Anastasiia Buzduga (‘23), Ukraine: AUBG was the obvious choice for me
This fall, AUBG welcomed 274 top-achieving students coming from over 20 countries. We’ve set to interview some of them.
Meet Anastasiia Buzduga from Ukraine. She used to do figure skating professionally, she spent a year studying in the States and she loves traveling. Anastasiia plans to major in Business Administration and Psychology and is already part of a few student clubs.
Where are you from?
I am from Ukraine, from the beautiful city of Chernivtsi. It is in the Western part of Ukraine and is really pretty.
Tell us three interesting facts about yourself.
I used to do figure skating professionally; I was in America for an exchange year in 2017/2018, and I love traveling.
What is the achievement that you are most proud of?
Probably going to the exchange in the U.S. – the competition was huge in our country. This program is called the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) program and different Post-Soviet countries participate in it. The program was really challenging but also exciting. You get to meet amazing people, you get to make great friends and you also go to another country and experience it from within as you go to high school there. I loved it.
What do you plan to study at AUBG? What extracurricular activities would you like to join?
I am planning on Business Administration and Psychology, also thinking about one minor. I don’t know if I can handle it, but I will try and we will see. I am in Dance Crew and Business Club and I’ve got my TEDxAUBG interview [on Oct. 2].
What was the particular thing that made you prefer AUBG over other universities?
I think that as for everybody else, because it is a school of liberal arts, so the opportunity to choose classes, to be the one to put everything together and decide what I want to do and how I want to do it was really beneficial for me. The freedom the university gives you was a strong point for me. So that was it; it was pretty obvious.
How do you like Blagoevgrad and Bulgaria so far?
Honestly, I like it a lot. I am from a bit bigger city, I am not from the capital, but it is a little bigger than Blagoevgrad. I love it here; the location is excellent. Everything is around campus and really close. It is convenient for us as students who are lazy and don’t want to go far. It is nice that we have stores near us, the Main Building is not that far and everything is lovely: the mountains, the weather. It is October and still so warm and beautiful outside.
What do you expect to gain from the journey that is AUBG?
For sure, I expect to gain knowledge and experience and meet new people that are going to stay in my life long-term. Also, just finding myself and defining who I am and what I want to do would be really nice.