The Hastor Foundation can boast of diligent, ambitious, and successful scholarship holders who achieve notable results in the fields of education and science. The Foundation’s team consists of young people who contribute to its work, improving it with their knowledge and skills. It is precisely these values and commitment to volunteer engagement within the Hastor Foundation that give scholarship holders the title of the Scholarship Holder of the Month. Read below about the scholarship holder who won the title this month!

This time, we bring you the story about Edna Porča, a young designer from Visoko. Edna is 20 years old and is a third-year student at the Department of Graphic Design and Multimedia at the International Burch University. As a student of graphic design, she devotes much of her time to her works, especially the ones related to the photography, web-design, and art direction. Edna enjoys experimenting with her works and creative expression. This is precisely the reason for her choosing graphic design as a profession. Edna considers graphic design to be one of the ways for efficiently communicating important topics in the society. An example which supports this statement is her last project which dealt with the topic of violence against women.

Besides college-related commitments, I believe it is also very important to be an active community member and to use one’s knowledge to help others. It is precisely due to this reason that I work on monthly projects which focus on young pupils and students.

One of the projects that Edna has started was a charity campaign for the members of the public facility “The Center for Children and Adults in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, where she organized promotional materials and contacted different companies based in Visoko and Sarajevo with the aim of encouraging them to donate resources. Edna has been organizing this project for one year already. A result of this work is the fact that, at the end of the last year, she successfully collected gifts for over 30 children which contained basic hygiene products and necessities.

Edna plans projects in accordance with her skills; but, as we see, creativity surely is her virtue. She expanded her knowledge and experience through an exchange program in the US within the framework of the “YES” program. That was an occasion where she received an opportunity to expand her knowledge of the English language, but also to present her experience and ideas to others. A result of these learning activities was a club which Edna organized. Namely, that was an English-speaking club named “English to Youth”; on this occasion, she was having weekly meetings with four students from elementary and high school where they worked on improving grammar, enriching the vocabulary, and practicing speaking in English.

Edna’s activities didn’t end there. In 2021, she started a book club named “Between the Lines”, where she organizes meetings with eight club members once a month in order for them to talk about an author and a book which they previously read.  This has given the members a possibility to broaden their horizons regarding various social circumstances we deal with. The activity encourages young people to read, helps them with forming and presenting ideas, and it also educates them about the basics of literature. Edna sees her free time as a chance to read, because, as she says, reading is her favorite activity.

All scholarship holders have different views about the Foundation, but all the views are within the scopes of praise and gratitude. Edna says this about the Foundation:

For me, the Hastor Foundation is a guide that directs and encourages me on my way to success. It provides me with the motivation that I need so that I could bring my profession to perfection; and it also gives me opportunities to develop both in the personal life and the professional aspect. One of the most important lessons which I have learned through volunteering activities at the Foundation and on the team for graphic design is about the importance of responsibility. When we take responsibility for our actions, we let our coworkers know that we will follow deadlines and have respect for them and their time.

We hope that Edna will once again make us happy with her graphic design which she prepares with her colleagues; and we wish her the best of luck in all of her endeavors.

Prepared by: Fatima Gazić

Translated by: Said Kamenica