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DECEMBER 2020 13 lic Policy where she is working on her mas- ter's degree in public policy and leadership. It was during her time at Texas Tech that her passions and studies started leading to some real-world experience. In addition to playing basketball for the Red Raiders, Sto- jsavljevic became involved in the Univer- sity's Model U.N., a program that teaches students about how the United Nations op- erates by assigning participants different na- tions to represent and then gives them vari- ous diplomatic tasks and crises to navigate. She attended national Model U.N. confer- ences in both her junior and senior years, but it was the latter, which was being held in Wash- ington, D.C., that changed her life trajectory. "The second conference, I called the Chilean Embassy because that was the country that we were representing, but they didn't respond. So I called the Croatian Embassy, probably 50 times. Eventually they answered and they invited the entire Texas Tech delegation to go there. "The Croatian ambassadors met with us and told everyone about Croatia. I was grateful because I'm so proud of my coun- try, and it meant so much to have my class- mates see where I'm from. "After we finished, the ambassador came up to me and told me he was very impressed. He asked if I was a Croatian citi- zen. And then he offered me an internship. I couldn't believe it!" After enrolling at UVA in December of last year, the possibility of doing a summer intern- ship in D.C. became even more feasible, until the pandemic hit. Undaunted, Stojsavljevic got back in touch with the embassy. They found a way for her to help from her socially distanced apartment in Charlottesville. She did various paperwork, including watching webinars that the diplomats were participat- ing in and then writing summaries. In July, however, she had an opportunity to work in person at the embassy for the na- tion's parliamentary election. "Fourth of July weekend, I went up to help them with voting," Stojsavljevic said. "The polls opened at 7 a.m. and closed around 10 p.m. There was a guy who is Croatian who drove five hours just to vote and was there at 7 a.m. I was so impressed with how much people love my country and made sure they could vote in the election." While she was working on the election, she got to know all of the embassy staff. "I fell in love that day," she said. "I fell in love with how they work, how they ap- proach work. Those people show up every day and try to make their lives better. "Those people work so hard. They don't sleep. There are stacks of papers for people wanting Croatian citizenship and another for people just trying to get back home dur- ing the pandemic. They work relentlessly, and I'm so grateful to know them. It's a huge blessing. It was so beautiful." Stojsavljevic knows that diplomacy is in her future, possibly working for an embassy or even the actual United Nations. However, before that, there is still a lot of basketball left to be played, here for the Cavaliers, and then back home again suiting up for her beloved Croatia. Stojsavljevic saw action in the Cava- liers' season opener against Central Florida Nov. 25, and scored four points while pull- ing down two rebounds. Unfortunately, she suffered a leg injury and will miss the re- minder of the 2020-21 season. "My grandma instilled in me the sensitivity for other people, saying that we have to be aware of how lucky we are, and if we ever are in a position to help somebody, especially in the position of power, we have to give our best to make some- one's life better. She always told me that I would be a great diplomat so I should learn more languages, and that's how I really became passionate about international affairs." STOJSAVLJEVIC Stojsavljevic saw action in the season opener against Central Florida and scored four points while grab- bing two rebounds. However, she suffered a leg injury and will miss the reminder of the 2020-21 season. PHOTO BY MATT RILEY/COURTESY UVA