life after esn
Markus Lutter Home section: ESN Bochum Roles within ESN: Former President of ESN Bochum, Member
of ESN Alumni Germany and ESN International Communication Committee
Active from: 2000 - Present
So… what do you do these days? I’m a photo archivist at the city administration of Bochum. ESN was and has always been a hobby for me. I have never been on an Erasmus exchange, I learnt about ESN from good friends of mine. That is maybe one reason why I’m still active, there is not a great difference between myself and a person who wants to keep her / his Erasmus experience a little bit longer. How was your transition to the post-ESN life? If you find a way out of this trap, tell me ... no transition way found until now ;-) And to be a little bit connected to ESN in the post-ESN life, we built a German Alumni Association in which we have a summer meeting for the National Alumni and also meetings at the national events of ESN Germany. By the way, when we say Alumni, we are not only referring to former ESNers, but also those who are old-stagers. What was your most memorable ESN moment? There were so many, it is very difficult to say. For me, the AGMs in Poland were really great ESNevents, and also the holidays after that in Cracow. It wasn’t only that event but also the people and all the experiences gained, like for example the Cultural Medley Antalya and AGM Istanbul; those were such big experiences. I think that to be stuck in Istanbul for five more days after AG, because of volcano ash, and to have had the time to walk around the city and travel back by bus to Germany was a very memorable experience. Do you still often come in contact with ESNers? Of course, every week with my local section and our exchange students :-) It is good that we are in Brussels, having more structure. But first, we are there for the exchangers, and the section. Of course, there I’m the old guy, we’re not on the same eye level, but it is nice to see other points of view, to have some (night) life... and also maybe to be helpful. I think that even if I quit at some time, I will be still there for my section if they want, because I have a lot of knowledge about our city and I usually make the guided city tours :-) How has ESN helped you in your professional life? Directly in my professional life? Not at all. In my life in general, I have become much more open-minded and after all these ESN Events I act much cooler towards problems... there will be a solution :-) Is there anything else about your ESN life you would like to share? Firstly, you can neither be too old or too young. It is in your mind. I’m the oldest in our section, and also the youngest in our city history association. Both can be helpful, to have experience or to be able to learn something new from it. If your life circumstances give you the opportunity to be active in ESN, do it. If not in your section, come to the committees or build a National Alumni Organisation.
Secondly, if you need to go to work the next day and have lots of private paperwork at home, it is 9 p.m. and you are at the students’ pub and want to go home –that’s reasonable! If three hours later you are still there, because you’ve been talking for a long time to a nice girl, then sitting with people from places like Turkey, Greece, Germany and Sweden - all laughing, drinking and getting to know each other, and at some point getting to know that you are a small part of the organisation of ESN, being people who do more for the communication and connection of Europe than many others who are actually paid for it – that’s priceless !
Hendrik Schraa Home section: ESN Leeuwaarden Former role within ESN: Chair of ESN International IT Committee
Active from: 2006-2011 So… what do you do these days? I'm a solutions architect/consultant in the area of video conferencing at VisionsConnected. How was your transition to the post-ESN life? Fairly smooth, I am still in touch with quite a few of the ESN people I was engaged with, still enjoying the fact that we can meet and see each other every once in a while and enjoy what is now, reminisce about what has been, and look forward to what it will be. How has ESN helped you in your professional life? The experience of ESN benefits my job within an international environment every day when working with large(r) international organisations. It allows me to relate easier to customers, colleagues, and people from a different cultural background by means of an open attitude, allowing me to form bonds and mutual trust more easily. What is your most valuable ESN experience? The accumulation of both, professional and personal experience, that was gained during my years of being active, specifically with ESN International. The continuous cooperation with great and culturally diverse people has honestly made a better person. If I could turn back time I would change my approach towards ESN as a concept during my local section time significantly. We were insufficiently aware of the enrichment that further involvement in both national and international level has to offer. Do you still often come in contact with ESNers? Although mostly former ESN'ers, as an active member of the ESN Alumni network, yes, I'm in touch with quite a few people. With my Greek girlfriend being with me every day as the best example of that :-)
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