The Hastor Foundation can be proud on its diligent, ambitious, and successful scholarship holders who achieve remarkable results in the fields of education and science. The team of the Foundation is composed of young people who contribute to its work by enriching it with their knowledge and skills. Precisely those values and dedication to volunteering is how our scholarship holders receive the title of Scholarship Holder of the Month. Let us tell you more about the student who claimed that title this month.
Every month, positive stories of our scholarship holders make us proud. It is nice to know that there are people close to us who work on realizing their dreams. Their noteworthy successes deserve to be noticed so that their effort can be recognized by the public, but also so that others could learn from their example and feel motivated to achieve similar results.
Amina Okanović is 21 years old and comes from Zenica. She grew up in her hometown and graduated from the primary school “Meša Selimović”. After completing her primary education, she found herself at the first crossroad of life – which high school to attend? After a lot of thinking, she chose the Second Gymnasium in Zenica. Later, that decision turned out to be the best that she could make. She found out about the Hastor Foundation from a teacher in her high school. After class, she spoke to her parents and decided to send a letter to our Foundation. The response was quick, and next year, she became a scholarship holder and a member of our wonderful family. At that point began an inspirational story that has been going on for more than five years.
Volunteer meetings with her mentors are events that Amina will always remember with a smile on her face. During her high school years, she was a member, and later a captain of the first aid team. The team achieved remarkable results on the city competitions, cantonal and federal-level competitions. In these competitions, Amina won numerous rewards. She also attended other extracurricular activities, but first and foremost she wanted to help friends who needed help. Her mentors taught her those values which were also the values of the Foundation. Amina wanted the change to start from herself. In 2019, she became a voluntary blood donor. After finishing her high school studies, she became a software engineering student at the Polytechnical faculty of the University of Zenica. At that university, she was happy to meet a wonderful colleague who is also a Hastor Foundation scholarship holder.
In her second year of studies, she and her colleagues worked on a project called “NVO Cloud”. Along with all her other duties and assignments they managed to achieve the best result possible. Their result was well known among university professors and the workers at the Ministry of Justice of the Zenica-Doboj Canton.
Unquestionably, knowledge is the key to success. Therefore, in our volunteer meetings, I always try to point out the importance of education. I have to admit that volunteer sessions make me very happy. Watching students younger than me grow up in people with ambition, in a process where I am engaged as well, gives an incredible feeling which cannot be described.
For this story to be complete, the effort of Amina’s friends needs to be mentioned. The volunteering sessions in social centers, designing academic hats and providing guitar lessons are only some of the workshops that this team prepared for the youngest of the group. They also organized a field trip in January.
For the last five years, since I’ve been a scholarship holder, the Hastor Foundation has had an immeasurable influence on my life. Through the volunteering program, I was given a chance to collaborate and make friends with wonderful people. I must admit that the Foundation appeared at the most difficult point in my life and gave me hope for a better tomorrow. Along with the financial help, I think it is also important to mention the moral support of our Foundation. Knowing that there is always someone that you can ask advice for, turn to, and talk to is truly invaluable. It is hard to believe if you don’t experience it and you don’t become a part of a great community. It is exactly what motivates you every day to work on yourself and to be better. It is this desire for the effort that contributes to the very work of the Foundation.
As far as the future is concerned, Amina’s primary goal is the completion of her education, bachelor and master studies, but also the acquisition of new knowledge and skills. In the end, she exclaimed that she finds inspiration and motivation in the motto of our Foundation which states: “To succeed, your desire for success must be greater than your fear of failure”. If we leave our fears deep below our ambitions, we will succeed and produce great results just as Amina did.
Prepared by: Nedžma Latić
Translated by: Ešref Mehanović
