin: I really enjoyed the bowling event, since I haven’t gone bowling in a long time. But the one that left a great impression was the Incheon Day trip was really fun because it wasn’t something I would do alone.
Jisu: For me, the campus tour. It’s meaningful and it’s their first day at Yonsei
Lara: I like the picnic events! This semester, we managed to invite other schools such as KU and SNU.
Stefani: The Incheon Day trip. It was a nice one day trip and get outside of Seoul.
8. Can we expect to see more trips like Incheon?
Stefani: We definitely would like to do something similar next semester. Usually GSA already works with KSC for a Nami island trip, so we hope to do another event like this.
9. We’re already half-way through the year. Is there anything else you would like to let people know more about you or possibly give some tips to current and upcoming students?
Martin: The simple advice: the experience is what you make it to be. If you aim to have fun, you have to go out there and seek it. Same applies for finding internships. There are plenty of opportunities for any field whether its internships, academics, etc.
Jisu: Participation in events are important in both academic and professional events. Attend as many events as possible. They will gain a lot from attending the events from the first week, and it’s not necessarily about just promoting, but it also applies to their experience and overall student life.
Lara: Strive to make connections, and not just professionally but also personally. You’re already in Korea so make the most of it during those two years. You may never know those connections will last you longer than what you expected. Like what Jisu said, get yourself there, join events and meet new people. Improve and work on yourself.
Stefani: Pretty similar to what they said, but I would say be curious. My philosophy in life is that, even if you’re not too sure about something, just say yes and go for it! The worst thing that will happen is you will get a no, or what’s worse is that you didn’t apply and not knowing if you would like it or not. I didn’t apply to be an intern(which I regretted, same with not joining MT last semester) because I didn’t know much about it and wanted to take it easy my first semester. After becoming a manager, I ended up with like 20 friends so the same applies for events.
Conclusion:
I would like to thank Team CICA for the fantastic answers and insights on how they will lead the next student council at Yonsei GSA. Wish them all the best and we cannot wait to see what they have in store for us starting in September. Stay in touch with their activities by following the official Yonsei GSA Instagram account: @yonseigsis_gsa
The End
Mason He, Yonsei GSIS, News Reporter
MKH Productions