|
International Student Wows Fashion Department
by Tim Taylor
Biljana Bosevska |
The Fashion and Interior Merchandising office on the top floor of Wall sparkles with the work of a freshman whom chance brought to Mars Hill from Macedonia, and who is fighting to stay.
Biljana (pronounced Bilyana) Bosevska started her journey three years ago in Bitola, Macedonia, just north of the Greek border. She was a 17-year-old schoolgirl surfing the Internet for schools that would help her pursue a fashion design career when she came across the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan.
Sampler
|
|
|
|
Unbeknownst to her, it was one of the most sought-out art schools in America, but she sent in some of her work just to see if they would mail some information. Instead, she received a phone call saying the Academy would pay for everything, if she would just come.
Soon, she was on an airplane on a hope and a dream of coming to America. She did not even know what the school looked like. She did not know where the trip was going to lead her.
Biljana stayed at Interlochen for two years before she graduated. During her time there she found some of her friends from home living in Charlotte, North Carolina, and would visit them from time to time. They told her about Mars Hill.
She applied, and was given an interview by the professors in the Fashion and Interior Merchandising Department. Department chairperson Brenda Russell says now, "When we first met this girl and saw some of her art work, we knew that she would be a gift to the college. She had so many talents we wanted to involve her in everything that we could, but first we needed to get her into Mars Hill. Thanks to the work of the financial aid department we were able to get her."
She qualified for several scholarships, although the lion's share came from a one year "Young Artists" grant from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation in Canada. Her future seemed set when she returned home last summer for her first visit since leaving for Interlochen. Unfortunately, she discovered that she needed a new visa to return to the States. Worse, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was torn by civil war and the U.S. Consulate was closed. She had to travel to neighboring Bulgaria to receive a valid visa. School started, and her teachers, Brenda Russell and Rebecca Cody, were wondering what had happened to their shining star. A week later, their special gift appeared.
During her first year at Mars Hill Biljana has earned a G.P.A. of a 4.0 and has created some of the most fascinating works in the department and her portfolio.
In Brenda Russell's words, " Bilijana brings another dimension to her field that not a lot of students have the ability to do."
"My influences are the relationships that I have with different people, my country and its history," Biljana says. "I try to incorporate all these things in the fashions or paintings that I create in designs that are functional for now." Some of the designers that Bilijana looks up to are Terri Mugler, Valenteno, and Gucci. Yet all of these influences, going to school, and hard work do come with a price. The price of not being able to see her family.
Bilijana has been away from her home for over a year now. She misses her family very much. Her father is a court Judge, her mother is a lawyer, and her younger brother is in a band and loves to play music. She missed saying happy sixteenth birthday to her brother Philip on April 24.
Now Bilijana has completed her first years of school at Mars Hill with flying colors, and clothes. Her crisis of the moment is that the she and the fashion faculty are looking for a way to pay for summer school and next year's tuition. The Elizabeth Greenshields Grant cannot be renewed and leaves a big hole in her finances. Her international student visa forbids her to take a job except college work study.
She's looking for sponsors.
If necessary, Brenda Russell says she herself will pass the hat door to door to keep Biljana Bosevska at Mars Hill.
HOME
|
Click here for a look at the remarkable diversity of Biljana Bosevska's work, which goes far beyond the world of fashion.