The Faculty of Philology elevated my literacy skills, fostered critical thinking, and honed my ability to articulate myself. Immersing myself in the works of the Russian classics and contemporary literature provided the inspiration and confidence to embark on my own writing journey, shared Petar Mladenovski, also known as Pece “Superhiks”.

Petar Mladenovski, known as Pece “Superhiks”, is a well-known and established Macedonian musician, a member of the popular Macedonian ska-punk band “Superhiks” with reggae, Latin, jazz, swing, and Balkan musical influences. Pece is the frontman and plays the bass guitar. “Superhiks” is celebrating 30 years of existence this year. With Pece, we look back at his student days and ambitions, some interesting anecdotes, and the beginnings of “Superhiks”.

Pece is a graduated professor of the Russian language

He completed his primary education at the elementary school “29 Noemvri”, now known as “Vojdan Chernodrinski”.

– I can say that I was a good student until the end of my primary education, but things changed in high school. I enrolled in the Economic-Law High School in Kisela Voda, which just got its new name “Vasil Antevski – Dren” instead of the old one – “Boris Kidrich”. I passed the entrance exam and started the first year, which I passed with an average grade of “good”, but problems started in the second year, and by mid-year I was facing punishment due to unexcused absences and being the only one who had “D” by the notorious and widely known math professor Mirche-Auspuh. After that initial shock for my parents, things began to stabilize, and I maintained an average grade of “very good.” However, it’s worth noting that in subjects that captivated my interest – such as sociology, philosophy, Macedonian and Russian language, and history – I consistently achieved excellent grades, unlike in the professional legal subjects – recalls Pece.

He studied and graduated at the Faculty of Philology “Blazhe Koneski” in Skopje within the Slavic Studies department, or more precisely he acquired the title Professor of Russian language and Literature, with additional Czech language under C.

– When I finished high school, most of my classmates, naturally, continued at the Faculty of Law, which was no challenge for me, nor was I interested in law. I had two choices: either to study or go to the army, which I strongly opposed. I chose to enroll in Russian Language and Literature in Skopje. I had a great love for languages, and although I was not exactly skilled in Russian, this was a challenge for me, so I decided to take the entrance exam and fortunately, I enrolled on the first try! Surprisingly, I breezed through almost all exams right away, except for what I dubbed the “hardest mission”: passing on the first attempt the exam in Contemporary Macedonian Language by Professor Dr. Stojka Bojkovska. On the second try, I managed to secure a solid “9”, and from there, I encountered hardly any other obstacles. I completed lectures and exams at an accelerated pace. However, I hit a roadblock with the seminar papers, causing a delay in obtaining my diploma, which I eventually received 5 years after finishing my studies – Pece narrates.

Student times for me were times filled with lots of free time

He adds that during his student days, he enjoyed the company of colleagues and enjoyed the lectures in Old Church Slavonic Language by Prof. Mito Miovski, Theory of Literature by Prof. Atanas Vangelov, Linguistics by Prof. Dimitar Pandev, Phonetics and Phonology of Contemporary Russian Language and Transcription by Prof. Dr. Nina Chundeva.

– I enjoyed the classes in Contemporary Russian Language and Grammar by Prof. Natalija Fedotova, Prof. Krasimira Ilievska, and by the Professor of Russian Literature Ruzica Janchuleva. I enjoyed the classes in Contemporary Czech Language by Prof. Dr. Donka Rous. Pedagogy, psychology, ethics, and similar classes were a challenge for me. The concept of unsystematic studying suited me, and I easily passed the exams. Of course, my month-long academic trip to the “A. S. Pushkin” Institute in Moscow in 1998 was unforgettable. Oh, everything was great! Even today, I still hang out with my former colleagues whenever possible, although I must admit we haven’t managed to gather in full force, those 15 of us who completed studies together. It was an exceptional group, and we all became great friends. My student days were filled with ample free time (though, of course, that dwindled during exam sessions in June and September), social outings, nightlife, romances, and countless hours spent rehearsing with my band “Superhiks,” which was still a demo-band at the time, not enjoying popularity yet. I fondly remember my colleagues Kate, Sandra, Zharko, Biljana, Radmila, Beti, and, of course, Tina Tautovic, who is now a well-known TV presenter, as well as Emil Niami, now a Doctor of Philological Sciences and author of numerous scholarly works. I cherish only beautiful memories and experiences shared with all my former colleagues – Pece reminisces cheerfully.

I easily passed most of the exams on the first attempt

He says that in the archives of his student days, there are all sorts of memories, but he highlights the graduation trip.

– I will remember my graduation trip across Europe when I was the main source of entertainment for all fellow passengers on the bus during the long journeys. I “played” a kind of funny guide as we passed through Paris, Nice, Barcelona. I even received a few compliments like “you could be a host, singer, musician” – Pece declares.

Studying was like a song for him. He easily passed most of the exams on the first attempt! However, from the current perspective, he says the downside was that he didn’t retake some exams for higher grades, but he was satisfied with the final average of 8.2.

– Which isn’t so bad, right? Anyway, here’s a method that particularly helped me with studying: often, for the more complex materials, I plastered the whole kitchen where I studied with materials and lessons, to recall whole paragraphs and lectures photographically, so I passed some exams thanks to this and with high grades. Try it out, dear students – Pece advises.

Being asked about what goal he had set as a student and what dreams he had nurtured, he says that his intentions were different from what actually happened.

– This is a tough question. I may have had some intentions, plans, and dreams related to my studies, but then the music and “Superhiks” happened. Sometime after graduating (in a record time of 4 years with all exams passed on time), “Superhiks” gained great popularity following the release of the single and music video for “Glupavi Pesni”. And everything changed in a few months. We signed a contract with “Litium Records” for two albums; a live album came later, lots of travel, tours, concerts, even greater popularity, engagements at certain Skopje radio stations as a host, good fees for that time, love, rehearsals, travels. And so, I drifted away from Russian and Slavistics and it took me a whole five years to sit down and finally submit my 3 mandatory seminar papers on the Methodology and Methods of the Russian Language, Russian Grammar, and Russian Literature (The Brothers Karamazov) and to finally graduate in 2005. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I have never professionally engaged with Russian or Czech Language, even though I had offers for several jobs, yet, music remained my life’s calling and profession – Pece shares.

I am eternally grateful to all my professors

We also, asked him what the university taught him outside the lectures, and he replied that he believes that the direct culprit for all the successes he had in music and professionally is the university itself.

– The Faculty of Philology elevated my literacy skills, fostered critical thinking, and honed my ability to articulate myself. The hundreds of read books by Russian classics and contemporary prose and poetry gave me the stimulus and courage to start writing texts and songs by myself. Even in the song “Nevazhni Neshta” from our first album “Chekaj be vikam….kade be malku?” I have a line that reminds me of those times – “Talking about unimportant things, about someone from Moscow who wrote books”… I am eternally grateful to all my professors and the faculty that enabled me to become a mature and educated person and I hope they are proud of all the deeds and successes. Here’s another funny anecdote – when I came to the formal diploma ceremony in 2005, many were surprised because I had taken a long break, and they wondered what Pece “Superhiks” was doing there. Professors Maksim Karanfilovski (then dean) and Dimitrija Ristevski read my name, I stepped up, went to them, and Professor Maksim handed me the diploma by saying: “Come on, fellow colleague, now sing something for us! hihihihi!! – Pece recounted.

His advice to all future and current students is not to give up, to be persistent and diligent! To believe in themselves! To go all the way and graduate!

– No matter where life takes them further, university is a very important lesson that everyone who has the opportunity should and can master, and later in life, it will provide a good foundation for any job and profession. And for those who have paused for various reasons (taken an exam dozens of times, felt it’s too hard, have fallen in spirit and had periods of failure), be persistent! Continue despite the breaks and graduate! Believe me, it will bring you a lot. I don’t think I have a colleague today who isn’t successful in a certain field like journalism, the oil business, the non-governmental sector, educational institutions, various companies, etc. They all push well through life and are successful people. Study! Educate! Invest in your intellectual capacity. This is how healthy individuals, and a healthy society are built – Pece “Superhiks” emphasizes.

Sanja Jachevska