From BH Futures Scholar to CEO - Vildana Hrnjić
We are immensely proud of all young talents who joined our Foundation during the past five years. Together we have grown, achieved greatness, and made some outstanding plans for the future. We are especially proud of our scholars who joined us in the early beginning, while we were not so famous or big, as we are now. One of them is our Vildana Hrnjić, who was one of our first scholars ever and during the last three years, she helped us in many ways.
Vildana is now a CEO and founder of BOLD IT, and due to responsibilities she has, towards her own company, she will not be able to be our volunteer anymore. Of course, Vildana will always stay our friend and as an ode to everything she has done for us, we decided to have a brief interview with her.
Why did you join the Foundation? What motivated you?
Well, it feels like a lifetime ago, but it all started in February 2017 with a scholarship application. I was a very active student. I was participating in all the workshops and seminars that I could, and I was volunteering a lot in various NGOs and for good causes. A friend has sent me the link of the scholarship saying, "this is so you". The Foundation was not known back then, especially in Banja Luka. Among the benefits was a whole list of activities that I wanted to have access to (various education opportunities, mentoring...) so I applied.
I received an invitation for the interview, and from that moment I had a good feeling about the Foundation. I was interviewed by Eddie Čustović and other board members, and I felt so much positive energy just via Skype. I was invited to Sarajevo to receive my scholarship on the CMBEBiH conference and the rest is BHFF history I guess.
New scholars ceremony, 2017
The most important thing you learned with us?
The Foundation has a huge network of people - students, mentors and other supporters. The most valuable thing I got from BHFF is the fact that there is a very big number of people who want change, and they are doing their part in that process. For me, the most important thing I got from my time in the Foundation are those people. Some collaborations and friendships are already born, and some are yet to come.
Hana, Selma and Vildana at our Academy in Mostar, 2019
You are the CEO of your own agency today. How did the experience from the Foundation help you?
I can say that I was quite a good designer when I joined the Foundation but through my work, I changed a lot of roles that made me learn more about marketing. I was part of the Students and Young Professionals Leadership Committee as a Coordinator for Visibility and presence at Events and Vice-Chair. Later on, my role was Coordinator of Marketing activities and together with the the CMO Kenan Kurdić, I was responsible for the promotional activities of our Foundation. I must thank him on this occasion because I learned a lot about marketing from him. That knowledge sharing, people who share their experience with you, is what makes BHFF special. The Foundation has grown a lot and good marketing is definitely a part of that. Afterwards, more people joined the marketing team and I got the role of Head of Design. I had the luck to be enriched by my experiences in the foundation and I am thankful for the learning opportunities and for the people that motivate me still to continue to strive for excellence.
Your message for anyone who is thinking about volunteering?
As someone who is constantly active in more than two NGOs, I always say that NGOs gave me more than my formal education. I learned more through volunteering and working in NGOs, and I learned many things that help me to manage my own agency today. So I always motivate everyone to get involved and use all the possibilities for their development.
With our guests from Sri Lanka, IEEE SYPL Congress 2019
Opening of the Futures Makerspace in Srebrenica, 2019
Your future plans?
The reason I have to leave my current role in BHFF is that I have other things to focus on, so I have to cut my time in the Foundation. Currently, I am employed by one NGO in Sarajevo named VivaBiH, I am working on projects in BOLD IT and I am a member of two organizations that are working to empower women - Association Women United and Businesswomen of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This year, I also started to be involved as an educator and mentor. I am preparing new webinars and courses now and soon I will be involved in some projects for digital artists. Professionally, this has been my best year so far and the future looks good.
Therefore, my active work in the Foundation had to be cut short. However, the Foundation was part of my life for over 3 years. Some friendships were developed and some collaborations. I am looking forward to seeing the further development of BHFF. It is important to say that the students of the Foundation are amazing individuals and that they will always have my support. So, it is not so much a "Goodbye forever" as maybe "See you next time".
Our Academy in Banja Luka, 2018
Some journeys, no matter how great and important they are, at some point end. Sometimes we have to leave behind things that we love the most to make a space for even greater thing to come. We are proud that our Vildana Hrnjić is mature enough to set high her goals and plans for the future. We are proud that she is brave to follow her dreams. She has thought us that little girls with dreams become women with vision. We are glad to know that she will continue to share the passion for education and empowering and mentoring the youth, which is our mission as well.
During past three years we have grown together and now it is time for our paths to split. Like Vildana said: "This is not goodbye forever, this is more See you next time."
Students and Young Professional Leadership Committee, Mostar 2019