WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE PART OF AIC?
You can now apply to Aalto Investment Club’s board of 2023! In this post, this year’s board members tell about their roles, share their favourite AIC memories, and send their greetings to new applicants. If you are considering applying to the board of 2023, this is definitely worth a read!
Lauriina - Chair of the board
Name: Lauriina Lindström
Role: Chair of the Board
Lauriina’s favourite AIC memory: A lot of great AIC memories have accumulated over the past two years, but one from this spring came to my mind. During Vappu, Lauri organized a Vappu party for our board and alumni. We ordered food, played some boardgames, made some drinks and enjoyed the evening with the AIC family.
In addition, all cabin trips have also been so much fun and relaxing!
Board members describe Lauriina: Lauriina is probably the most efficient person in the world - she does about a million things simultaneously and doesn’t stress at all. The drink master of our board and a pro chef. Very smart in many things but also things that cosplay is a band and that harem is a part of New York City. I admire Lauriina’s persistency which you can see daily.
What responsibilities do you have in AIC?: As Chair of the Board my main responsibility is to guide and communicate the organization's vision, mission and long term direction. I am responsible for the day-to-day coordination of operations by preparing meetings, communicating with board members and stakeholders and coming up with ideas for future events and their development. I have an important task of always supporting all board members and helping them shine in their own roles.
As Chair I also got to be in charge of the biggest event of the year - the Student Investment Summit with Peik.
What is the best thing about your role?: The most rewarding thing about my role is to see development and create great events, which the participants enjoy. It is also great to hear good feedback afterwards. It is awesome to see when board members succeed in their roles or get to challenge themselves and develop. In my own role I couldn’t be more glad of a team I’ve gotten to lead and get to know to. I’ve also myself learnt a lot about myself and leadership.
What has surprised you in AIC?:
AIC:ssä yllätti myös se miten paljon tilaa toiminta jättää ideoilla ja ajatustyölle. AIC:ssä ei ole vahvoja vakiintuneita perinteitä, joten innovaatioille löytyy paljon tilaa ja toimintaa voi kehittää uuteen suuntaan, jos hallitus näin kokee.
When I started in AIC’s board of 2021, I wouldn’t have thought that I would find friends this close through this association. In these two years I’ve gotten to know wonderful people and I believe this close friend group will last long in the future. I meet AIC’s members almost on a daily basis, because we have a lot of similar interests and hobbies.
It also took me by surprise how much space there is for ideas. We don’t have established traditions, so there’s a lot of space for innovations and opportunity to develop our association into a different direction, if the board chooses so.
Why did you decide to apply to AIC?: I heard about AIC for the first time at Mursumessut in 2020, where alumni’s Silja and Marko were presenting their activities. The atmosphere was warm and friendly and I noticed how tight a group AIC was. The people at AIC seemed very driven and had a "can-do attitude". The community seemed diverse, inspiring and interesting. AIC combined my interests in investing, making some impact and a group that I really wanted to join.
To whom would you recommend applying to AIC?: A board year at AIC is suitable for a person who wants an unique opportunity to drive change in preconceptions related to investing and create meaningful and high-quality events for the Aalto community. The year offers an opportunity to challenge yourself, learn and gain responsibility for yourself. There is no need to be afraid of applying to the board if you don't yet know everything. The most important thing is the desire to learn and an interest in investing and other current things that are happening in the world.
I recommend applying to the AIC board to anyone who wants to get new amazing friendships, has an open minded way of thinking and wants to be involved in driving change.
Lauriina’s greetings to applicants: Applying to AIC was definitely one of the best decisions I've made in the last few years, So if you're interested at all, you should definetly apply! AIC is a club where you can be yourself, meet the best people and learn a lot about yourself. You can also send a message to the board members if you have any questions <3
Peik - Vice-chair of the board
Name: Peik Berg
Role: Vice-chair of the Board
Peik’s favourite AIC memory: There has been many warm memories during the year but to mention two: Board’s summer cottage trip and the hottest summit this year, Student Investment Summit.
Board members describe Peik: The wine expert of our board. Rumour says, gold isn’t nowadays the only thing he invests in. An embodiment of #onlymiddleclassstuff and Lord of the Toes. Peik’s responsibility is all “important stuff” and he handles everything with grace. The support and shelter on our board and always ready to help. “The f***ing ray of sunshine”. Always manages to do everything.
What responsibilities do you have in AIC?: Olen AIC:n hallituksen yleishenkilö eli teen hieman kaikkea. Vastuullani on hallituksen toiminnan organisointi Lauriinan tukena, mihin kuuluu niin toimintamme sisällön strategista suunnittelua kuin I am the “general person” of our board so I do a little bit of everything. My responsibilities include supporting Lauriina in organizing our activities as well as preparing for our meetings. I was also responsible for this year’s Student Investment Summit, which I would describe as the hottest event of the year!
What is the best thing about your role?: The best thing about being the Vice-Chair is the versatility of tasks. I’ve gotten to work with other Board members and learn a wide range of new things. Another point I want to highlight is the ability to be creative as a part of AIC’s development.
What has surprised you in AIC?: I was surprised by AIC’s warmth as a community. Even though, we’re a diverse group of people, I’ve gotten good friends from our Board and Alumnis.
Why did you decide to apply to AIC?: I decided to apply to AIC because I’m interested in investing as a subject and I was impressed by the pleasant atmosphere at Mursumessut. AIC seemed to be a community I’d want to be part of.
To whom would you recommend applying to AIC?: If you are person that is interested in investing and you’re ready to work as a part of a close team in order to create meaningful events, is AIC definitely for you. You can apply to the board from different backgrounds and with different skills, as long as you are ready to take responsibility and do your tasks with detail, but never too seriously 😉
Peik’s greetings to applicants: One year ago, I was in the same situation as you are. Reading the same blogs and hesitating whether I should apply or not. One year later, I can say that applying to AIC was one of the best decisions I’ve made during my studies. Every individual can be totally theirselves and that might be the reason I’ve enjoyed AIC that much.
You can shoot me or the other Board members a message if you have any questions regarding AIC or just want to talk to someone. Feel free to apply!
Jessika - Treasurer & Head of Community
Name: Jessika Sjöholm
Role: Treasurer & Head of Community
Jessika’s favourite AIC memory: Cottege trips with our board and the alumni, and doing sports with our AIC Sportsklubben, such as iceskating, beach volley and trib3.
Board members describe Jessika: During our summer cottage trip Jessika went on a morning run and bought celery for our shared evening snack. Luckily she also likes pizza, so she is best of both worlds guaranteed :-) Enjoys every moment. Jessika’s calm and logical thinking keeps the cursor of our actions in the right direction. Jessika comes across as open and authentic which is probably thanks to the numerous trips she has been on.
What responsibilities do you have in AIC?: I have two roles in AIC which are very different and complement each other. As the treasurer I am responsible for the financial side of the organization, which includes i.e. budgeting, invoicing and accounting. My other role as the Head of Community means that I get to organize internal events and hangouts for our board of 2022 as well as to our AIC alumni. These events include i.e. cottage trips, AIC vappu-picnic and Christmas party.
What is the best thing about your role?: The best part of the role of treasurer is that it gives you a very good understanding of the overall situation of the organization and its events, because all purchases and cash flows pass through the hands of the treasurer. In this role you get to take responsibility. I also enjoy the fact that treasury tasks are mostly independent and therefore easy to fit into your own schedule.
My second role as the Head of Community brings a lovely social aspect to my AIC responsibilities. The best thing about this role is that I get to contribute to the strong sense of community that we have and spend time with our amazing board members and the alumni.
What has surprised you in AIC?: What has surprised me the most is how amazing events we have managed to organize in such a short time with a team that didn’t know each other beforehand. Last year I admired the events organized by the previous board, and suddenly I am doing similar stuff myself!
Why did you decide to apply to AIC?: There are many reasons for why I decided to apply. Firstly, I admired the professional brand and way of organizing events that AIC had. Secondly, I wanted to be involved in something that wasn’t only about partying and drinking. And lastly (and most importantly), I had a strong feeling that the members of the previous board were amazing personalities and I felt that it was the right community for me.
To whom would you recommend applying to AIC?: AIC is suitable for someone who has genuine interest in learning more about investing and everything else, and willingness and time to organize events for other students.
Jessika’s greetings to applicants: If you feel like this could be the right thing for you – dare to apply! We are very excited to read through your applications and we hope that we get applications from different kinds of personalities with different kinds of backgrounds <3
Anna - Head of Events
Name: Anna Krivokolysko
Role: Head of Events
Anna’s favourite AIC memory: The trip to Nuuksio in the beginning of spring and Student Investment Summit 2022.
I also have great memories from all our cottage trips and from Trib3 where we all were sweting at the same time.
Board members describe Anna: You can take Anna to the woods and she would survive there independently. Likes her sauna hot. Anna manages to go to the gym, work, study and every party - all with the strength gained from convenience food and with 5 hours of sleep per night. There isn’t a person Anna couldn’t cold call. Anna K is our efficient executor, you could combine the three Powerpuffs and you still wouldn’t be as productive as Anna.
What responsibilities do you have in AIC?: My responsibilities were planning the event and making sure that everything goes smoothly. During the planning we made sure that every team knows what to do and made a budged for different necessities. I also contacted our speakers for the event, prepared them for their speeches and worked us their buddy during the event. Quite often I also got to host the event by myself or together with somebody.
Creativity was needed when planning and ordering food and drinks for the event. It was extremely fun to come up with new ideas and surprise the guests with delicious food.
What is the best thing about your role?: The best think in my role were diverse tasks which differed in every event. None of our event were fulfilled in the same style and that was very exciting as well as educating.
What has surprised you in AIC?: It was surprising to notice that in AIC we are not only colleagues but a big family. Before joining AIC I thought that our alumni were close only because the pandemic years. We have gotten extremely close with our board member and with alumni because we have a lot of things in common that bring us together.
Why did you decide to apply to AIC?: I decided to apply to AIC because I got a warm introduction to this concept from Lauriina and Janne at Mursumessut. All the previous board members seemed like genuine and smart people who wanted to help other to get into the world of investing.
Before AIC barely any of my close friends were into investing. Therefore, I thought that AIC would be a perfect opportunity to get to learn more about the topic and get to know people with same interest.
To whom would you recommend applying to AIC?: I would recommend AIC to everybody who is interested in investing and wants to help other students to learn more.
Applicants can have different hobbies or strengths; investing doesn’t have to be your passion. You can be a photographer or a DJ and still send in your application. We appreciate uniqueness!
Anna’s greetings to applicants: Don’t underestimate your knowledge and ability to learn!
If you are reading this text right now, you are probably interested in AIC.
I genuinely recommend sending in an application!
Lauri - Head of Corporate Relations & Operations
Name: Lauri Ylimäki
Role: Head of Corporate Relations & Operations
Lauri’s favourite AIC memory: Our board’s summer cottage trip to Saimaa and Student Investment Summit 2022! In addition, I remember all of the deep conversations about purpose of life and other light topics <3
Board members describe Lauri: You would think Lauri is Espoo born and raised. Still reminisces military days even though mentally, he is middle-aged. Has a hate-love relationship to twitter drama. Lauri is thorough and diligent in everything he does and would never leave a friend in trouble. Always ready to stand behind his values and opinions and shows how things get done. Not a single Jodel about AIC passes Lauri’s radar. He always remembers every conversation he has had about AIC.
What responsibilities do you have in AIC?: In a nuthshell, head of corporate relations, together with the chair, is AIC’s face to the co-operation companies. I’m responsible both for maintaining all of the current co-operations but also negotiations of possible new ones. As an concrete example, I acquired delicious drinks to AIC’s checkpoints on the orientation week! In addition, as a head of operations, I plan the wonderful foods and drinks of our events together with Anna K.
What is the best thing about your role?: Definitely, the best thing in my role is its versatility and that I’ll get to work with other people, both from our board and also from partner companies. I’ve learned a lot about organizing of larger events and how to build partnerships.
What has surprised you in AIC?: What has surprised me, Is how big part of my life AIC has become. Both our own board and alumni society are super tight. Almost everyday I find myself with some current or previous AIC board member, most often from Abloc or BIZ-Hub :D in a year, AIC has become like a family for me.
Why did you decide to apply to AIC?: I applied to AIC because I liked its vision to make investing more approachable to everyone. AIC also felt like a good opportunity to get to know new like-minded people, and that's what it really has been. Even though I had already invested some time during the time when I applied, I didn't feel myself any near to professional, which caused me doubts at first when I thought about applying to AIC. However, at Mursu expo, I found out at AIC’s checkpoint that you don’t have to know anything about investing to apply to the board, as long as you have a genuine interest, and after that the decision was easy.
To whom would you recommend applying to AIC?: If you are a team player by nature and you want to get to know new amazing people, then AIC is definitely the place for you! We are looking for warm-hearted people to join our board, who want to promote our vision of making investing more approachable and grow the club's operations even more throughout Aalto. At AIC, you get to promote an important cause and, learn new about yourself, but it never becomes too serious, and we always have a smile in the corner of our eyes!
Lauri’s greetings to applicants: Remember that anyone studying at Aalto can apply regardless of the phase of their studies or discipline! When applying, be yourself and tell us who you are! We really want to get to know the applicants. If something is on your mind or you want to talk to someone from us, come and say hello on campus or send a dm, we'll be happy to answer all your questions!
Anna - Head of Brand & Visuals
Name: Anna Rantala
Role: Head of Brand & Visuals
Anna’s favourite AIC memory: Conversations at our cottage trips and overall meeting new people at our events!
Board members describe Anna: Such a creative and artistic person, who shares the most disturbing cards in Cards against humanity. Looks very kind and innocent but probably has figured out everyone’s deepest darkest secrets with horoscopes. A creative genius. Anna R is such a lovely person who radiates warmth when you’re in her company. Anna always has everything done even if we haven’t even yet started planning them.
What responsibilities do you have in AIC?: I create most of the visuals for our social media channels and take care of our brand. Additionally, I photograph our events and edit the pictures afterward. Also while preparing the events I am responsible for the decorations and visual look.
What is the best thing about your role?: The best parts of my role are being able to use my creativity and being able to learn new skills which I probably wouldn’t have otherwise learned.
What has surprised you in AIC?: What has most surprised me is how motivated and encouraging the atmosphere we have is. Everybody seems to exceed themselves in every event and all give positive feedback each time somebody succeeds.
Why did you decide to apply to AIC?: During my first year of studies, I attended a few of AIC’s events. The concept of the events stood out for me from other student events and I got interested in the club more. The previous year's board seemed to have a good attitude when organizing the events and just overall good vibes, which is what inspired me the most to apply to be part of AIC's team.
To whom would you recommend applying to AIC?: You should apply to AIC if you are motivated to develop your skills as an investor (regardless of your level) and also are interested to discuss current topics with different kinds of people. When being a part of AIC you get to take responsibility and challenge yourself, so if this gets you excited you should definitely apply.
Anna’s greetings to applicants: You’ll do best when you’ll just be yourself! We want to get to know each applicant as themselves, so come to talk to us openly and ask if there is something on your mind.
Tuukka - Head of IT & Media
Name: Tuukka Pöri
Role: Head of IT & Media
Tuukka’s favourite AIC memory: There are a lot of them. One was after the first event of the year. Everything went well and it gave me such a great feeling and motivation to create more.
Board members describe Tuukka: A good combination of 5am grinding and having fun. Tuukka was driving to our cottage and halfway remembered to put on his glasses as he wasn’t seeing properly :-) Tuukka is an inspiring person, he has a new idea every week he wants to develop or build. I’ve learnt a lot about “go-do” attitude and persistency from Tuukka. A compassionate person from Kuopio, who wouldn’t like him? A fitness model, influencer, pro coder, photographer. Name a thing this guy couldn’t do.
What responsibilities do you have in AIC?: The technical side of AIC such as websites, IT-services, technology in our event settings and social media platforms. I’ve gotten to make videos and other content from out events. I also wrote a blog post. Besides that, we’ve been tightly working together with the marketing and comms team, and I’ve learnt a lot about marketing events and our organization.
What is the best thing about your role?: I’ve learnt a lot of valuable skills. Designing and making websites, the technologies in our events, IT services’ automation, making videos, graphical design, writing. These will be useful going forward from here.
What has surprised you in AIC?: Creative freedom. AIC is still a young club and we don’t do things because “it’s how we’ve always done it”. On the contrary, we can research and execute new concepts and aim to offer interesting events and content.
Why did you decide to apply to AIC?: I wanted to get part of a community which works among interesting topics, learn more about investing and find new friends.
To whom would you recommend applying to AIC?: I recommend applying to AIC to a person who likes to do stuff with a close and motivated team. To a person who’s interested in investing and things happening in our society, who is willing to learn more and create events and content which help other students to learn more about these subjects.
Tuukka’s greetings to applicants: Applying to AIC was the most important decision I made last year. All the friends I’ve made, all the people I’ve met, and the things I’ve learnt. Irreplaceable experiences. So, if you consider applying to AIC, do it. It can be the most important decision for you this year.
Juulia - Head of Communications
Name: Juulia Rintala
Role: Head of Communications
Juulia’s favourite AIC memory: Summer cottage trip with our alumni and our first event of the year, build your investment portfolio brunch!
Board members describe Juulia: Fellow boomer with whom to have a wild Vappu on a couch sipping on tea. Juulia is the communications master of our board and knows exactly how to communicate about AIC externally in the best way possible. Juulia finds every single spelling mistake in a fraction of a second. She is very precise and a determined person. Motivated in everything expect studying and crawling to Otaniemi.
What responsibilities do you have in AIC?: I communicate about our events and other stuff to the whole Aalto community with a purpose of reaching as many students as possible from different fields. We are working closely together with Anna R and Tuukka regarding all social media stuff and we are for example launching our events coordinately, and additionally, we try to come up with engaging social media content together. I’m also in charge of our website’s blog this year. On event days everyone is involved in arranging the event space and other operative tasks during the day.
What is the best thing about your role?: Cooperation with our SoMe team! In this role I’ve really gotten the chance to use my creativity e.g. when writing event descriptions and other social media materials. The whole board trusts my communication skills and provide me constructive feedback and comments on my texts which helps me grow!
What has surprised you in AIC?: How close the alumni community is! We do a lot of fun stuff with our alumni and the previous board members are still truly part of AIC-community.
Why did you decide to apply to AIC?: It seemed like in AIC I could actually develop my skills related to my role, as well as learn more about investing. Both stood true!
To whom would you recommend applying to AIC?: If you are motivated to develop the old and create something new, you should definitely apply. AIC is not something you want to ‘phone in’, so if you are actually motivated and interested in doing cool stuff with great people – apply! AIC takes time of your calendar, because we do things with passion, and most importantly, together.
Juulia’s greetings to applicants: I’m so glad you decided to apply! Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about applying. I want to stress that any Aalto student can apply no matter what you study or at what stage of your studies are.