College is an environment with lots of potential to overwhelm students. Simultaneously attending classes, completing assignments, and juggling real life, all while planning for the future, is a strain that many students uphold. These problems are exactly what inspired the program Me as a Student, a weekly meeting where American University in Bulgaria (AUBG) students speak with peer counselors to unravel the various woes of college life. The hour-long meetings are held every Monday at 6 p.m. in the Skaptopara I counseling center. The Me as a Student program is currently organized by peer counseling students at AUBG: freshman Chris Tenchev, senior Mitko Donev, and sophomore Nikola Naumovski. The program is supervised by AUBG’s psychologist, Rayna TuzlukovaVetsova. They first privately deliberate on relevant student issues, like timemanagement or procrastination, then on Mondays hold an open meeting followed by a general discussion. World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10 had the first glimpse of the program. The peer counselors arranged multiple activities to promote student wellbeing. There were events like a morning jog, art therapy, and a presentation from the peer counselors on a student-related issue. According to the hosts Chris and Mitko, the presentation went well, but the conversation held afterward was truly cathartic, leaving a lasting impression on the participants. This talk was the unintentional precursor of what would become Me as a Student. After the talk’s success, the counselors asked Tuzlukova-Vetsova to make the meetings regular, to which Chris said she was “totally down for it.” The peer counselors noticed that their efforts are comparable to the Psychology Club, the difference being its scale. Chris claims that peer counseling “puts a lot of emphasis on doing things personally.” Both groups have arranged similar activities, such as art therapy and yoga, but Me as a Student is a more intimate and regular gathering, having around six or seven participants each session. But this quantity is ideal, as it allows everyone to take part and relieve themselves through discussion. Mitko, also a Psychology Club member, said that the peer counseling team is working on being independent for Fall 2022 but could have the opportunity to collaborate in upcoming semesters. “From next semester on, they could be two entities helping each other because they’re both trying to achieve a very good goal,” he said, since both groups work to spread awareness on mental health and develop tactics to maintain it. M e S TU AUBG’s Latest 4 Fall 2022 | AUBG Daily Chris Tenchev. Photo courtesy of Chris Tenchev
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