WHEN I WAS A STUDENT WITH IRENA SPIROVSKA: “I PASSED THE LAST EXAMS WHEN MY DAUGHTER WAS A BABY, AND I STUDIED WHILE SHE WAS SLEEPING”

Irena Spirovska has been associated with TV hosting for more than two decades. She is considered one of the most persistent personalities on Macedonian TV, where she has changed a number of television stations and shows and is still one of the most sought-after presenters.

Born and raised in Skopje, Irena, in parallel with her studies at the Institute for Classical Studies at the Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje, also started working at the Macedonian Radio Television. Despite her regular TV commitments at the time, she managed to graduate from the Department of Macedonian Language and South Slavic Literature.

– The interest in learning the Macedonian language among the current generations, unfortunately, is declining more and more. The fact that in this study year (2022/23) only 16 students (full-time and part-time) are enrolled at the Macedonian Language Department is disappointing. I sincerely hope that in the future this will change and the popularity of this faculty will increase. Studying and knowing the mother tongue ennobles a young person and also allows us to preserve our language wealth – says Irena.

In the column “When I was a student”, which we create in cooperation with Fakulteti.mk we returned to the university lectures, social gatherings, challenges.

I passed all my first year exams in the June session

Although she attended medical school, Irena never had a great desire and ambition to practice medicine. She was in the department of dental technicians, and the biggest plus of her stay there is that she fell in love with the Latin language and that was a prerequisite to enroll in the Faculty of Philosophy, where she later transferred to the Department of Macedonian Language and South Slavic Literature.

– I fell in love with the Latin language, that’s why after high school graduation I enrolled at the Faculty of Classical Studies. At the same time, I started working as a freelancer in the Macedonian Radio Television. I passed all the exams from the first year already in the June session, but over time my responsibilities and engagements in television began to increase, so I was not able to regularly follow the lectures from the second year. Due to the specificity of dead languages, such as ancient Greek and Latin, there was no opportunity for part-time studies at the Faculty of Classical Studies, so I decided to transfer to the Department of Macedonian Language and South Slavic Literature, so that I could continue working and studying at the same time – adds Irena.

I especially liked the lectures of Professor Venko Andonovski

Due to the fact that she studied and worked at the same time, Irena did not have a classic student life. She was constantly on the road at home – MRTV – college, but she still found a way to get everywhere on time and complete her duties, which according to her is the key to success.

– I found all subjects equally interesting and inspiring. I especially liked the lectures of Professor Venko Andonovski. I mostly studied at night, when everything was quiet and when I had no other obligations. During the day, I mostly liked to study alone in the library, and my colleagues and I often drank coffee during breaks and exchanged conclusions. At that time, the Mavrovka shopping center was particularly popular. It was a relief that everything was close to me. The MRT building is right opposite the college, which gave me the opportunity to run from work to college or vice versa. Considering that I was studying and working, I had my own pocket money and I drove a car, so for me student life was particularly dynamic, fun and fulfilling – recalls Irena.

She passed the last three exams after becoming a mother

Considering that even while she was studying, Irena put her work first, the university obligations sometimes suffered. Moreover, near the end of her studies, she faced another beautiful challenge – motherhood, so she finished college studying for her exams with her daughter Zorica sleeping next to her.

– The time needed to prepare for the exam depended on the subject I was preparing for, but also on my work responsibilities. Sometimes it happened that I could prepare for an exam in a short time, and sometimes it took me months to find time to learn all the material. That’s why I delayed my studies a little more, because my work came first. In the meantime, I also gave birth to my daughter, so I passed the last three exams when Zorica was a baby. I studied while she was sleeping and I used that period to finish my duties with the faculty – says Irena.

Mountaineering was my favorite hobby, I climbed Triglav at the age of 22

Jeans, oldies, a shirt or blouse for college, as opposed to formal high heels and elegant dresses for in front of the TV screens. That’s how Irena’s style varied during her student days. She then intensively socialized with her colleagues, and after graduation those contacts faded a little. However, they managed to return through social networks.

– We had favorite places to go out that we regularly visited, such as MNT, “Hard Rock”, “Christian”, “Panda” and others. The parties in those days lasted until the early hours of the morning, so we often ended them by going for simit-pogacha at the famous Furna bakery in Chair. We all went to college modestly and decently dressed, as befits a student. Hiking was my favorite hobby during my college years. I first climbed the highest peak in Yugoslavia – Triglav (2,864 m.a.s.l.) when I was 22 years old – concludes Irena.

Prepared by: Nikola Petrovski