The following is an excerpt of an interview with Nahom Beyene, former President of ESAi:

As an individual, what motivates you to become active in ESAi? And so far, what have you gained from the organization in relation to your leadership?

Personally, the friendships I have made are enough to reward my activity in the organization thus far. The most amazing part of my experience in leadership is the wide variety of questions that I addressed and the range of information that crossed my path via e-mail. I have gained so much and am honored to have served my Ethiopian peers and Ethiopian community even though I never had an Ethiopian student group to participate in before ESAi.

What is the most impressive thing about ESAi that you would like to share?

The ESAi network is the single most impressive aspect of our organization. In one association, you literally have hundreds of examples on how to succeed as an Ethiopian. At the same time, you are introduced to hundreds of individuals that are passionate about the advancement of Ethiopians.

Does ESAi have any formally established chapters? What kinds of efforts have been made to expand its branches?

ESAi currently operates under affiliations so as to respect the autonomy of many Ethiopian students groups that predate our international association. During my term of office, I have witnessed the formation of at least three new groups (Colorado, Philadelphia, and Boston). Our approach is to encourage highly enthusiastic individuals from any location to assemble a group of peers that show similar signs of interest in forming student groups and we have seen it work many times as I have just mentioned.

How would non-student professionals and communities in general contribute to the growth of ESAi and how would ESAi give it back to the community?

All community members and professionals can assist ESAi financially, through advice, or by offering contacts and resources. ESAi is currently in the process of developing an official membership status for corporate and community entities. Professionals are encouraged to join ESAi Alumni [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/esai-alumni]. The alumni level allows recent graduates and professionals to help ESAi in a greater capacity. ESAi hopes to give back to the community by promoting community-based efforts and working with groups within the community to support their success in planned events and programs.

What would you like to say to those who are not involved with ESAi?

I would simply say that anyone that does not keep track of or participate in ESAi is missing out on the future of Ethiopia. ESAi is beginning to gain public interest and trust as the premier organization for Ethiopian students involved in community development. Our group is prepared to work with any ESA/U, NGO, Community, or individual that is interested in how students can promote improvements in Ethiopian communities worldwide.

Is there anything else you wish to share about ESAi?

The new ESAi structure is the hottest news at the moment. Under this new organizational structure, ESAi will upkeep initiatives in all areas by increasing the number of leadership positions, thus allowing more experienced individuals to participate and make decisions on the services and information we wish to provide for members and Ethiopian communities. The new structure includes the Executive Board, ten Functional Divisions, and a Board of Advisors to collectively form the ESAi executive council. The divisional leaders are given the authority to acquire any help that they need to fulfill the duties of their office. The executive board will focus on matters dealing with the security and integrity of ESAi and offer advice to the divisional leaders when needed while managing summit preparations and the electoral process. The presence of a Board of Advisors allows us to keep influential ESAi members involved in order to guide the organizational down the right path and approve that our actions are in line with the foundational goals of ESAi. The web site is now undergoing plans to support the new organizational structure of ESAi.

The following is an excerpt of a conversation with Wubeshet Mehari, founder of ESAi:

As a founder of this organization, how do you feel about ESAiís progress so far? Is the organization running the way you vision it in 1999 (or the time that you plan to establish it)?

The progress of ESAi is very encouraging! I have seen ESAi grow from a hand-full of members to over a thousand members in just a few years. ESAi has been successful in accomplishing its short-term goals. The main goal is networking Ethiopian students worldwide. ESAi is not yet running the way I envisioned it but itís definitely moving in that direction. I think I will say ESAi is running as I envisioned it, when it is in a position with strong financial and organizational proceduresÖwhere it is facilitating projects in which students and Ethiopians in general will be able to give back to our country, helping to reverse the cycle of brain drain. With the dynamic people we have in ESAi, I have no doubt that we can make anything happen.

What is your long-term scheme of ESAi? Where do you think the Organization needs more progress? And how would ESAi impact Ethiopiaís future development?

Freely elected officers run ESAi so the long term and short-term scheme of ESAi may slightly vary as new officers take office, but what is clear in our constitution is that we canít just change our mission and vision statements whenever we want to unless they are one day completely and successfully achieved. ESAi missions and goals are not going to change. Most people in our organization appreciate the neutrality of ESAi as we are sticking to our founding principles. We are non-political and bare no religious preference for ESAi members, whom at large believe that we can do a lot for the development of our country with out being involved in politics. So we have been sending books to schools in Ethiopia, sending volunteers to Addis Ababa, and networking students from all over the world. As you can imagine, all these efforts require a lot of time and resources. So far, all of these initiatives have been organized by members and officers who have been volunteering themselves. Since this organization is growing bigger it will be almost impossible to run ESAi from resources contributed from student members alone, so the area of progress that I think ESAi should focus on is the finance! People in our community should start noticing our positive visions and support us financially in order to support our pursuits.If ESAi can keep moving at the pace itís moving at currently, I think we can have a great impact on the development of our country. How? I think the biggest problem with our country is ìbrain drainî and a lack of volunteerism sprit. ESAi can play a great role by networking Ethiopians and facilitating projects where Ethiopians can directly assist our people in their quest for a better quality of life.