“Several days after being admitted to the United World College (UWC) in New Mexico, the US, I could hardly believe what was happening to me. As if I was walking in a haze. Yet now I do realize that this would change my life and I am in for great challenges.“

This is Nasko’s largest success so far. Nasko is a student at Lyuben Karavelov School in Koprivshtitza. He is among the top English students in his class, but oftentimes lessons are too easy and quite tedious. Over the past year he becomes less and less motivated to work hard and take part in extracurricular activities. He is convinced that there is no point in making efforts any more as he can finish school without any problems anyway. Our teacher Ivelina Pashova succeeds in rekindling his interest in going to school and make him confident that he can successfully apply to study abroad.

Nasko came to believe that he could change not only his own life but the lives of those around him too. Currently he is in the last quarter of the school year; he successfully passes tests on subjects getting ready for finals. He helped the next student from the Koprivshtitza school with the preparation for applying for the UWC this year. This proved another success, as Ganka will be leaving for the UWC campus in Italy in September.

“Even if we do not transform thoroughly their lives, even if we only slightly change their trajectory, making a difference of just a few steps, changing the things that happen to them, this will be enough. Helping them start dreaming – this is what matters to me.”

Zlati completed a major in Journalism at St. Kliment Ohridski Sofia University, taking up a job with one of the most popular magazines in Bulgaria while still in college. Seven years later she is social editor with Grazia Magazine, editor-in-chief of OK! Magazine, and editor of the star ranking of Forbes Magazine.

In the line of her work she comes across many social problems such as lack of understanding and prejudice with respect to issues such as care of children, health care, human rights, discrimination. This urges her to actively seek change in this country. Thus she decided to join Teach For Bulgaria. Now she is completing her first year as an after-class primary teacher in Hristo Botev Elementary School in Dolna Malina.

Emilian was in his second year with Teach For Bulgaria when together with two friends he established Vratsa Software project. It is about programming courses intended to spark interest in the profession on the part of as many young people from one of the poorest towns in Bulgaria as possible and provide long-term development opportunities in the region. Vratsa Software won the 2014 Reach for Change competition for social entrepreneurs and ranked first in the Education Category of the 2016 awards of the Bulgarian Association of Information Technologies. Currently as many as 10 Vratsa Soft trainees work with IT companies, eight of which in Vratza.

In 2013 Emilian launched the IT training company PRO. There students, guided by mentors from the sectors of technology, marketing, and design, make their own software products. As a result of participation in Pro, his students established the Stresss start-up which got funding from the Eleven Venture Accelerator Fund.