#MeetOurLeaders : Get to know our LCP, Cindy Alinta

This week, we had the opportunity to #MeetOurLeaders and dive into the AIESEC journey of our current Local Committee President (LCP), Cindy Alinta. We have asked several questions regarding her AIESEC journey, and here’s what she had to say.

How did you find out about AIESEC and what made you decide to join?

I first discovered AIESEC through Instagram’s explore page. I was randomly scrolling, then I saw a picture of someone joining AIESEC’s Global Volunteer (GV) to the Czech Republic, and I thought that that seemed fun and interesting to me. Then, I checked out AIESEC Indonesia’s Instagram page. From there, I dived deeper, finding out more and more about AIESEC, and apparently, the nearest ones to me were AIESEC in Prasetiya Mulya and AIESEC in BINUS. At the time, I was in twelfth grade, looking for universities to apply to, and to be honest, I chose to apply to Prasetiya Mulya and BINUS because those two universities had AIESEC in them. I wanted to sign up for GV, develop my leadership skills, and be a volunteer abroad. I thought those activities seemed fun and challenging to me, and I also wanted to sharpen my English skills.

What made you want to take up the role of an LCP?

For me, this was the last chance to continue my journey at AIESEC in BINUS and it should not end yet, as there are still a lot more to come and I wanted to put myself into something that can be impactful to others. For that reason, I decided to apply LCP for AIESEC in BINUS to help members find their unique “WHY AIESEC”, which also connects to a bigger WHY in life.

What was the toughest challenge you faced in your experience? How did you overcome it?

To sum it up, there are a few challenges, such as balancing uni life and AIESEC responsibilities, keeping up to high expectations and maintaining it, even time zone differences. People and the environment aren’t always supportive as well.

Other challenges I faced include when I applied for the national supporting team of AIESEC in the United States, and for a Danone project from AIESEC in Indonesia. I thought that submitting the applications would be easy, but apparently, it’s not. I had to go through several coachings in various places, and I really had to deeply understand what I had to do, and at the same time, build connections with members of AIESEC in the US.

One challenge that stood out to me is when I applied for Local Committee President (LCP), honestly. The booklet I acquired in order to apply for the position had so many questions for me to answer, and at the same time, I had to balance between applying for LCP and college. I was overwhelmed. I had to acquire coaching letters and other demands from campus that provided more questions I had to answer. I also had to get interviewed by AIESEC at the national level and go through a lengthy interview by BINUS as well. I cried several times and I really wanted to give up. But then, my team leader at the time told me that I’ve dived in so deep. I had to survive. By far, that was one of the most challenging experiences I had.

I felt motivated by other AIESEC members around me. Then I remembered that my main reason for joining AIESEC was for my own self-development. I also realized that AIESEC is not all about GV. I overcame those challenges thanks to the support of AIESEC members from the local committee level, national level, even the international level, and by remembering how big this organization is and its capability in developing me. To have a support system is also really important — they can be a place for you to vent, they can lift you up, make you feel strong. I also went back to the main reason why I joined AIESEC in the first place, which is to develop myself, and I reminded myself that this is part of my journey. It occurred to me that if we want to develop, we’ll definitely go through challenges along the way. That made me tough.

How is your experience as the president of AIESEC in BINUS so far?

Being an LCP for AIESEC in BINUS really shaped me. Being an LCP requires me to think about how to make this organization survive in terms of sustainability and profit. It also requires me to think about my teams, whether the team leaders have developed the members of their functionals or deliver the leadership experience to the members. Other than that, my experiences taught me that we have to think before we act. For example, during the National Election Conference a while ago, I was essentially the representative for AIESEC in BINUS; thus how I act and how I speak could really affect our reputation. My experiences also made me discover myself. Every process I went through as an LCP made me learn so many things, including self-control. To me, anger seems unnecessary, and emotional control is essential. I also developed empathy, since my environment requires me to be an active listener regarding how our members feel, to understand our members. I also got motivation especially from my teams, VPs, and my previous co-CP, Alifa. Every time I wanted to express or say anything, they would always listen and understand. To have a mutual understanding with other members is very important.

Do you have any inspirational quotes or motivational messages you would like to share with your teammates?

“A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor”. This was actually the quote that motivated me throughout the LCP application process.

To sum it all up, our LCP, Alinta, has gone through a lot of things — things that have developed and shaped her to become the person accomplished to lead AIESEC in BINUS today. Several important lessons we can get from Alinta’s experience are that developing ourselves and making an impact in other people’s lives is important, and in doing so, we will face various challenges along the way and are pushed to overcome them. Self-motivation and control are important, but so is having a support system consisting of those who listen, encourage, and understand us, since people and the environment around us are not always supportive; and that a smooth sea never made a skillful sailor.