Scholarship holders remain connected to the Hastor Foundation even after they graduate from school, much like the roots of a tree. Such roots are hard to tear up because of the relationship which can quite often be tremendously strong, unbreakable, and filled with connection, which is abundant with positive emotions and beautiful memories from their school days which are now behind them. In that way, former scholarship holders of the Hastor Foundation keep a connection with the Foundation, which was the main support in their lives. Time goes by, and people face all kinds of changes and many memories fade when replaced with new and more interesting events. There is only one thing that remains unchanged in every scholarship holder’s life regardless of age, and that is their attachment to the Hastor Foundation. This month, we bring you the story of Salmir Ćoralić, a former scholarship holder who continued his success story as a forest engineer in Germany where he currently works and lives with his wife and son.
Salmir Ćoralić comes from Bosanska Krupa where he finished elementary and high school, after which he enrolled in the Faculty of Forestry of the University of Sarajevo in 2005. He applied for his Master’s degree at the same faculty, for which the Hastor Foundation whose scholarship holder he became at that time is largely responsible.
Salmir volunteered in an elementary school in Ključ and says that many wonderful memories which will always be written in the pages of the book of his life tie him to that period of time.
People sometimes have a certain fear of volunteer work because they think that they will lose their precious time, but in reality, that is not the case. I have fond memories of volunteering at the Foundation which I will remember for the rest of my life. With the scholarship holders, I learned, socialized, went on field trips, and even met a few parents of the children I volunteered with. To this day, even though many years have passed, I often hear from former scholarship holders who have grown up to be successful people and started their own families, says Salmir.
Salmir returned to Bosanska Krupa, after completing his master’s degree in December of 2010, and started working professionally in the forestry company “Unsko-sanske šume”, where he stayed for eight years. He wanted to show off his ambition in Germany, where he eventually moved to, and started working as a tree controller in the “Baumkontrolleur” company, where he is successfully working to this day.
Andrej Bitov says that a tree does not consist of only branches and leaves, but it also consists of the shade under the tree and the sky above it, which the Hastor Foundation’s former scholarship holder Salmir confirms with his love towards nature and the forests without which we would not even exist. In his free time, Salmir tries to spend as much time in nature as possible, especially fishing which fulfill him emotionally. Besides fishing, he also plays football as an amateur. Being a part of the Hastor Foundation is something he considers a great honor and says that only great memories remain from that period.
I am really proud of the fact that I was a Hastor Foundation scholarship holder because the Foundation had a great significance in my life, and it was thanks to the Foundation that I was able to continue my undergraduate studies and enrolled in my master’s studies. It would probably not have been possible financially if I had not become Hastor Foundation’s scholarship holder, because the Foundation truly came at the right moment, says Salmir.
A distinct memory that will always be engraved in his mind is the interview for the scholarship grant where, in a conversation with the Hastor Foundation’s team, he was supposed to present some of the ideas that the children who would be working with him would find interesting.
Given the fact that I used to go fishing at the time, I had a vision of presenting the rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the students, and I would regularly introduce them to new rivers and fun facts related to them, which I did later on as a scholarship holder, says Salmir.
Salmir emphasizes the importance of the monthly volunteer meetings and notes that it was those which showed him that some friendships can be born right at those meetings, which have to have a certain amount of love and attachment to helping, which connects them all.
Another story of the Foundations is that besides being a financial support, we meet new people and develop friendships for life. I am still in contact with some of the scholarship holders and we often hear from each other because we are all connected by the Hastor Foundation and the time we spent together socializing and doing volunteer work. The Hastor Foundation is the best thing that any young individual can have throughout their education because it is the volunteer work that enables us to profile ourselves in the direction we want to go in the future, Salmir believes.
Salmir has a message for the Hastor Foundation scholarship holders and that is to never give up on their goals.
If you are going to study at university, try to make the most of the time you have for good things. You have to be brave, and seize every opportunity you have because that period of being a student is one big opportunity for all of you. You will have a lot of falls in life, but what is most important is to get up afterward, concludes Salmir.
Alumnus Salmir Ćoralić shows that we can achieve our ambitions, wishes, and goals in other countries as well, but we must always remember all of those people who were a support system on that path.
Prepared by: Aleksandra Đukić
Translated by: Minela Geko
