Zorana Stanojević (19 years)

Zorana Stanojević (19 years)

"When you love something, nothing is difficult or impossible. Everything can be harmonized. I used to study mostly during the night. Ever since from a young age, I listened about how important education is, especially for us Roma. We must stand out with our education and believe in ourselves - show ourselves first that we can achieve more, and then to others who have prejudices about us. If we do our best, the result is inevitable."

Zorana lives with her grandparents, father, mother and sister. She graduated from the High School for Medicine, department laboratory technician, and enrolled the Faculty for Special Education and Rehabilitation at the University of Belgrade. She has been practicing dance for twelve years, and for several years now she has been teaching dance to children and youth of different age. She explains how she sees progress in her students every day, which is why she decided to enroll the Faculty for Special Education and Rehabilitation, believing that after graduating she will have the opportunity to motivate even more children and youth to work on themselves, try hard and progress.

“When you love something, nothing is difficult or impossible. Everything can be harmonized. I used to study mostly during the night. Ever since from a young age, I listened about how important education is, especially for us Roma. We must stand out with our education and believe in ourselves – show ourselves first that we can achieve more, and then to others who have prejudices about us. If we do our best, the result is inevitable.”

After graduating from High school for Medicine, Zorana decided to take a break for a year, so that she would have enough time to decide which faculty to enroll. At the same time, during that one year, she completed an internship within the project “Employment Empowerment of Young Roma – phase 2”, and also passed the state exam and obtained a medical license. Zorana will start her studies at the Faculty for Special Education and Rehabilitation in October, at the same time, she will look for a job as a laboratory technician, and on weekends she will teach dance classes for children and youth. Although her parents tell her that there is no need for her to work, but to dedicate herself completely to studying, Zorana wants to contribute to the household budget – simply because she can.

“During my internship, I learned to draw blood very well. I had the opportunity to work on biochemistry, hematology and microbiology. I learned to use new devices, which we didn’t have in school. Above all, I realized that I could communicate very well with patients, especially having in mind that Orthopedics Banjica was a COVID hospital during my internship.”

When she graduates from Faculty, Zorana plans to open a Rehabilitation Center, where she could do everything she loves. She would combine health and dance, work as a speech therapist, and use dance as a method for improving children’s motor skills. Zorana would enjoy that job, and love for work is what is the most important to her.

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