Meet another group of fourth-year students, who shared their memories of their time at AUBG:

Hristina Balabanova, Dimitar Bratovanov for AUBG Daily

Hristina Balabanova, a Bulgarian student majoring in Political Science and having a Self-Designed Major in Visual Arts and Advertising. Balabanova has been part of BFDC Samodiva, a former DJ at Radio AURA, Visual Designer for the Broadway Performance Club, and a member of the StartUP@Blagoevgrad marketing team. During her third year at AUBG, she participated in the Erasmus+ exchange program at Fontys University of Applied Sciences, Tilburg, Netherlands. Furthermore, she is a recipient of the Lyuben Petronov Memorial Scholarship.

Tell us about your best and your worst memory of AUBG.

My best memory, I guess, is not a single one but one that I can visualize right now. After the Startup Conference when we gathered to clean up everything and we just talked and it was like a small team building. It felt nice because you did something good, something nice, not only for the club but also for the people who were there. It is a really nice feeling, I don’t know how to explain it. That is probably one of my best memories of AUBG.

My worst memory of AUBG was receiving the email for the room selection next semester and realizing that I won’t be there.

What were you before? What are you now?

I was a totally different person before I came here. I think so at least. I was way more shy, I didn’t talk to people that much, I didn’t believe I could do a lot of the things that I actually did during my four years here.

Now, I think, I am more open to people, to life in general.

If you were 18 years old, what would you do/what would you change?

I thought about that a couple of times. Truth is I would never change my decision to come to AUBG. The thing that I would do in my freshman year though would be to join more clubs, to get to know more people from the very beginning.

And I would say to myself “don’t take Calculus in your last semester, DON’T!”

What word defines you?

One week ago, we were at Underground, and one of my friends told me “I just wanted to let you know that I am really glad that I know you, and that I have met you. You are a really nice person. You are totally crazy, and I don’t know how that will turn out in life but it is one of your best features.” I guess crazy would be it.

What is the meaning of life to you?

To have fun, to get the most of it, and to never be afraid of trying, whatever that is.

You are awesome because…

I am awesome because of my friends.

How do you imagine life after AUBG?

One thing I would like to continue doing is taking part in extracurricular stuff, doing a lot of extra things in my life because I like to do different things in different areas. I imagine myself traveling a lot, meeting new people, and meeting with my old friends from AUBG.

Georgii Kolotilo, Dimitar Bratovanov for AUBG Daily

Here is Georgii Kolotilo, a Russian student majoring in Journalism and Mass Communication and Literature. Kolotilo is a former member of the AUBG Boxing Club and a president of the AUBG Rock and Jamming Club.

Tell us about your best and your worst memory of AUBG.

My best memory of AUBG would probably be one of the RJC’s concerts – this year’s concert in Under. I was very nice, I got to sing in front of people for the first time, nobody pulled me off stage, I received a few compliments. It made me feel good.

The worst memory – receiving my student bill.

What were you before? What are you now?

What I was before? I was moderately shy guy interested in gaming and martial arts. Right now, I am more of an extroverted music guy interested in martial arts.

If you were 18 years old, what would you do/what would you change?

I would probably waste less time. I am a very slow going person. For example, if I go to a party, I would be there by the end of the party when everyone goes back, and the same with everything else. During my first year at AUBG I wasn’t meeting many people, I was by myself – I was shy. Everything that I was doing later took longer than it takes most people to get comfortable with. So I should try to be like “f*ck it, I’ll go do it” and not worry about it.

What word defines you?

Patience.

What is the meaning of life to you?

Staying relatively happy in a sense that you keep all of the people, you care about, relatively happy and being satisfied with your daily life. It doesn’t have to be something grandiose, some big goals, some big achievement, fame, whatever, but if you wake up every day and you don’t wait for your day to be over, it means that you are living a pretty good life.

You are awesome because…

I got it from my papa.

How do you imagine life after AUBG?

If everything goes according to the plan, I will be a full-time working sound engineer, working with upcoming artists, somewhere (hopefully) within Europe. On the side, trying to produce my own music and play on concerts.

Katalina Dimitrova, Dimitar Bratovanov for AUBG Daily

Meet Katalina Dimitrova from Bulgaria. She studies Computer Science and Economics. During her years at AUBG, she has been member of CSSU, which later became The Hub AUBG, a co-founder and a former president of BFDC Samodiva, former vice-president and president of AUBG Talks, part of the speakers department of StartUP@Blagoevgrad, and a Resident Assistant at Skaptopara II. In her third year at AUBG, Dimitrova went on an Erasmus+ exchange program at Otto Von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany. Moreover, she is part of the NGO Lotos Bulgaria, an organization that promotes civil education, and has thought a Computer Science course at Blagoevgrad, under an academic program for software engineering designed by the Software University, Sofia, Bulgaria. Dimitrova received honors in outstanding academic achievements in Computer Science during the Honors Convocation 2017.

Tell us about your best and your worst memory of AUBG.

I will start with the worst, and it really is the worst. When I was a second-year student, some of you might still remember Boris Kodikov, who passed away. It was a tragic event for everyone at AUBG, I still remember the atmosphere around this day, and weeks after this it could be felt in Skapto. It was literary the worst day I had in AUBG.

“The best is yet to come” as Ilko Drenkov, my mentor, says. Come to think of it, there are so many great days at AUBG. After each of the events, we organize with some people, in some of the teambuildings where we share some good feedback and you could feel the warmth of the other people that you are working with, these are the best moments at AUBG.

What were you before? What are you now?

I was very, very ambitious before AUBG and it was not healthy. Not someone who is hardworking and wants to achieve something but someone who wants to have everything and wants to work a lot, a lot. At AUBG, contrary to many people who become very business-spirited, I became more chill. I have realized that in life, there are more important things than plain success and that success is not easy to be defined. So, I have realized that happiness, and spending time with the people you love, is way more valuable than having a lot of money, and that money does not buy happiness.

Now I am more mature than I used to be. I am more chill and I am satisfied with the things I do in my life. I would say that I am happy now.

If you were 18 years old, what would you do/what would you change?

Study for the SAT harder.

What word defines you?

Generalist.

What is the meaning of life to you?

Changing people’s life for better. It doesn’t mean that you should necessarily create a NGO or give money to charity – it means that you should try and help people as much as you can and make their lives better.

You are awesome because…

I can do many things and I can do them well.

How do you imagine life after AUBG?

With less all-nighters!

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