Ivan Dimitrov, Class of 2014

“You don’t need to go into the world having everything figured out as life always has your back”

CLASS OF 2014 GRADUATE CAME BACK TO BULGARIA TO CREATE HIS OWN VIDEO PRODUCTION COMPANY AND HELP LOCAL BUSINESSES GROW.

When were you at AAS?

I attended AAS from 1st to 12th grade, between the years of 2002 and 2014.

Do you remember your first day at school?

I do! At the time, AAS still shared facilities with ACS (the American College of Sofia). I cried a lot on my first day of school, and I have vague memories of being comforted by my fellow first graders and other members of the AAS faculty.

What is your fondest memory from school?

Sports played a huge part in my life while I was at AAS – my fondest memories are of time spent on the basketball court with my teammates, building skills, travelling for tournaments, and distracting ourselves from self-imposed adolescent pressures.

How did you choose what to study at university?

My choice was influenced by my high school geography teacher, Thomas Pindur, who did an awesome job of creating an engaging and exciting learning environment for our HL Geography class; this made me think I might like to pursue a career in the field. While I did take a year of general courses at my university before declaring my major, most of the available first year classes took place in an auditorium with 100-200 people, I had no contact with my professors. While some people may respond well to lecture-style learning, I felt a lack of momentum, drive, and energy throughout the first few years of my traditional university education.

What was the most exciting and the most challenging part of life at university?

While I’m not extremely pleased with the academic part of my education, I definitely attribute a lot of excitement to opportunities provided by my university outside of the classroom. A year into my time on the island (I studied at the University of Victoria, which is located on Vancouver Island in Canada) I got a job selling memberships at the university’s brand new athletics facility. I met all of my best friends there and built a massive network of fun loving, like-minded people – not to mention the fact that I was able to earn money, giving me financial independence. I was also extremely lucky to go on a 3 month foreign language exchange in Spain, and travel across Western Europe for a month on an urban planning and sustainability field school. The most challenging part of life at university was living 10,000 kilometers away from my parents and extended family for long periods of time. I needed to go that far away to learn some life lessons, but it was not always easy to exist away from a support network that I was previously used to and dependent upon.

How is your learning at AAS helping you in “grown up” life?

My education at AAS gave me some absolutely phenomenal skills. I am extremely grateful for my strong grasp of the English language, my soft skills (interacting and communicating harmoniously with people), and my ability to think deeply and analytically. Students at AAS get a chance to be mentored and draw from the knowledge of skilled educators one on one, a privilege that is not afforded by students attending most public schools.

Is there something that you wish you had learned before leaving school?

Yes! To chill out. I wish someone had drilled it into my head that everything was going to be alright. That life always has your back, and that you don’t need to go into the world having everything figured out. We are all just at different levels of figuring it out for the rest of our lives. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life when I graduated from AAS, and following what was fun and what I was passionate about is what led me to where I am today.

Why did you decide to come back to Bulgaria?

I graduated from university in April of 2019, and I figured that if I didn’t move back to Bulgaria now, I might never move back. Things were going well for me in Canada, but I trusted my intuition which told me that it was time to move back.

Did you experience cultural shock when you went to study and then when you returned to Bulgaria?

I did, and I definitely felt it more coming back to Bulgaria as a somewhat permanent resident rather than as a tourist. The biggest thing that I came up against was the negative outlook that so many Bulgarians seem to share with regards to many things. I don’t want to generalize, but I feel things here are often shrouded with a lot of judgement and cynicism. Coming from North America, where most people believe that you can achieve whatever you set your mind to, I definitely had to develop a thicker skin to combat the negative energy. I use it to fuel my desire to really achieve what I am here to achieve!

You have started your own business. Tell us more about it.

I developed quite a powerful interest and passion for video editing and production about a year ago, and have been working on making a living from it ever since. I believe very strongly in the power of video as a problem solving tool for businesses (i.e lack of time, lack of money), and video-related businesses are trending at the moment. Look no further than your smartphone to see evidence of the biggest information platforms transforming to accommodate more video and less text. I know that video is going to be my main avenue for serving others and creating some pretty incredible things (two of my main goals in life.). The biggest challenge so far has been doing the inner work required to make me believe that I am worthy of success, and doing the tasks required to make my goal a reality (meeting with business owners, selling my service, etc).

What are your plans for the near future?

I am on my way to building a reputable business that delivers results and allows me a lifetime of freedom and highly enjoyable “work”. I plan to use my service as a means to travel and work internationally, with Sofia as my home base!