I wanted to learn and improve, maybe not as scientifically as the others in my family, but in my overall education I have always been a solid student. However, I reached the top in 2012 – as part of the 17 girls in the world who participated in the Global Mentoring Program in the United States to promote gender equality through sports, says Ilina.

Back in high school, all my notebooks were full of drawings, and mini portraits of teachers filled the margins of the pages. I did not give up my dream of studying at the Academy of Fine Arts, although my older colleagues did not encourage me much when it came to that idea. “It’s the best college, but then it’s the hardest when it comes to finding a job”, they told me. This is how Ilina Arsova, the Macedonian artist, skier and mountaineer, begins to tell “Fakulteti.mk” about her student days. Recalling the time that has passed, Arsova in the column “When I was a student”, which we do in cooperation with “Fakulteti.mk”, talks about the love for languages, friendships, experiences and the many interests and activities she had in that period.

I did not choose wrong

Ilina was born in Skopje in 1982. She completed her primary education in “Koco Racin”, and continued in the high school “Josip Broz-Tito”. Although she loved art, in consultation with her parents and other friends, she decided to go to a regular gymnasium because she was still not sure if her love for art was a passing phase or something that would last longer. She did not make a mistake in the choice, she says, because the high school gave her wider horizons and more knowledge of general culture in case she wanted to study something else.

– My parents must have been worried about my choice, although they never told me personally, nor did they try to convince me. On the contrary, in further development, both as an artist and as a mountaineer at extreme heights, my family was my greatest support. I am the only artist in my family, but my grandparents had an “eye” for art and a beautiful collection of works of art. The student years were exciting and very productive. New friendships, life experiences, love and a lot, a lot of work. We had excellent communication with our colleagues, and it can be said that we learned more from the cooperation with each other than we learned from the professors themselves. The faculty was ours. Sometimes the staff left us a key to stay overtime to finish a sculpture, especially while we were preparing our final exam exhibitions. We didn’t even take the four-hour breaks between morning and afternoon classes at college. That was our home – says Ilina.

The Faculty of Fine Arts was of value then

She says the faculty had both good staff and dedicated students. She graduated in 2005 and, unfortunately, says those were the last quality years of the college. The professors told her that now students are enrolled there who are not interested in art at all, but only because of the idea that it will be easier for them to finish there.

– Artists are a category of people who over the centuries have been responsible for immortalizing an important moment, process or change in society. They were always engaged and left their mark on their time. Today I wonder if that still holds some truth to it,” she asks.

I made money drawing portraits

– I often traveled during my studies. Every summer vacation I spent 4 months somewhere near or far from the seaside, I financed the vacation myself and earned pocket-money from drawing portraits. We did it together with my colleagues or high school friends with whom I still hang out. Ever since I was in my first year at the Academy of Fine Arts, I managed to finish the exams earlier and together with one colleague of mine, we left for seasonal work in Turkey at the end of May, where we stayed until the end of August. It turned into a tradition that I repeated every year, in different destinations and with the same or different company. At the same time I was hiking, paragliding, for which I spent the most savings – Ilina recalls.

Towards the end of her studies, she began to travel more intensely because her travels were a huge passion, not only for discovering new beautiful places around the world, but also for visiting museums and learning new languages, which were also her obsession.

– Even when I was very young my mother used to say to me: “Learn languages, the world will be yours!” And indeed, much later it turned out that she was right. At the same time, I did not neglect learning. I always had a great average (except for a few puberty days). I mainly wanted to study and improve, maybe not as scientifically as the others in my family, but in my overall education I have always been a solid student – Ilina emphasizes.

I used to hike to the Vodno mountain top alone at the age of 14

Ever since her high school days, she has singled out art as her favorite, but all other subjects were also her favorite. Even math, which she loved the least, if she sat down to study, she understood the problems and was interested in it.

– I went to PPZ competitions and biology quizzes, and I was active in various other sections, from acting to journalism, scouts and various sports activities. I attended private drawing and language classes, and I also learned languages ​​at home. We used to rent books and cassettes from the French Cultural Center to learn French. Thanks to my parents, my sister and I have been involved in sports since we were little, namely: karate, swimming. Quite early, at the age of 14, I discovered adrenaline sports, which in a short time became an important part of my life. I remember, at the age of 14, I climbed to the top of Vodno on my own and there was nothing strange in that, while today children at that age seem to be much more dependent on home, and somehow the times are not so safe for a parent to let a child go alone – she recalls.

After completing her studies at the Faculty of Fine Arts, which left her lasting values and friendships, Ilina thought that she would dedicate all her time to the world of painting, rock climbing and paragliding. But that was not enough for her, so she immediately enrolled in a master’s degree in languages, business and international trade, which took place in parallel in French and English.

– Here, I also achieved great success, and with that new doors were opened in my career. For the entire undergraduate and graduate studies, I had a high enough average to use the state’s scholarship, which was sufficient to cover basic expenses or food. Then I studied and took exams several more times, at the Faculty of Tourism in Ohrid, as well as many other trainings and courses for self-promotion, in sports, tourism, ecology, languages, art. The peak, however, was reached in 2012 when I was selected as one of 17 girls in the world to participate in the Global Mentoring Program in the United States, when I completely focused on promoting gender equality through sport, and for the first time in our country – building so-called diplomacy through sports – says Ilina.

The sport is food for the body, and the nature – for the soul

Mountaineering and rock climbing have completely won my heart in the last ten years, when I was most involved in working with tourism, but not neglecting art and exhibitions, adds Ilina.

– At no time did I give up the volunteering activities, which also constantly dragged through my life, formerly in the Red Cross, and now on the shores of Lake Ohrid where we are still struggling to make the population aware of the unique values that characterize the oldest lake in Europe – emphasizes Ilina.

She wants today’s students to be determined and courageous when setting their own priorities.

– To be open to all new knowledge that they can receive, whether behind the student desks or through practical experiences. Because there is no greater wealth than being versatile, practical, and adaptable. I also recommend them to play sports and nurture nature because sport is food for your body, and nature – for your soul – ends Ilina.

prepared by: Antonija Popovska