The small city of Blagoevgrad did not pose a difficulty for Yelena Osipova (Armenia) when it came to adapting – she had been to lots of similar places before. With the compact downtown and its pedestrian mall, “it’s always nice to have so many students around, and you can still feel the international and the diverse atmosphere even while walking in Blagoevgrad,” she says.

The AUBG senior attended high school in Cyprus for six years and has experienced summer study programs in Prague and in the Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.  On top of that, Yelena has also enjoy a two-month internship as an assistant to the editor of the D.C. Bureau of The Armenian Reporter, an Armenian-American weekly newspaper.

Yelena is helping recruit prospective students in Armenia in cooperation with the AUBG Admissions Office. Apart from being a great experience, she finds her recruitment role particularly important because of the unique value of the liberal arts education offered at AUBG.  “Because of the various economic conditions and circumstances, it’s very difficult to get here in the first place. But I know that there are many different opportunities for different students. So, I am very happy to spread as much information as possible in Armenia about the different ways of financing the education at AUBG, and letting people know how important and how significant it can be.”

When it comes to extracurricular activities, Yelena has a spectacular background: a rich experience in student media at DeFacto (as a reporter in the beginning, and now as Editor-in-chief), a member of the Peace Initiative Club and President of the Phi Beta Delta Honor Society, as well as a former member of the Better Community Club and People-to-People International. Overwhelming, perhaps, but is it worth it? “Of course! I like seeing the fruits of my efforts in the end.  I hope everything will turn out well.”

A bit of an idealist, the Armenian senior’s dream is to make a difference in the world. Her plans involve a professional Master’s degree in International Relations or International Service. After that, she sees her future career in an international NGO or a think-tank, some organization that contributes to the development of her home region. “There are many conflicts, there are many problems there, and I would like to have some kind of a contribution [to solving them].”

Yelena is more than happy to be at AUBG, and doesn’t regret her choice.  Her description of the university is both succinct and inspiring: “It’s a great place for great people, for great aspirations, and great opportunities.  It’s just that you have to take advantage of them.”