Nadejda Spasova from Bulgaria has spent her last two years of high school as a boarding student and is a residential leader for Regester House. From a master in film to traveling as much as possible, Spasova has many dreams that she would like to fulfill. 

Coming from a country in Europe to America brings many changes. Spasova can see big differences especially in school. It’s something new for her that teachers care about students. Something else that has positively surprised Spasova is that Darlington School cares a lot about mental health. In Bulgaria this is ignored and not talked about. 

“It’s really hard to find a teacher that cares in Bulgaria. And here teachers just do everything they can to help you and also I had 19 classes my sophomore year. So this is nice, because you can focus on 6 classes,” Spasova said. “And also, it’s not exactly the school system but the school here cares a lot about your mental mental health, which I love because in Bulgaria, they just think that’s not a real thing.”

Spasova did not have a dream college for a long time, but that has changed. At first she didn’t think it was possible to apply to an Ivy League School, but then she had the ambition to do it. Spasova applied to Yale and put a lot of effort into the application and now it seems like something possible.

“Yale has a lot of things that I like. And I usually want to study film, but I kind of want to study something else first,” Spasova said. 

Spasova was able to learn many new things during her time in another country and already has many plans for her future. She is grateful for how well she has been supported and is ready to pursue her dreams.

“I’ve definitely learned a lot about different cultures, and how to go out of my comfort zone, and how to live with other people and be independent,” Spasova said. “I want to study something that has to do with things like philosophy, social sciences and psychology. And then probably do a master’s in film.”