EST Board 2017-18 Graduation Statement

As the EST Board of 2017-18 graduates, former Board members reflect on their experience within the European Student Think Tank and wish the new Board all the very best for the coming term.

Aurélien Pommier

Having been involved in the EST for the past two years, first as an ambassador to Poland and afterward as the International Officer, Aurélien cannot bring himself to leave the youth organisation. It is with a great pleasure that he will serve the EST within the Executive Board for another year.

Under the direction of Aurélien and his two Senior Ambassadors, 20 ambassadors represented the EST across European countries this year. The position of International Officer required great coordination and time-management capacities. However, Aurélien knew how to recognise the importance of the International Office with each new article that his Ambassadors published and with each visit that they organised. The peak was probably reached this year with the participation of the EST at the European Youth Event. This is this feeling that continues to motivate Aurélien within the organisation: the EST community empowers and fosters personal initiatives toward a common goal, bridging the gap between students and Brussels.

After having been involved in numerous youth organisations, Aurélien has decided to focus uniquely on his term at the European Student Think Tank for the coming year, with plenty of ideas in mind. Meanwhile, he will finish his studies in European Law at the College of Europe and hope to come back to the European Parliament, where he has just finished his internship.

Cindy Langer

Cindy just graduated Cum Laude from the BSc Politics, Psychology, Law and Economics with a minor in Middle Eastern Studies. Thanks to scholarships for academic excellence and women in business she is able to continue her journey with a master’s in Dubai at a business school that, much like her, focuses on social justice and challenging the status quo.

It was this passion as social justice warrior that drove Cindy to the European Student Think Tank three years ago hoping to make the voices of the youth in Europe heard. During her term in the board she has actively worked to bring students of different backgrounds and different opinions together. To do so she established a permanent writers’ section, diversified the content of the EST’s academic journal, wrote an article series, and founded the working group EUrArt. But all of this was only possible because of an extraordinary staff of writers and editors and of course passionate, driven fellow board members without whom her vision would not have become reality.

Though Cindy is leaving the leadership of the EST in the hands of other visionaries, she is not leaving the EST for good. With EUrArt she will continue to tackle the problem of representation through research as well as hands-on projects. As such, even though she will be in the Emirates Cindy hopes to further contribute to getting the youth involved with the different aspects of EU policy-making – and she is looking forward to a seat in the front row of next year’s board!

Marlene Straub

Marlene has just finished a traineeship with a Member of the European Parliament in Brussels. She enjoyed working on digital rights issues in the Legal Affairs Committee and is excited to make her interest in the EU her full-time job. Throughout the next year she will continue to work for the same MEP on a number of legislative issues, before returning to university to complete her studies in law.

A central objective Marlene hoped to fulfill was to strengthen partnerships with pan-European organisations and to decentralise the EST’s work away from Brussels. She hopes to have built the foundations for her successors to continue this work. It was especially fulfilling to be in exchange with like-minded young adults all across the EU and build on shared objectives.

Although Marlene is sad to leave the Board, she is leaving it in the capable hands of her successors. She is sure she will stay involved with the organisation and looks forward to what the EST will do in the upcoming election year!

Joris Heuker

As a student in a Bachelor in European Studies, Joris has interned at the represetation of the Dutch province of Flevoland in Brussels. He neow temporarily works for the representation of the Randstad Region and will continue to experience the fascinating world of European policies and politics as he will also go on with his Bachelor.

As treasurer, Joris worked on the organisation’s sound finances and helped further develop the EST towards an even more professional organisation. He is grateful that the EST will go onwards with a new board and he is confident that they will all come with brilliant achievements.

Carlota Núñez Strutt

Over the course of 2017-2018, Carlota has contributed to the EST in the field of Sustainable Development. After an internship at UN Women that inspired her to pursue the nexus between European policy and the achievement of the SDGs, Carlota organized a youth session in Spanish Parliament and a conference in the European Commission which brought together young people, UN and EU policy-makers to discuss the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. She is currently finishing her last internship at the OECD Washington Center, before entering her final year of University in Madrid.

Carlota’s best memories of university are memories made in the European Student Think Tank. Three years in this organization have been three years in which she has had the opportunity to organize conferences across Europe, speak in Spanish Parliament and the European Commission on behalf of the EST and become academically engaged in the research of this organization. What has impacted her the most, has been working with a diverse team whose passion for building a strong, fair and resilient Europe has inspired her in many ways and has forged friendships that she will carry into the next steps of her career. She leaves the EST Board after three years to specialize in Development in her final year of University, but hopes to remain engaged with an organization she deeply believes in.

Moïra Tourneur

Moïra has been involved in the EST for the past two years, first as the EST Ambassador to France and then in the board as the Director of Communication of the organization. One of her main goals as Director of Communication was to expand the audience of the EST and she is really thrilled to see the actual increase the ESt has reahed on its social media platforms this year. Moïra also worked extensively  on the new EST website to showcase the organization’s fabulous work in the best way possible.

This year, Moïra was particularly invested in the IdentifyEUrope campaign, which was really an important project to her. As part of the campaign she organized a citizens’ consultation for Europe at the French National Assembly.

Moïra is really grateful for everything the time spent at the EST brought to her, in particularly the pleasure she had to work with her passionate fellow board members. She has just finished her internship and graduated from her Master’s degree in European Affairs at the Sorbonne University and is now ready to start her new job in September. She cannot wait for the next board achievements and is really looking forward to what the EST will bring this coming year!