AIESEC UBC In Real Time: Natascha Lam

Meet Natascha Lam, a 2nd year kinesiology student at UBC. For Natascha, working at AIESEC has given her confidence to pursue something that's not related to her academic background. To find out more about NatschaÔÇÖs role at AIESEC and how she gained valuable skills in people management, marketing and more, check out the interview below!

Yousra: WhatÔÇÖs your role at AIESEC and what do you do on a typical day?

Natascha: I am the Vice President of the Business to Consumer portfolio. It would have been different if we were in person, though I think the main focus is building and overseeing strategies to increase our exposure and engagement within the UBC community. ThereÔÇÖs also a lot of collaboration and teamwork with other VPs about internal activities, and of course, managing the B2C portfolio!

Y: Nice! What would you say you value the most about AIESEC? Or what is your favorite thing about the work youÔÇÖre doing?

N: The thing I value most about AIESEC is just the freedom and the ability to learn such a expansive skill-set and things I would otherwise not get a chance to do with my academic degree. I value the ability to gain soft skills, especially working with other people and how to manage other people. My favorite thing is working with a diverse group of people from many different backgrounds, working together for a common purpose!

Y: Love it! What skills have you learnt since you joined AIESEC?

N: So many! IÔÇÖd say communication skills, working on teams, and marketing skills. Some of the things that are less obvious like learning how to take initiative and being creative, as well as how to tackle unforeseen obstacles.

Y: What are some of the challenges or obstacles that youÔÇÖve faced working at EML, and how have you overcome them?

N: Actually the biggest obstacle was when we had to adopt for COVID. The portfolios IÔÇÖve worked in are very dependent on in-person interaction and being able to speak to people and talk to them face-to-face. No being to promote the AIESEC products was definitely a big challenge. How we overcame that was through finding ways to how we can still send our message to people but in a different way and engaging students in UBC through membership experience and through the EWA events. As well, having a solid virtual meeting schedule was crucial to keep everyone engaged online.

Y: How has your time at AIESEC influenced your future plans, academic studies, career goals, or even just your hobbies?

N: It's definitely influenced what I want to do in the future. Since AIESEC is a more business-oriented organization and coming from a science background, it has opened my perspective on what my strengths are and what I am confident in doing in the future and seeing what options are out there! A big part of it was also observing how the career paths of other AIESEC alumni unfolded, and how many alumni came from similar non-traditional backgrounds but were successful in breaking into other industries. IÔÇÖd say it has given me confidence to pursue something that's not related to my academic background.

Yousra: WhatÔÇÖs your role at AIESEC and what do you do on a typical day?

Natascha: I am the Vice President of the Business to Consumer portfolio. It would have been different if we were in person, though I think the main focus is building and overseeing strategies to increase our exposure and engagement within the UBC community. ThereÔÇÖs also a lot of collaboration and teamwork with other VPs about internal activities, and of course, managing the B2C portfolio!

Y: Nice! What would you say you value the most about AIESEC? Or what is your favorite thing about the work youÔÇÖre doing?

N: The thing I value most about AIESEC is just the freedom and the ability to learn such a expansive skill-set and things I would otherwise not get a chance to do with my academic degree. I value the ability to gain soft skills, especially working with other people and how to manage other people. My favorite thing is working with a diverse group of people from many different backgrounds, working together for a common purpose!

Y: Love it! What skills have you learnt since you joined AIESEC?

N: So many! IÔÇÖd say communication skills, working on teams, and marketing skills. Some of the things that are less obvious like learning how to take initiative and being creative, as well as how to tackle unforeseen obstacles.

Y: What are some of the challenges or obstacles that youÔÇÖve faced working at EML, and how have you overcome them?

N: Actually the biggest obstacle was when we had to adopt for COVID. The portfolios IÔÇÖve worked in are very dependent on in-person interaction and being able to speak to people and talk to them face-to-face. No being to promote the AIESEC products was definitely a big challenge. How we overcame that was through finding ways to how we can still send our message to people but in a different way and engaging students in UBC through membership experience and through the EWA events. As well, having a solid virtual meeting schedule was crucial to keep everyone engaged online.

Y: How has your time at AIESEC influenced your future plans, academic studies, career goals, or even just your hobbies?

N: It's definitely influenced what I want to do in the future. Since AIESEC is a more business-oriented organization and coming from a science background, it has opened my perspective on what my strengths are and what I am confident in doing in the future and seeing what options are out there! A big part of it was also observing how the career paths of other AIESEC alumni unfolded, and how many alumni came from similar non-traditional backgrounds but were successful in breaking into other industries. IÔÇÖd say it has given me confidence to pursue something that's not related to my academic background.