On Saturday, the 18th of May, in the Main Assembly Hall of the ASA Prevent Group, a monthly meeting of the college student scholarship holders was held.

The Hastor Foundation director Seid Fijuljanin opened the meeting and spoke to the students. They were previously asked to write a short story based on personal experience, titled “I did a good deed”. Aware of the fact that the Hastor Foundation comprises of very talented and successful young people, active in the domain of social engagement and volunteerism, he decided to gain a more detailed insight into what they actually do when it comes to helping others, since many don’t share these things with others. The best people keep their good deeds solely for themselves, while others often make personal or business advertisements out of them. The effort of the Hastor Foundation is to find the balance between these two extremes in the near future, and to share the positive stories with the public. This is not for the sake of promoting ourselves, but is there to serve as a bright example to others on how to make our community better.

Through his address to the students, the director particularly outlined that it is of great importance that all those who are a part of the Foundation keep in mind its long-term mission: offering selfless help to others by means of volunteerism. The financial assistance that the Foundation provides is only one small segment on the path of reaching this philanthropic mission. Thirteen years of Hastor Foundation’s existence present the thirteen years of persistent and consistent endeavour, primarily in the direction of building a brighter and more prosperous future for the future generations, as is witnessed by the exponential growth of the Foundation’s members, friends and donors who have recognized this.

The second part of the meeting was reserved for the scholarship holder of the Foundation and a student of the second year of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Sarajevo, Vedin Klovo, who expressed the desire to share his experience with other colleagues in a similar or identical situation. He has proved to be very successful, dedicated and persistent, but also a talented writer, as is evident from the fact that he wrote two books while he was still a boy.

Vedin has decided to explain to the scholarship holders the concept of “freelancing” as one of the possible ways of earning profit, but also of gaining progress and experience in certain areas in which they are interested. A freelancer is a person who independently carries out tasks or is involved in managing projects for a company, without officially being their employee. All that is needed for this type of job is internet connection, a computer, and a certain skill.

Vedin presented to the scholarship holders the numerous platforms through which the concept of freelancing is realized, with special emphasis on the Upwork website, where he also began to build his career (as a writer) in the field of freelancing. The Upwork platform, recommended by Vedin, is based on the concept that provides an opportunity to earn a profit in two ways: through a fixed price per project for which the person is selected, or through the price determined by the hours spent on a particular task/project. In addition to the technical conditions of applying to this platform, and optimizing one’s own business profile, Vedin has also presented in detail the categories of jobs that students can potentially be qualified for, including writing, translation, web design and development, legal jobs and accounting, marketing, writing scientific and professional papers etc. He also talked about his beginnings and experiences during the two-year period of work and progress, the advantages and disadvantages of this kind of work, but also of experiences with individual clients.

Vedin Klovo is an extremely intelligent, consistent and resourceful individual and a successful freelance writer today, but also a positive example to others that it is possible to find an adequate solution for every problem if we work hard enough, if we are organized, and if we know how to create a list of our own priorities. At the very end of his lecture, Vedin stated that the quality of our work, responsibility and commitment are essential factors for advancement, and that every well-done job results in opening the door to another opportunity.