Youth Voice Category: Diaspora Voice

Heritage

My name is Matej Mincev. I am 20 years old and I was born in Skopje, Macedonia. When I was two years old, my parents and I moved to Canada, where we settled in Toronto. As a child growing up in Canada, I was exposed to many different cultures throughout my education and within my extracurricular activities. This is where my passion for languages arose, and, by enrolling in language-intensive middle and high school programs, I learned to speak French and Spanish fluently. On top of my appreciation for new cultures, I also enjoyed learning about math and science, since their applications in our daily lives are limitless and significant. After finishing high school, I decided to pursue a bilingual degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Ottawa, where I am currently in my third year of studies. My goal is to graduate from university and to work in the design sector of the automotive industry.

Success Story

For as long as I can remember, being able to help other people is something that has always been a personal goal of mine. It provides me with a personal satisfaction and pleasure that is beyond anything I can describe, but, most importantly, it would mean that the other person is taken care of. When I found out that I can apply math and science to make the world a better place, I knew that engineering was the right discipline for me, and I have never looked back since. Overall, engineering is about improving the lives of humans by using technology, physics and many other scientific methods to help solve problems in the real world: this is of a great interest to me since it inspires me to change the world for the better.

Throughout my studies at university, I have completed a wide variety of projects for my courses, ranging from programming to computer-aided design to electronics. One project that I am particularly fond of was for my first year engineering design course, where a client needed help for an engineering-related duty. My team was tasked with designing and building a robotic arm mechanism that would need to integrate itself with a robot that cleaned the beaches of the city. After researching, conceptualizing and manufacturing the properly-designed arm, which operated using a conveyor belt, it was a great personal joy of mine when our project was successfully incorporated into the functionality of the robot. I was very pleased because following our efforts, my team was able to help properly solve the issue of a client through the use of various engineering principles and methods: the goal that we set out for ourselves was therefore accomplished.

Giving Back to the Homeland

Whenever someone has asked where I am from, I proudly reply that I am from Macedonia. I believe that being a part of the Macedonia 2025 project is a great way to contribute to the future generations of my home country. Through Macedonia 2025, I would love to connect and collaborate with other amazing young Macedonians who live throughout the world in order to share different perspectives and ideas regarding the programs and projects that this organization brings to the table.

Heritage

My name is Ana Krstevska and I am 22 years old. I come from Skopje where I spent my childhood and high school years.

After graduating high school, my college search led me to the University of KU Leuven in Brussels where I enrolled in the Bachelor of Business Administration. Moving away from home was both terrifying and exhilarating as I was faced with many changes. Nevertheless, I am grateful for this opportunity, for it shaped me as a person and helped me grow.

Currently, I am pursuing my Master’s in Business Information Management at KU Leuven where I am expected to graduate in July of 2022.

Success Story

During university, I invested a lot of effort in my academic achievements as I graduated with a cum laude distinction in 2020 and I am hoping to keep up the same pace during my master studies.

Outside the scope of my studies, after joining many clubs at my university, my friends and I decided to start something on our own and that was TEDx. In 2020, we managed to obtain the license from TED and started our TEDxKULeuvenBrussels Club. Through this club we could organize official TEDx speaker events bringing the ideas of leading thinkers and doers into one place once a year. Our first year, however, turned out harder than expected. Due to the pandemic, speakers, sponsors, and partners felt reluctant being a part of this event. All signs pointed to failure, and we debated calling it quits. Nonetheless, we persevered and turned the ship around, successfully organizing a 300 people virtual event. This year, we are more experienced, and we are expecting a highly successful live event in Brussels. I am glad to be a part of this club as working with different students and speakers of different backgrounds pushed me out of my comfort zone.

On a more career-related note, I am voluntarily working on a merger and acquisition case with Accenture where we are ensuring the digital transformation and alignment between two manufacturing companies in the beauty and care industry. This is an enormous learning opportunity for me as working with Accenture warrants a great deal of teamwork and knowledge synchronization.

Future plans

My plans for the future are two-fold consisting of continuing my academic journey as well as starting my professional career.

As I am studying in Europe’s most innovative university, research is a big part of the academic life, and I would like to cement my studies with a PhD. in ICT which would help me develop and improve in a research field that is also part of my professional goals in life

Finally, as any graduate, I am looking forward to entering the workforce as a young professional where I continue my learning journey and add value to the company.

Macedonia 2025

I am very excited to be a part of Macedonia 2025 and give back to my country that is full of many talented, young individuals who have a lot to offer as I believe potential is a priceless treasure.

Heritage 

My name is Kiril Panov, I am 22 years old and I am from Strumica, but I have spent the last eight years studying in Spain and the USA. My basketball success in Macedonia has taken me to Spain where one of the top basketball youth academies offered me a scholarship to live and study in the city of Alicante at the Spanish coast and in 2019 I decided to become a student-athlete in the U.S. After several weeks of deciding between Canadian and U.S universities, I chose Mississippi College as my next destination to pursue a degree in Business Administration and Finance. Both Spain and the U.S were a huge success and a wonderful experience for me and I am happy to continue my path. I am committed to my goals and will always give back to my country and the people.

Success Story 

Before going to the U.S, I was awarded as the best basketball player three years in a row in the Valencia Region and also I graduated from high school with a 9.47 GPA and two times first-class honors. During these years in Spain, I have been an active member of the Macedonian National Basketball Team for the U14, U16, U18, and U20 teams. We have played many European Championships and international tournaments successfully while representing Macedonia in the best way possible. While in Spain, I studied 4 languages at the same time and I can proudly say that nowadays I speak fluently English, Spanish, and Catalan besides Macedonian and Serbian-Croatian. I have participated in three Spanish Championships finishing at the 9^th position in the whole of Spain.

In 2019 I decided to pursue my dream and become a student-athlete in American college In the U.S, I have continued my basketball journey but also I have taken part in the Global Business Dimensions Project where our group collaborated with different state agencies analyzing international business opportunities and challenges that the companies had at the moment. I have been offered to be the vice-president of the Accounting Society in Mississippi College but due to tight schedule, I was obligated to refuse this position. This summer, I was doing an internship at an accounting and consulting firm developing analysis tasks.

Currently, I am working on a project involving the Free Trade Zones of North Macedonia with several different economic development agencies of the U.S attracting investors and developing trade relations. I am truly enjoying this project that I am working on, and I am hoping that my future career will be related to international business.

Macedonia2025/ Giving Back to the Homeland 

Many years of studying and living abroad have taught me how to deal with different cultures, different mentalities, traditions, languages, etc. My international experiences have always been a way to gain knowledge and expertise and then transmit it to our country and help as much as possible. I believe that only by traveling the world, seeing how other countries operate, we will be able to learn new and more efficient ways of leading Macedonia. In the future years, I see myself as a business owner that develops relationships and connections with international companies that will help to improve the lives of Macedonian citizens.   I truly believe that we have a lot to improve in the business sector as a country and I would like to implement more efficient and successful ways of collaborating internationally. In conclusion, my goals are to economically develop Macedonia by a political or non-political role nonetheless.