The Hastor Foundation can be proud of its diligent, ambitious, and successful scholarship holders who achieve notable results in the fields of education and science. Therefore, the Foundation’s team is comprised of young people who contribute to its work, improving the quality with their knowledge and skills. Exactly those values and dedication towards the volunteer work is analyzed every month to award the title of “Scholarship Holder of the Month”. In the continuation of the article, read about the student who claimed this title!
Scholarship holder Ajka Čamdžić comes from Brijesnica Velika, Doboj-Istok municipality. After graduating from the Elementary School “Brijesnica” in Brijesnica Velika and the Medical High School in Gračanica, she began studying at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Sarajevo, where she is currently a fourth-year student.
Why pharmacy? After primary school, I enrolled in medical high school with the desire to finish medicine one day, however, through an internship at the hospital, I did not see myself in that profession. At the first practice class in the course of Pharmacology, my interest in drugs, drug interactions, and the like began. I spent my free time researching it myself. That’s how I discovered my affinity for pharmacy, and today it’s even greater since I don’t study because I have to but because I want to. I am happy to have the opportunity to study what I love and where I will hopefully use my own knowledge to help other people because that has always been my goal.
Through primary and secondary education, she participated in competitions in various subjects (biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, history), and as the greatest success in this field she singled out the second place in the Federal Biology Competition and first place in the Cantonal Chemistry Competition in the third and fourth grade of high school.
Her beginnings as a volunteer go back to elementary school. She is proud that teachers have taught her about empathy during extracurricular activities from a young age. In addition to the extracurricular activities through which she prepared for the competitions, she was also a member of the environmental club, which will leave a later mark on her volunteer activities.
I am a participant in many environmental activities that we organize within the Youth Association “Voice”. After a large number of such activities in our municipality, we joined some activities outside of it. I would single out the cleaning action on Lake Pliva. There are many environmental problems and I believe that we young people must be the initiators of change. I try to raise awareness about recognizing these problems and finding adequate solutions. At the moment, my activist engagement is directed in that direction.
At the end of primary school, she became an active member of the Red Cross Doboj-Istok. She actively continues her volunteering at the beginning of her studies in Sarajevo, where she had the opportunity to raise her volunteering to a higher level of creative workshops, participate in the organization of humanitarian actions, and help the administration of the dormitory. She also had the opportunity to volunteer on the radio.
During one workshop, she heard about the Hastor Foundation.
I‘ve heard only the best about the Foundation, so without much thought. I decided to apply for the call for students. What attracted me the most to apply for the scholarship is the fact that the Hastor Foundation is one of the rare organizations that appreciate volunteer work. I have been an active scholarship holder of the Hastor Foundation for three years. Ever since I joined, it has been clear to me that the Foundation is a family where everyone helps and supports each other.
She says that in the three years since she received a scholarship from our Foundation, she has had the opportunity to improve herself and help others with her talents. She considers volunteering to be the key to acquiring work habits, because thanks to them, the transition from student life to everyday work is not a challenge:
I want to thank the Foundation the most because it made me a more mature and complete person.
She views volunteer activism as a fundamental aspect of her work. She believes that it helps her build faith in herself and her ability to offer her own answers to the problems around us all, that is, faith that she can change her own and someone else’s world. However, in addition to working for the benefit of others as a volunteer, she says that the most beautiful thing is that, at the same time, she works on herself, her personal and professional development through a very wide range of opportunities that volunteering opens up.
Volunteering is a great way to meet new people. This is very important, especially if you are in a new environment. It made me primarily a more responsible and happier person. I do this because I make people happy by helping, and that makes me happier. In addition to daily responsibilities at home and obligations for college, as a volunteer, I have to find time for additional activities. It also motivated me to take the organization of my own time and plan daily activities more seriously. In addition, one of the most valuable things is making new acquaintances, both in the Foundation itself and through numerous projects of which I was a member.
In the Foundation, she claims to be happy when she shares her happiness with the younger scholarship holders.
It is an indescribable joy when high school students tell me that they got a good grade or that they applied some skill we learned in our meetings, when after a cleaning action I see a clean part of land, river or lake or when I see the smile of a person I helped in some way.
She considers the foundation a large family that provides her with help and support and that encourages her to be the best possible version of herself. In addition, she gained new friendships, experiences, and skills, and through volunteering, she realized the importance of volunteer work and the ways in which young people are changing the world.
What I would like to say to the other scholarship holders is to follow the path of humanity. In these difficult times, we all need support and common problems bring us even closer. Don’t be neutral and let your voice be heard, and together we can hear each other even louder. I especially recommend the scholarship holders of the Hastor Foundation to appreciate the status of a scholarship holder, because the Foundation gives us the opportunity to show our skills and qualities and improve them.
Prepared by: Alek Isaković
Translated by: Nejra Galijašević
