Veselina Hristova

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“I decided to transfer to a four-year institution because I consider myself a life-long learner and I believe that in order to work for the good of the community, I need to constantly increase my knowledge of the world around me.”

  • Program: 2009 Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship Recipient
  • Resides: Northampton, MA
  • Hometown: Dimitrovgrad, Bulgaria
  • Age: 22

Biography

PROFILE: Veselina “Vesi” Hristova is the sixth graduate of Cottey College to be awarded a scholarship from the Foundation. A native of Bulgaria, Vesi is now bound for New England and Smith College following her two years in rural Missouri.   She was basically on her own in her native country and had to save every “lev” (the currency of Bulgaria) she could to finance her journey to Cottey, an historic women’s junior college. Once she arrived, she excelled immediately in a rigorous academic program and volunteered her time with honor societies and service clubs. Fluent in Bulgarian, English, and Spanish, she could probably find a career at the United Nations, but her current plan is to become a drug abuse counselor. “The two years I spent at Cottey were life changing for me because I grew up from a very shy girl to a confident leader and role model for others,” Vesi said.

INSPIRATION: Her true inspiration is Lydia Staikova, her English teacher in Bulgaria, who has been Vesi’s mentor since high school. “She was the one who told me about liberal arts education and all the opportunities available in an American college,” Vesi said. “It was Lydia who gave me the courage to move forward.”

ASPIRATION: A family member of Vesi’s in Bulgaria was an alcoholic and she witnessed first-hand the damage and pain it causes. “My childhood inspired me to direct my efforts to the community in order to help people addicted to alcohol and to help their families see that there is always a way out of the crisis.” Vesi’s desire is to work as an alcohol and drug abuse counselor.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE:  In addition to her many duties as a campus leader (she was the first international student to be president of campus government); Vesi also worked with children from the low-income housing authority in Nevada and developed a project with a local hospital involving several high school girls. “The purpose of my project was to show the girls that college is always an option, no matter how hard one’s family situation is.”                                    

ACCOLADES: She was named All-Missouri Second Academic Team 2009 as well as the Academic Top Ten/ President’s List for all four of her college semesters. In addition, she was awarded the Eloise M. Cost Scholarship for outstanding achievement combining both academic merit and extracurricular activity.

INTERESTING FACT: She dreamed of playing the piano since kindergarten, but never had the chance. “So I started with beginning lessons at Cottey and ended up receiving a music scholarship after just one semester of piano."

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