Nino Kutubidze (’22): ‘I see myself helping people get their voices heard’

Why did you decide to come to AUBG?

I always knew that I wanted to explore the world outside of Georgia, to become familiar with different cultures and people. AUBG was the best possible place where I could do that and also be relatively close to my family, at least on the same continent. In addition, I could double major, and since I could not decide which career path I wanted to pursue, this was something that got my attention. Student life at AUBG also seemed very attractive. I could see myself developing social and academic skills with the help of student clubs, opportunities to work on campus as a student assistant, and many more. There is no doubt that AUBG has the ability to open many doors for you that otherwise remain shut.

What majors/minors are you pursuing and why?

I am majoring in POS and JMC with a minor in EUR. I knew that I wanted to major in Political Science and International Relations from the very first day at AUBG. It was and is my passion to debate, solve problems, prove my point or be in other people’s shoes and understand their point of view. When it comes to Journalism and Mass Communication, I took a course with Professor Kelly and fell in love with writing, interviewing people, getting to know their story, their interests, and views about different things. Initially, I wanted to major in POS and EUR, so I took EUR courses. However, later I decided to major in JMC and I thought why not minor in EUR. The knowledge is never extra, especially in politics.

What extracurricular activities (clubs, work at AUBG offices, Exchanges, etc.) are you involved with at AUBG?

In my freshman year, I joined two student clubs: Model United Nations and the Psychology club. During my sophomore year, I became the Vice President of MUN but my time of being VP was short since I went on an exchange in Lithuania in Spring 2020. I can boldly say that the exchange semester was one of the best parts of my student years. I met a lot of people and had an opportunity to become familiar with a different culture.

This year I am the President of MUN, a student assistant at the Admissions Office, and a Statistics Tutor. I have been working at the Admissions Office since my freshman year. I have always enjoyed taking part in Open House days since I love meeting prosper students, telling them stories, and showing them around. This is also my third semester being a statistics tutor, and it has been a great pleasure helping people understand statistics and seeing their smiling faces when they do good on tests.

What are the most challenging and rewarding parts of being an AUBG student?

The rewarding part is probably the appreciation you get from students and professors for work you have done in class and outside of class. Also, the staff and other people on campus who care about you and with whom you can drink a cup of coffee or simply exchange a conversation.

The most challenging part is deadlines. We have deadlines for assignments in class and all these extracurricular activities do take a lot of time. But I gradually learned how to time-manage.

What is your favorite memory from the years spent at AUBG?

My favorite memory is the orientation week. During orientation week, everything is new and unexplored, so I get the chance to do everything. My orientation week was so much fun that I want to repeat it every year.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

Before the global pandemic, I used to hang out with my friends in my free time. I enjoyed going on walks or going window-shopping. Now I spend most of my time at home, so I took up new hobbies. One such is helping my mum with her crafts. It is a great way to relieve stress and be more creative.

Where do you hope to see yourself after graduating from AUBG?

I see myself helping people get their voices heard by others. I feel as if majoring in both POS and JMC will allow me to do just that. Firstly, I would love to continue with my education and then use my knowledge to serve my country and its citizens.