What Makes Alumni Professors Different?

Once AUBG students, some professors experience being “freshies” at AUBG for the second time. Alumni professors Yenlik O’Neill, Yuliy Yuliev, and Philip Rusev shared their thoughts and experiences after accepting the role of the teacher.

Incorporating popular trends, understanding the students’ workload, and teaching “real-world” skills. These are some of the advantages the trio shared about their courses. 

“One of the things the JMC major lacks is the knowledge of software. We have a lot of courses on storytelling, but we don’t have the courses that allow us to put together a story. We have the product, but not the tools to make it,” said Professor O’Neill. 

Torn between the struggles of completing high-standard assignments, while at the same time educating herself on the needed tools via YouTube, Professor O’Neill got inspired. After graduating, she proposed a course on the technological aspects of creating a story. In the Spring 2025 semester, she will teach her first three-credit course: “Adobe Suites”. 

Professor O’Neill shared that she is well aware of the power of students’ motivation and passion, which she strongly relies on for the success of her new course.

 “You can see when someone is eager to learn something, they experiment with things, they are always the ones that finish first, and their eyes are shining. For them, I teach,” explained O’Neill.

“Freelancing Foundations” is another new course, offered this Spring 2025 semester, where Professor Rusev will give students insight into where creative work meets business. Having experienced difficulties after graduating, he will emphasize the process of finding a job no matter the skill set, whether it be writing, video editing, or financial advising.

“I started doing websites for people I know, friends of mine. Then I freelanced for a year and a half, barely paying my bills,” said Professor Rusev. 

Then, after narrowing down his interests to UX design, and taking courses at Telerik Academy and SoftUni, he returned to his childhood dream - teaching. 

“I want to get people to work and solve problems right there, in the classroom. It’s not just talking, but actually having a product at the end of a class. I will give students tasks, let them struggle for a while and get invested, then I will explain,” said Professor Rusev. 

Similarly, as an adjunct professor in Philosophy, Yuliev explained his current work with NGOs (BFL) and the business field outside of academia (advising a Bulgarian football club on bitcoins) are what makes his courses, especially the ones in the business department, appealing for students. 

“I know what it feels like to be in Midterms Week and I can be compassionate,” Yuliev added to the list of advantages of being an alumni professor.

That was confirmed by one of his students - Alexandra Kim. She takes two courses with him (“Intro to Philosophy” and “Ethics”) and describes him as being very open-minded, friendly and cooperative. 

“He always makes a recap of the previous lectures which saves me during exams. I love his in-class exercises; he is the only one who does self-reflection sessions at the end of his lectures. One time we even did a 10-minute guided meditation,” added Alexandra. 

Marta Reihmane, an exchange student from Latvia who takes “Fundamentals of UX 1: UI Principles, Atomic Design & Figma”, also expressed a positive opinion regarding Professor Rusev. 

“His class feels like a free space. He uses a lot of visual materials and examples, and the second part of the class is always practical. You can clearly see he is passionate about what he does,” said Marta.

She also mentioned feeling like a student is teaching the class is beneficial for the environment. 

“His communication with students is comfortingly informal but at the same time he is still well-respected,” added Marta

Dzhan Hyusein shared his experience with Professor O’Neill in her previous course: 

“She lets people handle their own creativity by giving them the freedom to choose and experiment.”

When asked to give advice to other professors, the alumni suggested that staying up to date is the most essential part of capturing the students’ attention together with understanding the unique culture of AUBG.

Regarding students, no matter if they plan on taking their courses or not, the alumni professors have a piece of advice for them as well:

"Nothing good comes from Underground after 3 a.m. If it’s 3 a.m. just go home, you’ve had enough." - Professor Rusev

"Try to avoid regret after graduation and balance between academic and co-curricular activities." - Professor Yuliev 

"Create your own style." - Professor O’Neill

Editors: Niya Manditsch and Spasiela Gizdova