2000 IOTA SIGMA PI GLADYS ANDERSON EMERSON SCHOLARSHIP

Veronika Gagovic, North Central College

Her nominator, Dr. Anne Sherren, wrote that Veronika is an A student! "Veronika is the kind of student who enjoys learning. It is exciting to see her grapple with a concept and then say ‘This is fascinating, it explains so many observations.’” To her professors, Veronika is an active learner who enriches their classes every term. She often asks the appropriate “why question” to challenge both herself and her professors. Dr. Nancy Peterson, Veronika’s research advisor commented that she is an excellent student with a perfect GPA. But what her grades do not show is that she is a very inquisitive student. She does not simply “sponge” up the information in the classroom. “Rather, she actively puts the information into the big picture and is able to integrate material learned from various courses.” Veronika’s research involved the investigation of salamander secretions for neurotoxicity and this experience maybe one of the reasons for her to consider seriously a career that involves research as well as medicine. Another reason may be because of her father, an M.D. who was abducted and killed in Bosnia when she was 13. Veronika’s curiosity and admiration for chemistry started when as an 11 yearold she was introduced to the periodic chart. But after the death of her father, as she described it: “Chemistry was a world into which I escaped when the pressure around me started to take over. The molecules were the perfect reality, where everything had a cause and place, where bad things did not just happen, where unreactive elements did not randomly destroy the rest.” To support her family, Veronika worked as a translator with the NATO forces. Through this position, she came to the United States and North Central. In college, chemistry becomes the language that Veronika shares with her classmates and the means through which she builds her true friendship. In her college career, Veronika integrates leadership, ethics and teamwork into everyday reality. She serves as the Vice President of the Pre-health Organization and she is the Student Representative on the Liaison Committee with the North Central College Board of Trustees. She also volunteers at Rush Copley and Shriners Children Hospitals. Veronika’s goal for the future is to help people. Currently her plans include finishing her biochemistry major at North Central College. Then she is interested in pursuing advanced study and possibly a program that leads to a dual Ph.D./ M.D. Degree.

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