Ieva Vengrovskaya: the presidency is like a roller coaster, you never know what will happen next

As the March 10 election-report conference of Vytautas the Great University's Student Representative Office (VDU SA) approaches, the question arises as to who will be at the helm of the organization this year. In order to encourage and inspire students to run for the position of president, Ieva Vengrovskaja, currently serving as the president of VDU SA, willingly shares her experience, advice and experiences in managing the organization and directly representing students. 

How do you feel at the end of your second term and looking back on the past year's activities?

I feel sad but happy at the same time. When I look back at the past two years, it seems both sad that I have come to an end, but also happy with how much we have accomplished. During those two years, many things happened in the world - a pandemic, a war, which created many challenges that had to be solved here and now, many things had to be considered impromptu.

What was your biggest fear before starting the presidency?

Before starting the first term, I was afraid that I was not the right person to do everything, that I would not understand how to properly broadcast and represent the opinion of the majority of students. I was afraid that I had too little knowledge and was not cut out for it. Before the first term, I set big goals, and during the second term, I thought that "what I didn't manage in one year, I will do in the second". I was afraid that I would run out of time, and unfortunately, it is. Not done as much as I wanted.

The biggest challenge you faced in your position as president?

We got very used to the distance, which I think saved me in the first term, but in the second I realized that I am tied to this position and activity and Kaunas itself. Meetings, meetings, it's hard to plan your time in the future, because you don't know what awaits you tomorrow. Another challenge was to stand up for the opinion that is the majority, but perhaps I did not fully agree with it. It was difficult to delegate work, to involve the active students around me, not to keep everything to myself, because it is not predictable, but over time it became everyday.

What direction of activity of the VDU SA and the work done there are you most happy about while you are the president?

I really wanted us to have our own representative system, to organize training, to educate them more. I saw how many students there are in the university who are not in the representative office, but they care about the university and the well-being of students, after all, they can be elders, come to the study program committee, be on the faculty council. I think that's the area where we've laid a huge foundation. Now VMU students are more actively involved in certain bodies, they participate, speak out, get involved, but a lot of consistent work still needs to be done in this area.

What activity, direction or set goal was not achieved or implemented this year?

A pile. There are many such areas and activities. What I remember now is that it was not possible to raise incentive scholarships, of course they did, but not at VDU SA, oh BSI thanks to the increase. Another thing is that it didn't quite get to the point where PhD students had their own specialized English only for third-level students, and that they had their own thesis or research advisor, someone to help them as a guide. All this is discussed with the Vice-Rector of Science, the Science Department and the Institute of Foreign Languages.

What is your very favorite presidential function, event, or anything that comes to mind?

I've mentioned before that it's difficult when you can't plan your time into the future, but it seems to me that this is the best job specification of the position of president. You have an insane amount of things you can do, you seem to have no limits. It's an interesting year when every time you get a call at 8 in the morning, you don't know if it's a courier delivering a package, or a student calling with a problem, or a ministry about a conference, or the university administration about an upcoming meeting, or an important question. It's like a roller coaster, you never know what's going to happen next. .

What avenues do university responsibilities open up on and/or off campus?

It seems to me that when you choose something, you give up something, and that's about everything in life. And in this place, when you put forward your candidacy for the position of student president, you assume responsibility and at the same time give something up. Don't leave the student unnoticed, when speaking and expressing your opinion, you must weigh and evaluate what and how you say more than before. But what this position opens up the most is people - by working with them, new competences are made, more acquaintances are made, which remain in the future as well.

The election of the new VDU SA president is approaching. What would you wish for someone who wants to fill this position?

First of all, I would like to wish for at least two candidates and for democracy to take place. I wish to communicate more with student representatives, go to meetings and have contact with students outside the representative office. At the same time, I would like to wish you to stand by your decision to the end - if you together with the team make a decision on some important issue for students, stand by this opinion to the end. You can't decide halfway through discussions or meetings that "no, that's enough, it doesn't matter, it's too difficult, we don't agree, so we give up." If it is a significant thing, you need to stand to the end, if not - you need to be flexible, this is a very necessary quality in this position.

The presidency is a great opportunity to try out the manager's chair, learn how to lead a team, persistently pursue set goals, be flexible and organize your work while managing time. Those who want to run for the position of president, filled request, cover letter and operational guidelines must be submitted by February 17. at 5 p.m. VDU SA Board e-mail by post valdyba@vdusa.lt.