Konstantina Bandutova (‘15) always had a passion for writing, but she didn’t just want to write stories; she wanted to understand how they’re created and the power behind them.
With an incredibly curious yet analytical mind, she would dissect words and dig deep into stories. Today, the skills nurtured at AUBG are helping her thrive in her role as Corporate Sustainability and B2B Communications Manager at bTV Media Group, where she’s been working since 2017.
Learning to write with intention
At AUBG, Konstantina began with the desire to make sense of the world through words.
“I’ve always had the desire to write and to creatively express myself,” she shares. “At some point, I really wanted to be an editor, and Professor Mark Wollemann, who was teaching Writing for Media at the time, told me that I’d be a good editor because I had a good eye for detail and could spot mistakes.”
But soon her passion for writing evolved into something else. “I’ve always wanted to dig deep into why something is the way that it is,” she shared. With an incredibly curious mind, Konstantina wanted to understand the meaning behind every word and the politics behind writing.
“Having taken Journalism and Mass Communication classes with brilliant professors who emphasize both journalistic ethics and academic writing, teaches you a very specific set of skills: to be precise and intentional with your words,” she shares.
That awareness of language as both precise and layered, along with the ability to write with intention, prepared her not only for a career in media but for leading meaningful, strategic communication, informing her current role at bTV Media Group.
Curiosity as a leading principle
Alongside writing, Konstantina’s other defining strength is her analytical mind, the two complementing each other seamlessly.
At AUBG, she further developed that quality through her role as a Research Assistant to Dr. Emilia Zankina, who was serving as Provost and Associate Professor of Political Science at the time. “I was also a student assistant in the Office of Communications and Marketing, writing for publications such as DeFacto newspaper and AUBG Today.”
Through these experiences, Konstantina learned how to ask sharper questions, look beyond surface-level information, and connect insights across disciplines.
“I feel like the research and ‘digging’ skills I developed at AUBG, as well as the ability to apply them to a specific task, are the most complementary to my job,” she says.
Consistent effort pays off
If there is a defining thread in Konstantina Bandutova’s journey, it is consistent effort. Coming from a humanities background, subjects like statistics felt unfamiliar, even intimidating. “I’m very much into humanities, and I enjoy expressing myself verbally and in written form, but mathematics was sort of a different universe,” Konstantina shares.
Surrounded by peers for whom numbers came naturally, she found herself needing more time and persistence to keep up. “Back in school, teachers told me that I won’t become a mathematician, so I had acknowledged that for myself and started to live with that concept.”
Until her statistics class at AUBG, where her final A– grade was adjusted to an A. “I refreshed the page the next day and saw that the grade had been corrected, which meant I finished my very first semester with a 4.0 GPA,” she shares excitedly. Her professor told her he realized that she’s putting a lot of extra effort in to learn and to perform better, so she deserved an A.
This experience only encouraged Konstantina to work harder throughout her four years of education at AUBG. “I wasn’t doing it because I wanted to show off to somebody,” she admits. “I was putting the effort in, because education to me is incredibly important.”
From foundations to real-time media
Stepping into bTV Media Group marked a shift in Konstantina’s life. She already had the core foundations, such as writing, analysis, and critical thinking. But in media, especially television, she found herself in a different environment, where everything unfolds in real time.
“Everything moves and changes every second, so you have to be able to jump from one task to another and to keep up with that,” says Konstantina.
Working within the sales team while collaborating across departments, she began to understand how media operates not only as a platform for storytelling, but as a business ecosystem. “I really enjoy being able to think about brand messages and identities,” she shares.
After completing her MA in International Relations and European Studies at Central European University, Konstantina found her way into a career that felt both rewarding and meaningful. “I like the fact that you can see the immediate results of your work displayed on the air and in real time,” she explains.
Sustainability as a way of being
It was within this dynamic environment at bTV Media Group that her role gradually expanded, opening the door to sustainability.
For Konstantina, sustainability is an integral part of her life. “It’s the small, everyday choices,” she says. Whether it’s choosing to walk instead of drive, being mindful of energy use, or simply paying attention to how daily habits accumulate over time, sustainability is a mindset.
That same perspective translates into her work at bTV Media Group, where sustainability is both a strategic focus and a growing part of the company’s identity. Konstantina is involved in key sustainability initiatives, including campaigns such as “Week for The Future”, “Green Week” and “Let’s Clean Bulgaria”. Internally, she is also involved in advancing practices such as green filming, working to reduce the environmental footprint of productions.
Konstantina sees the role of media not just in informing, but also in creating narratives that communicate certain values and motivate people to take responsibility.
“Sustainability for nature is what longevity is for people,” she says, urging people to be more mindful of the world around them.
