About Me

I was born in Mostar, Bosnia and moved to the states with my parents soon after my 5th birthday in November of 1991 due to the civil unrest that was occurring in the former country of Yugoslavia. Almost 20 years later, here I am…still in the United States and living a totally different life than my parents or I would have ever imagined.  Although everyone says this, I truly believe I have some amazing people in my life that I would not trade the world for.  I grew up in a small town not too far outside of Chicago and have still remained very close with most of my high school friends which I have learned is a very rare feat.  Being an only child, I have developed a very social personality and love meeting new people, visiting new places, and experiencing new things.  I’m very antsy and prefer to constantly move around and travel as much as I can.

After graduating from Indiana University in May of 2009 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Retail Studies, I accepted a job with J.C.Penney working as a Direct Inventory Analyst in their home office in Dallas, Texas.  After a year of the corporate world; I realized that, although I was successful in what I was doing, I could not picture myself spending the rest of my working life within a job that provided me a minimal sense of accomplishment with way too much stress than I was getting paid for.

I decided to apply for the Peace Corps in March of 2010 just as an option(at least that’s what I told my parents so I could dilute their initial shock and not give them heart attacks).  I had been a volunteer for a few years working with soup kitchens, adult language programs, and children’s housing organizations and I enjoyed every minute of it.  I received my official invite to serve as a volunteer in December and headed to Romania as an English teaching volunteer on April 26th 2011. My experience in the Peace Corps was beyond amazing and I am very thankful that this blog has let me capture all of those amazing moments throughout my two years served.

I officially became a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV) On July 2nd, 2013 and headed home to spend the summer with friends and loved ones. I moved to Dublin at the end of August where I am currently living and attending graduate school at University College Dublin getting my Master’s in Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict. I hope to one day work with refugees and help make their transitions into their new homes smoother and more fruitful.