Where are you from?
I was born in the city of Mostar from Bosnia & Herzegovina, an Eastern European Slavic country which was part of the former Yugoslavia. My family fled a civil war and found our way to the U.S. as refugees of war. Eventually, we settled down in Chicago, IL where I grew up on the North Side.
Why did I decide to apply to NPEP?
I understood that I may never again have a better opportunity to earn a college degree. As a first generation American, I felt a responsibility to set the bar for other generations in my family to come. Also, there was unfinished business because I previously attended UIUC but never finished.
What does being a part of NPEP mean to you?
It is a shift in paradigm because it affords all of us in our community the chance to reinvent ourselves, change prior narratives, and embody refreshingly new identities. For me, personally, being a couple months away from reentering society it gives me a firm foundation to build upon my second chance at life.
What are you most looking forward to as an NPEP student?
The humbling prospect if earning a life-altering education from a top-6 university among peers who have endured the shared struggles with incarceration. Also, I am enlived to have an opportunity to expand the capacity of an incarcerated person’s capability.
What is something you would like others to know about you as a student?
I am adamant about remaining optimistic, open minded, and receptive even through adversity because within it is the promise of an equal or greater opportunity.
What is a fact about yourself that others might find surprising?
In my first month of incarceration I read more books than I had in the 22 years of my life prior to that, and it has made all the difference.