By Petra Goršić
PTSTA-P
I started my role as a Croatian delegate in EATA in 2013 and remained a delegate until 2021. On the first day of my role, I came to the Council Meeting in Oslo and didn’t know anyone there. I was a little bit frightened and very curious about what would happen there. Leilani Mitchell was Chair of the Communication Committee at that time, and she was always joking and bringing cookies to the meetings.
I was drawn to this atmosphere where work and fun mixed together. I joined this committee and stayed there for eight years, chairing it for six of those years.
There was a lot of work to do, but it was done with so much respect and fun, and there were so many joyful moments. We travelled through Europe from one Council Meeting to another, developing different projects, meeting regularly online and becoming friends.
My warmest memory from those times is the three days I spent in Konstanz in the office of our dear Executive Secretary, Marianne Rauter. Annamaria Cser, who was General Secretary at that time, and I came to Marianne to create a structure for keeping EATA documents. It was so nice to come to this charming town and to work in what I felt was the heart of EATA.
I feel that during the period of my delegation I grew up. I went through my divorce, I started my new marriage, I gave birth to my youngest daughter, I completed my CTA and changed the course of my career. And people from EATA were part of this process I was going through. I felt supported. I had a strong sense of belonging to this community and felt accepted. I entered EATA not knowing anyone, but finished my delegate term with so many friends and feeling connected to the whole association.
Now I am in the position of Language Coordinator for the Croatian and Serbian languages and am happy to stay connected to EATA through this role.
