The London Trip '23: part 2

In this short interview, the rest of the participants in the London trip share their experiences. Simona Gyuzleva, Mihael Trifonov, and Dimo Rezashki took part in the trip this year, and Mohamad Hachem is an incoming participant for the trip next year. They are all AUBG students, who interacted with prominent UK academic institutions such as LSE, and LBS, and leading companies such as McKinsey & Co, Capital Group, and Fitch Group.

"How did the trip impact your academic and career plans?"

Simona: The London Field Trip thanks to The Aleksander Foundation served as an eye-opening experience for me. It made me reflect both on my current situation and my future aspirations. It opened a door for me, one which I didn’t really consider seriously up until now - the idea of pursuing a Masters's Degree. The conversations with some of AUBG’s alumni, who are currently in the UK and working for renowned companies such as McKinsey & Co, Capital Group, and Fitch Group, made me realise how important networking is and how important asking the right questions is.

Mihael: The trip enabled me to deep dive into the financial sector, learn first-hand about the companies that we visited, and gain important insights into the current trends in finance through group discussions with employees and representatives from each company. I also got to expand my professional network and gained some direction regarding the job I wish to pursue after graduation. Last but not least, I learned about the academic prospects in the UK for both Master's and Doctorate degrees in certain subfields of finance, and will now have a good basis of comparison when the moment to apply for a graduate school arrives.

Dimo: It helped me to decide for myself how I should proceed after undergraduate university. More precisely, the trip highlighted for me the importance of having a graduate degree from a good university to be eligible for a good position in any firm. Further, the trip allowed me to meet many interesting and inspiring people.

Mohamad: I look forward to this trip next year because it will allow me to discuss my plans and aspirations with people in the field I aspire to work in which will help me utilise their feedback to improve my plan and expand my network.

"What was your favorite part of the trip?"

Simona: My favourite moment during the trip was our meeting with Iliya Tsekov, AUBG alumni at Capital Group. The fact that he graduated not long ago helped immensely during our discussions, and his experience after graduation, his journey, his thoughts, and his advice helped me realize my personal "reality check".

Mihael: The trip was very well-organized and we got to enjoy both the corporate and academic visits and the leisure time spent mostly visiting tourist attractions. I find it hard to select a favorite moment since there were just way too many to choose from: going to Canary Wharf, visiting the campuses of the London School of Economics and the London Business School, seeing Big Ben, Westminister, and the Trafalgar square, having a foundation dinner in the Home House private club and drinking some scrumptious brown sugar boba tea in Chinatown were just a few of the activities of our trip. It was an unforgettable combination of professional, academic, and tourist experiences.

Dimo: My favorite moment was the dinner with Alek and the meeting with Iliya.

Mohamad: I am mostly looking forward to visiting the esteemed educational institutes and Consulting firms