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Alumni Stories

Natasa (Jovanovic) Kuzmanovic

Blackburn College
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It was great being a part of the “Blackburn family” for four years, as I always felt like a part of something. It was not easy being ten thousand miles away from home, but great friends, professors, and staff ensured that I never felt like a “foreigner.” On the contrary, I always felt I belonged at Blackburn. The distinctiveness of my college experience, aside from studying in another language, was that I had the opportunity to be a part of the student-managed Work Program, and more importantly that during my junior and senior year I served as the Academic Services Department Manager.

Now, 15 years later, I remember invaluable lessons learned about leading and managing others. While managing a department of 96 workers was very challenging at the time, the value of what I learned in return was definitely worth the “pain.” I learned that when it comes to communications and managing people “there is always room to grow.” Of course I made mistakes and had a lot to learn. It was not easy, but I was guided to learn the importance of being open to all constructive criticism. I have never forgotten that advice and challenge myself every day to be a better manager. My experience at Blackburn College not only enabled me to obtain a degree and excel in my academic work, but more importantly, gave me “hands on experience” from which I learned and developed as a person and a manager. Today, I am in charge of communications of UniCredit in Serbia, a leading European commercial bank with more than 155,000 employees in 20 countries and I am sure that I would not have come so far if I had not made my “first steps” in Blackburn College’s Work Program.

UNIFIED BY PURPOSE

OUR WORK COLLEGE MEMBERS

There are currently ten federally recognized Work Colleges, and nine are members of the Work Colleges Consortium. These institutions are small, private, liberal arts colleges with modest enrollments that range from about 150 to approximately 1,600 students. Each school is unique and operates the work program in a slightly different fashion. However, “work-learning-service” is a central component of each Work College. Student work, coupled with robust academics and a spirit of service, is the common denominator shared by all the Work Colleges.

Pippa Pass, Kentucky

Berea, Kentucky

Bloomington, Minnesota

Carlinville, Illinois

Point Lookout, Missouri

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Dallas, Texas

Craftsbury Common, Vermont

Asheville, North Carolina