January 20 2022 at 04:00AM
Volunteer of the Year Interview
- What kind of volunteer work have you done in the Chapter?
I joined the Chapter in 2018, and since 2019, I have been a Volunteer in two different teams.
I started as a Volunteer in - and later became Deputy-Director of - the Events Team. I was involved in organizing more than 50 events (mostly webinars) for the Chapter. It was a pleasure to work with all my fellow Events Volunteers, the speakers, sponsors, and of course, the wonderful events' attendees.
This year, my new role is the Technology and Operations Director. I am in charge of Chapter operational activities, including website maintenance, e-mail system, and all tools to improve chapter activities together with membership experience.
- What made you want to volunteer, and were your expectations met?
Before coming to the Netherlands, I volunteered for NGOs in Turkey. Volunteering to me is about the feeling of giving back to the community I benefit from. It's a chance for engaging networking as well.
My biggest expectation was to meet new people in the Netherlands, and for sure, my expectations were met. As a Volunteer, all the benefits of being a Member who is networking and more. My most enjoyable and enriching Volunteer Networking experience was (as an Events Volunteer) helping the end of year Roaring 20s Event 2020 occur; that cohort helped each other so well, learned from each other, and even felt like friends in the end.
- What advice would you give to others considering becoming a volunteer?
Don't hesitate. It's fun. It's a great experience to see how other PMs from different organizations think & work. A huge value-add experience you can gain from just a few hours a month. And, did I say it's fun :)
Interested to know more? We have 3 new questions Hikmet answered on our YouTube channel link here.
