This month’s student column focuses on the introduction of the members of the EUSA Student Commission which has been appointed end of the last year, for a 2-year period.

Klea Taipllari
I am Klea, and at 22 years old, I am ardently dedicated to both academic and extracurricular pursuits, currently embarking on a Master of Science journey in Marketing Management. Simultaneously, I serve as the Secretary General of the Albanian University Sports Federation, where I spearhead initiatives fostering sportsmanship and community engagement among students. My commitment extends internationally as an EUSA Student Representative and Executive Committee member, where I actively contribute to shaping international policies and strategies aimed at empowering student athletes.

My passion for organizing sports events for students, coupled with a genuine love for football and diverse athletic endeavours, propelled me to join the EUSA and the Student Commission. In this capacity, I aim to create memorable experiences that resonate with participants and foster a spirit of camaraderie. 

My professional journey commenced with volunteer work across various domains, each experience enriching my understanding and skills. However, it was my tenure as a volunteer EUSA Support during EUG 2022 that profoundly shaped my perspective and honed my organizational abilities. The exposure to a dynamic, large-scale event instilled in me invaluable lessons in teamwork, adaptability, and effective communication, laying a solid foundation for my future endeavours.
With an unwavering commitment to excellence and a fervent dedication to the spirit of sportsmanship, I continually seek opportunities to contribute positively to the academic, sporting, and community landscapes, driven by a passion for creating meaningful experiences and fostering growth among peers and participants alike.

Atte Kolehmainen

I'm Atte from Finland and I'm 29. I study construction site management in Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences and have also done some business administration studies in the same university. Before my current role as an EUSA Student Commission member I was the Vice President of the Finnish Student Sports Federation and a board member in my local student union. I found myself joining my student union by accident having found an interesting project with the goal of making university sports more approachable and have even held a short training for some of our university’s lecturers on how to incorporate exercises on daily studies.

While I was in the Finnish Student Sports Federation my role included working more on this same subject as part of the Higher Education on the Move -project as well as Sports Tutoring. I've been doing judo for some 20 years now. I injured my shoulder at the end of 2012 and was told never to step on the tatami again, so I changed competing to coaching after I ended my mandatory conscription in the Finnish Defence Forces. I’ve been coaching for 8 years now. I’ve also been a referee and an official in multiple competitions, as well as the president of our club's judo branch. So I’ve seen more or less every aspect of the sport.

Francisca Coko

My name is Franciska and I am 24 years old from Split, Croatia. I am a first-year graduate student at the Faculty of Economics in Split, studying IT management. I have been playing basketball for 14 years, 6 of which are professional basketball. Beside playing for my club, I am part of the university team, competing in national championships. For the third year in a row, I am part of the UniSport Split team for organizing competitions, both local and national. Also, after two years of volunteering at Academic Futsal Club Universitas from Split, last year I was promoted into being Team Manager of the same club. Carrying out all tasks related to the functioning of the club, I learned the variety of work and ways of doing it.

I have been part of some EUSA competitions before, such as European Universities Futsal Championship (organizing committee) and European Universities Games in Łódź (match statistics volunteer). As an athlete, I believe that sport brings many benefits, and I am motivated to present it to as many students as possible. Being selected as a member of EUSA Student Commission, I will be given the opportunity to share my experience as well as bring the experience of others to my own. I am motivated to be closer to the decision-making process, learning new methods of connecting sport and students and implementing new knowledge to my own country and our organization.

Jan Sobczak

I am Jan. I'm a 20-year-old student of Applied Spanish studies at the University of Warsaw. Previously I was studying management at Warsaw School of Economics, but I switched the studies. My story with the University Sports Association started almost a year and a half ago when I went to a Summer Student Camp organized by the University Sports Association of Warsaw for students all over Poland. At that point in my life, I have never heard about it before. After that camp one of the friends that I met there sent a message asking if anyone would be interested in helping during European Week of Sport. I was free then so decided to help, and since then I have been helping with organizing sports events all over Poland with various types of sports competitions.
During that year and a half, I took part in a meeting of the”Uni4S'' program in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and an ESOM meeting in Warsaw, Poland. I volunteered during the EUC of Water Polo and Badminton in Miskolc last summer. Since September I have been working at the University Sports Association of Warsaw, and since December I have been a member of the management board of USA at the Warsaw School of Economics.

I’ve been trying several types of sports in my life like taekwondo, skiing, tennis, swimming, basketball, and volleyball or sailing, but I don’t really have a favourite discipline.
I am incredibly excited to be a member of the Student Committee and I am open to new opportunities and challenges.

Nicoleta Mirzac

My name is Nicoleta and I am a student at the Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova with a dual degree in Bucharest, and I am passionate about making a positive change in people's lives. I recently became the co-founder of a marketing and advertising agency MABA Agency, because I love people and I enjoy implementing strategies.

I enjoy doing sports; I love tennis, gym workouts, and gymnastics. I find that these activities help me to relax and recharge, which in turn helps me be a better human. I also love reading psychological books. Ever since high school, I graduated each year with a red diploma, because I constantly strived to be the best. I was involved in every school and extracurricular activity, related to sports, charity, and entrepreneurial development. At the age of 16, I won the grand prize at the Startup School Pre-accelerator, a program for launching tech businesses. My motto is "When you can't go on, you can go on a little more."

Reka Molnar

My name is Réka, I am studying at two faculties at the University of Miskolc, Hungary; one is mechanical engineering and the other one is sport management.
The sport is really important to me because I was dancing for 14 years but nowadays I am mostly working behind the scenes. For years, I have been involved in organizing leisure sports activities and sport events, and I strive to support athletes throughout their studies as a Sport Office Manager at University of Miskolc. My first experience with EUSA was at the European Universities Basketball Championship 2017 in Miskolc where the environment made such a deep impression on me that I have decided to participate in EUSA events again and again in the future in some organisational way. I consider myself lucky to have become part of the EUG 2024 organizing team in 2018, and following that, in 2023, I already served as a project coordinator at the European Universities Badminton and Water Polo Championships.

As a member of EUSA Student Commission I would like to gain further experience in the field of sports organisation in other cultures and countries. I would like to share my experiences with others and develop events in which students are involved in some way. My long term goal is to be a leader in the field of sport, so I would like to gain more professional experience to help me achieve this goal and to do a better job in the future. My aim is to motivate future generations to participate in community programmes, be more open and accepting of each other.

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