When I met Ilin, we were at a hangout in Kashmir with fifteen other students. He was eager to sit at the ‘hot seat’ and start answering all of my questions – and even ask me some in return. When I tell you Ilin is a thrillseeker, I don’t mean activities that give you that adrenaline rush. Ilin finds thrills in simpler things.

He and I share a lot of common experiences – from Korchagin, and high school life more broadly. We both had the same class head and many of the same teachers. And for everyone he mentions, Ilin has nice things to say. Even when pointing out flaws, he sandwiches them with the positives. “It was hard for me to get used to the countless pieces of feedback we get, but the strictness helped me work on myself and improve my writing,” he said.

I had a chance to get to know him at the orientation camp. After each break in between sessions, Ilin would run back to his seat holding a paper and a pen. The paper was always filled with proofs, solutions to math problems I haven’t yet figured out – honestly, I never got the chance to ask what exactly he was solving for. And when I spoke with him, he told me that the academic life gives him satisfaction. “The circumstances, the vibe, that comes out of life in academia makes me happy.” If he had complete freedom and no material constraints, he wouldn’t hesitate to visit some famous university with a big library.

Ilin wants to be a math professor. Not just any math, either – he wants to do abstract algebra. I find his strong desire curious; I know plenty of exceptional math students who regularly get defeated by that field. And it’s not like he’s mastered it, either. “I can’t say I feel comfortable in that huge branch of math, and there’s a ton I still need to learn. But abstract algebra is what fascinates me, and it’s what I want to teach one day.”

He’s not only into math, of course. Legend says that the Macedonian national committee sends a Tool super-fan to UWC at least every 3-4 years. We discussed their music, and I recalled my own selection process: Ognjan questioned me about Tool, and I spent a good quarter of my interview talking about them. I saw the same enthusiasm in Ilin and curiosity to hear my take on 10,000 days and the lives of the band members. The depth of his questions showed me he is a careful listener and an interested conversationalist.

He says he isn’t afraid of anything, so I am confident the UWC experience will just be a nudge to improve himself. Challenges await in Changshu – but he’ll tackle them the same way he tackles his math questions: with effort, stubbornness, and an ability to find unsolved problems thrilling.

July, 2023
Jana Kraleva