Lea Leleta got her BA in Visual Arts and Visual Communications Design (VACD) at IUS. Since she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was two years old, she has written and illustrated a children's book about it as her Graduation project. Since January 2022, Lea has been working as a graphic designer at the Wire Digital Creative Agency.
Read her story below!
My journey started the first time I visited IUS. I was senior in high school and my friends and I decided to sit for the scholarship test. When I came to IUS, I felt positively weird. The warmth of the campus immediately made me feel welcome especially when I saw the TV studio since I was interested in VACD. I really felt that IUS was the right choice. Firstly, I developed as a graphic designer, even though there is still much to learn. Secondly, I believe that everything happens for a reason, so if I think about it, would I do the same project for my thesis if I didn't study at IUS? Probably not, so IUS proved to be the perfect choice for me. I am extremely grateful for everything that has happened in my life and career so far. I am both curious and excited about what the future holds.
After defending my thesis, I wanted to continue working on the same project, so I contacted several pharmaceutical companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Soon after, I received a positive feedback and began working with Roche Ltd., Farmavita, and Medicom. After two months of meetings, brainstorming, and hard work, we launched an online campaign and book promotion in ten cities across Bosnia and Herzegovina. The first promotion was in Bihać, and then we traveled to Prijedor, Zenica, Brčko, Trebinje, and Mostar. The campaign will continue in Banja Luka, Bijeljina, Tuzla, and Sarajevo.
Meeting new people, telling them about the project, reading, and spending time with young children who are going through the same things I did when I was their age has been an amazing experience. For the first time, I felt as if I was contributing to the society and that my work was important. Many parents and businesses have asked if there will be a book sequel, and this is one of the reasons I applied for the Master’s studies at IUS this year; I might do something else this year that can turn into a real project.
As we all know, not everything in life is ideal, but you must go through it to get what you want. You should never give up on your dreams; even if it appears that everything is out of your hands, you can take a break, change your perspective, and reconsider why you want it. If your will is strong enough, you will find the courage and energy to carry it out. I know that some hard situations in our lives are there to show or teach us to appreciate the positive things more, because if there are no bad situations, how can we recognize the good ones?
I haven’t overcome the fear of failure. I learn a lot from my mistakes, so failure isn't as bad as everyone thinks. I remember feeling insecure, shy, and even angry at times when I thought I'd never finish a task because it had been declined three times. I used those feelings to my advantage, overcame my fears and accomplished something incredible.
I'm not going to try to be a life coach, but I will just say make the most of your time while you still have it. Find your style, explore and see who you want to become, and work towards that goal. It will surely be worth it one day, maybe sooner than you think.
