What is the essence of life? Serving others and doing good – Aristotle reminds us of the importance of altruism, our natural state is to do good for others and create harmony in society. The Hastor Foundation recognizes the importance of these values and works to make volunteering a special importance, considering it a key factor in positive social changes.
Scholarship holders of the Hastor Foundation stand out for their numerous quality characteristics that are significant for initiating the
mentioned changes: proactivity, diligence, versatility and commitment to volunteer activities. They are the
best representatives of the Hastor Foundation because they actively fulfill its mission and goals through their volunteer activities, improving themselves on a personal level and contributing to the development of their local communities.
The main goal of our column “Scholarship of the Month” is to promote scholars who, through their activities within the Hastor Foundation, stand out every day and show themselves in the best possible light. This month, our honorary title of Scholar of the Place went to Kenan Klepić.
Kenan is originally from Zenica and is one of the most valuable scholarship holders who undoubtedly inspires young people from his environment with his individual example and commitment. He is currently studying at the Faculty of Natural and Technical Sciences at the International University of Sarajevo, Department of Software Engineering, where he is achieving significant success. Despite the fact that Kenan is being educated to work in the computer science sector, his high school education was aimed at studying medicine, but he still decided to take a second path following his true ambitions, and in this regard
he points out:
After I made this decision and started programming, I was able to complete the lack I
felt. I found challenge and satisfaction in solving problems and finding the best
solution for certain tasks, and I believe that my lack of prior knowledge also helped
me, because it motivated me to work even harder and learn so that I could continue
studying what I love. My desire to learn about different things carried over to my
interests outside of college.
Kenan’s life is enriched by other interests and he often brings out his creative side through music, playing the clarinet and learning to play
the guitar. He enjoys writing and reading and at the same time devotes time to calisthenics training. Kenan expresses his goals and desires through the integration of his various interests into a unique whole that positively affects not only his individual development but also the development of others. The initial instance of Kenan’s volunteer engagement within the Hastor Foundation was mentoring and he is currently part of the monitoring team. He points out that he enjoys the volunteer activities within this team and believes that it was the monitoring team that highlighted the best qualities in his volunteer engagement.
As Kenan states, as a mentor he had a different perspective on the monitoring team, but now as a member of that team he understands the true value and role of monitoring. Its aim is to support fellow mentors by ensuring that their meetings are of high quality and interesting. He believes that the monitoring team is extremely important in the Hastor Foundation because it acts as an intermediary between student mentors and the administration of the Hastor Foundation. Kenan skillfully establishes communication with the administration and quickly gets answers that are key to solving the challenges mentors face when organizing meetings and processing topics.
This experience represents his favorite role within the monitoring team because, as he says, it highlights his commitment to volunteering. That Kenan is an exemplary scholarship holder is mostly evidenced by his intense volunteer involvement. He emphasizes that the Hastor Foundation motivates him in all areas of his activity:
In addition to my engagement within the monitoring team, through my entire volunteering I realized that the Hastor Foundation has become a significant part of my life, so through everything I learn or do, I try to emulate the Hastor Foundation and to build and improve my knowledge and skills along with her and following her example.
Kenan states that the Hastor Foundation enabled him to realize his potential:
The Hastor Foundation has become a part of my life, not only because of volunteering or monthly meetings, but because of the Foundation’s overall mission, which has now become mine. Through everything I do, I try to help others and find a way to turn my personal interests into a common good. In the same way, I see the influence of the Hastor Foundation in every action I take, which requires courage and kindness, because the Hastor Foundation has enabled me to realize potentials that I did not even know existed in me.
