I. SHOW US AN ACTIVITY YOU ENJOY DOING. TELL US HOW YOU THINK IT CONTRIBUTES TO YOUR PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The activity that contributes the most to my personal and professional development is my volunteering in an association, called Leo Club. This is a youth organization of Lions Clubs International, a secular service organization founded in 1917.
The word LEO stands for Leadership, Experience, Opportunity: its purpose is to promote, through young people, social services in the community. Thus the name: this will develop in the individual qualities of Leadership, it will allow great Experiences and will give an Opportunity to help. We support various projects in the fields of health care, the elders, children, less abled, literacy and education, and self-development.

When I discovered the existence of this association in my town I was really determined to join it, because it gave me the chance to serve my community and improve the world, even if I was just a small town boy. So, when I was 16 years old, I joined the club and after two years I was assigned the position of Secretary. My roles as a Secretary were varied: I was maintaining club records, I was taking minutes at the meetings, I was submitting documents to the sponsoring Lions Club on a regular basis. I also had to maintain the officers’ list, the committee appointments, the attendance records and the rosters of the services we provided.

After 2 years I became the Vice President and now I am at my first mandate of presidency: I have to manage club and board meetings and mentor other Club Officers on their responsibilities. Furthermore, I have to participate to different “Leo Club Conferences”. These meetings are a good opportunity to exchange ideas, to learn new ways of helping our communities and they give me the chance to travel and visit some of the most beautiful cities in my country.

During these years as a member of the association I have had to organise different events, such as sport tournaments, charity balls, meetings with schools, fundraising dinners. This experience has helped me improve my organisational and public relations skills.

Moreover, thanks to the structure of this association, I discovered how to work in a team and how to relate with subordinates and superiors. I saw how important it is to include all members in decision-making processes and assign each member specific roles.
I also had the chance to apply what I learned at university: I had to create budgets to forecast the economic feasibility of events, I had the task of drawing up balance sheets and make profit and loss accounts.

Through this experience I have had the opportunity to meet different cultures and to be part of a worldwide community. Regardless of the language the Leo Club members speak, the religion they practice or the politics they support, we all share a common dedication in helping people in need.
So, this is why I think that being part of this volunteering association has had an important impact on my professional and personal development.