Hello! My name is Kalina Stoyanova and I am 23 years old. I am currently a final year student majoring in “Agrarian Business” at the University of Economics – Varna. In my free time, I like to do art, read books and spend time in nature and with friends.

Have you volunteered before? What motivated you to apply for this project?

I volunteered for the first time this summer with ESN (Erasmus Student Network) and my interest in this kind of activity has increased. There I helped and continue to help foreign students who come to Varna to study.

This month ends my volunteering for the European Solidarity Corps project at the IU – Varna. I first volunteered in the International Department and later moved to the library. It was a nine month adventure where I learned a lot and got my questions answered. I am grateful to everyone for the support and help I have received over the past months.

My motivation to apply for this project was that I already had experience with the Erasmus+ programme. I have been on such exchange twice for the purpose of training and I have also been a participant in short-term exchanges on different topics. Being grateful for the opportunities I was given that changed me and made me the person I am now, I wanted to see what it was like to be on the other side of the whole process. My desire was to learn in detail the steps involved in preparing the documents and to understand how I could help others experience this unique experience.

Tell us about your experience – what were your main tasks, what did you learn about yourself, what new skills did you develop, how did volunteering change you?

As I already mentioned, at the beginning of this adventure I was in the International Department, where my main tasks were to help with the documentation of incoming students. This was done by scanning, filling out various documents and finally meeting the newly arrived students. I learned that it is important to check well filled data and if you see any malfunction it is important to report it as soon as possible. My technical skills certainly improved as it was my first time dealing with this kind of scanner. I think I’ve found that this kind of work is not what I want to do for the rest of my life.

At a later stage, I moved to the library where I did more varied activities. There I went through various departments such as the digital center, the reading room and the archive. In the digital center, I scanned books and processed them for the university library’s online catalog. There, my technical and digital skills improved dramatically as I worked with a very specific robot accompanied by two pieces of software. In the other departments I dealt with books and changing their marking, arrangement, etc.

What challenges did you face during the project?

Changing departments and making a schedule to accommodate my lectures and exercises was a challenge, as I was used to one way of working, and I had to change it. During my time in International Cooperation, the biggest challenge I went through was the confusion of a Russian student’s document. I accidentally let him down and unintentionally, in the process of scanning, tore his document.

While photographing books for the library I had many problems. Sometimes the machine froze, the software I was working with crashed, one even crashed for a long period of time, slowing down the work process. Also each book was different, some of them were more tightly bound, therefore I had to manually photograph them, then in processing, some had written things inside that had to be erased, etc.

What is your favorite moment of volunteering?

I would say that some of the events I attended with the international students and the first get-to-know-you meetings with them were my favorites. Another favorite moment was going to the library archives because there were books from floor to ceiling in endless corridors where you could easily get lost and the whole experience was kind of magical. There I also saw books that were more than a century old.

What would you say to young people to motivate them to volunteer?

I would say that every single person should go through volunteering. There are so many different places and activities that can be done, and the benefits are countless. I think it is good that this kind of activity is done while one is young and has more free time and energy. I guess most young people don’t want to spend time doing any extra tasks that are taxing.

It should be explained to them that this is not a serious thing, and they will get many benefits, such as meeting new, broad-minded and benevolent people, experience in a given field. More and more employers are looking for personnel who have performed additional activities. Of course, education and experience play a big role as well. People who are purposeful, motivated, developing and helping society are always one step ahead of the rest.

What awaits you after the end of the project?

After the end of the project, I will be able to fully focus on writing my thesis and my final session. I have applied for a master’s program and I hope to be accepted, but I am still waiting for the results. If accepted, I’m going to Denmark in the fall. The program I applied for is “Erasmus Mundus”, with a double degree in the field of afforestation, sustainable development and ecology.

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