February 3, 2005

Pop Quiz / Abdallah Khan

Junior, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences

Stephen Anzaldi

Economics major is president of AIESEC, an international exchange organization, and a community assistant

What is AISEC?

It stands for Association of International Exchange for Students in Economics and Commerce. It’s the world’s largest student-run exchange program. We recruit and match students with internships in foreign countries. There are 700 chapters in 87 countries around the world and 38 chapters in the United States. The Northwestern chapter, for example, helps students here find interesting opportunities in other countries. And we host foreign students who come to work at local companies like Kraft Foods and Baxter.

What do you mean by host?

We do everything we can to make people feel comfortable in the culture. So we help set up all the logistics in getting them here and settled. We help find them a suitable apartment or house, take them to get a valid driver’s license and social security card. We accompany them to their first day at work. The group also has a culture team task force to arrange outings to restaurants and concerts and other events.

What are some of the best outings you’ve arranged?

We took our four interns, or trainees as we call them, to the Festival of Lights on Michigan Avenue. We also went to the Northwestern football game against Purdue, which was cool because some of them had never even seen American football before, and it was a great game.

What has been most valuable about your Northwestern experience thus far?

I’ve learned that if you want to do something, there’s nothing holding you back here. I have been involved with several extracurricular organizations, as a passive member. But being president of AIESEC enables me to be innovative and creative and to apply what I’ve learned in class to real life.

What has surprised you in college?

In high school, I never thought about studying abroad, let alone working abroad. I was always content to think I’d just get a job in the United States. And I was born overseas, in Saudi Arabia. But AIESEC is great because it offers an affordable option to experience other cultures, work on a career and develop yourself as an individual. When I pick up a newspaper now, I find myself reading stories about foreign countries I have no knowledge of or connection to.

It sounds like you’re busy. Do you have any free time?

I’m also a community assistant at Willard Residential College. So my three priorities are classes, the CA job and AIESEC. It’s a huge undertaking. I definitely do not have room for anything more. And, for the first time, I’m really using my Northwestern day planner. It used to just sit on my desk.

— Stephen Anzaldi