Finding Your Passion at AUBG
It is a quiet Sunday afternoon in the Panitza library. The place is where you most often can find him on his laptop. Just before entering the study room, one can observe the concentrated and almost satisfied look on his face while he is doing what he loves — editing photos and videos.
Viktor Marchev, a 22-year-old student in his last year at AUBG, often finds himself in the library during that time of the day. As a person who has spent his life in Blagoevgrad, he said AUBG is the place where you feel you are no longer in the city. “When I first came here, it was like a whole new world. Different from the one I grew up in. Different than the city I was in. I loved it,” he says.
He has spent his childhood in a quiet neighborhood in Blagoevgrad called Gramada. “I believe that my childhood couldn’t have been better, as I had awesome friends with whom I played together all day long during the years before high school. Unfortunately, most of them, as of today, are abroad and I get to see them only once or twice a year — a thing that makes me sad. Nevertheless, I extremely value the moments when we gather together, be that during Christmas time or during the summer months,” he says.
At first, AUBG was not his first choice after high school but he soon realized it was the right one. “I’ve mainly chosen AUBG because I was a bit pressured by my parents. I initially wanted to study Film and Cinema in Scotland, but to that day I have no idea why I changed my mind. Nevertheless, I don’t regret any moment that I’ve experienced here, because I’ve met new and wonderful people and I’ve learned numerous lessons,” he says.
Viktor is majoring in Business Administration and Journalism & Mass Communications (JMC). When he first got here, he had different plans for his future. “I was planning on studying Economics, but after I took Calculus, I changed my mind and switched to JMC. Math just wasn’t for me,” he says while giggling. He then added that switching to JMC was one of the best decisions he has made in AUBG as it helped him enhance many of his skills.
After choosing this major, Viktor felt inspired by photography and editing. One of his favorite projects is called Samodiva. Samodivas are wild and divine beings from Slavic mythology, “samo” means “alone”, whilst “diva” means “wild/divine,” therefore the name literally means “wild alone.” The first part of the creature’s name signifies its avoidance of human beings, whereas the second indicates her wild or divine nature. “As for one of my favorite projects I’ve done regarding photography — the one that I’ve loved doing was the “Samodiva” project. The model and I wanted to showcase her free spirit through the theme that we had, and I think we had succeeded in doing so. The emotions I experienced afterward were immense. The same happens with every good project I create,” he says.
The model from this project is called Teodora Georgieva. She said that this project helped her show things that she could not express with words. “Viktor was so helpful and gave the most creative ideas during the whole execution of the project. I loved working with him. He is a really talented and passionate photographer,” she says.
Viktor is not the first artist in his family. His grandfather has been a writer, and his mother is a painter. “I think I’ve inherited the creativity that I have from them. Also, the way I see things and colors in my photos have also been influenced by her. I could proudly say that our family is one of artists,” he says. When people have a passion for something, it is hard to do anything else. His mother realized that after 15 years, but Viktor wants to learn from her mistakes and immediately start working what he loves. “I feel like the time I spend doing anything else is wasted,” he says.
When asked about his future, Viktor says that he feels confident in the skills he has developed in the university and is looking forward to the new chapter in his life. “When I graduate, I am planning on working in Sofia, specifically in a big corporation or a promising start-up company. From then on, I will try to climb myself up on the ladder and eventually be promoted to a higher management position. My expertise and knowledge in the field, aided with my leadership abilities I would be a great fit for any firm,” he says with a smile.
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Denislava Angelova is studying Business Administration and Information Systems at AUBG. She is interested in everything related to art and creativity.
