A Professional Work Ethic In The University World
It’s 8 a.m. on a Wednesday morning. The week is passing by at full speed, with each new day bringing more projects and assignments that steadily increase the workload needed to be done. The ambiance of the atmosphere is quiet and almost lonely. The faint sounds of birds chirping can be heard, accompanied by the graceful strokes of the wind howls along the cracks in the windows.
This is the scenery of the cozy Aspire hub in the ABF Student Center. Its warmth and silence, as opposed to the ever so windy and cold December days, serve to isolate its inhabitants and provide a peaceful environment in which one could focus on the work at hand. This is the place, where we are most likely to find Stoyan Rahov, a local senior in AUBG, grinding through the daily workload of all the classes, clubs and extracurricular projects.
Stoyan is a fourth-year student majoring in Business Administration and Political science coming from Bansko, Bulgaria. He is a tech-enthusiast, who loves reading science-fiction in his spare time and enjoys exploring new scientific theories and discoveries.
Aside from all the academic assignments, Stoyan’s daily activities include much more than the average senior’s workload. He is currently the Vice President of The Hub — the IT club, as well as the Financial Director for the newly established entrepreneurial project Elevate. Amidst his busy schedule, Stoyan also tries to stay active and admits that every chance he gets, he uses to work-out, either in the gym or on the tennis court.
“Every day throughout this academic year I spend most of my time eating, sleeping, studying, working and training somewhere on the university campus,” says Stoyan. “I rarely get the chance to go home,” he adds, as he kindly settles in better on the coach in the Aspire hub.
His involvement in so many extracurricular activities are due to the fact that Stoyan strongly believes in the importance of networking and socializing from early-on. He says that during his senior year, he realized the possibilities which AUBG has to offer in terms of networking and how they can relate to potential future professional experience. Stoyan’s active commitment to all the external university work is also noticed by his fellow club-mates and is heavily appreciated.
Alex Mishev, another senior from the class of 2020, friend of Stoyan and President of The Hub, had this to say about him. “As vice-president of the club, Stoyan is an invaluable part of the team, not only helping me out with all the work, but serving as the glue which keeps the entire club aligned and motivated.”
Despite his organizational habits, Stoyan admits that he still hasn’t firmly decided on what he would be doing in the close future. His plans for now are to continue developing his club and project activities and wait for the annual Job Fair here at AUBG in April, in order to get an idea what to pursue as a professional career. The one thing he is certain about, is that he would not immediately enroll in a higher institution after AUBG to acquire a master’s degree.
“I feel as though I have spent the last four years learning only about the theoretical side of the business world and because of that, I prefer to get a taste of the practical aspect before enrolling for a master’s degree somewhere,” Stoyan says, as he jokingly waives off the bookshelves from the bookstore just behind him in the Aspire hub.
His love for management and control over every aspect of his life leads Stoyan to see himself here in Bulgaria in the future. His plans include establishing or co-founding a private business with a couple of friends, where he would not be following the grey norm of the generic workday. Stoyan shares that he is really fond of problem-solving and welcomes any challenges presented to him. This would explain why he prefers to work in the private sector and have more control over the various aspects of his business in the future.
No matter the endeavor which Stoyan picks up after his graduation, he would be more than happy to overcome any challenges presented along the way and would continue to develop personally and professionally through his rigorous work ethic.
###
Rosen Dinchev is a senior in the American University in Bulgaria, majoring in Business Administration and Information Systems, with a minor in Journalism and Mass communications. He is interested in exploring the ideas and future outcomes of his fellows in the senior class of 2020.
