It took Marija Čolić (41) a full 36 hours to travel from Hawaii to her hometown of Kragujevac. She changed three planes – the first to the interior of the United States, the second to Europe and the third to Belgrade, and after traveling more than 12,000 kilometers, she arrived home, to her family. When she finally found herself at the door of her home, all the exhaustion disappeared. And that is how it has been every year for more than a decade. She regularly comes to Kragujevac during her vacation to see her parents and friends and assure them that she is doing well there and enjoying everything she does.
She wanted to stay
Marija’s story begins in Kragujevac, where she was born, completed elementary school and the First Grammar School, and then moved to Belgrade and enrolled at the Faculty of Special Education – the Oligophrenology Department.
Even during her high school days, she knew what she wanted to do and never changed her mind. She was simply looking for a way to reach her goal.
– Even in high school, I knew that I wanted to work with children with developmental disabilities and autistic children. In my third year of university, I also enrolled in psychology at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade, where I completed my master’s degree. I graduated from two faculties and enrolled in doctoral studies at the Faculty of Special Education, and my doctoral dissertation was in the field of psychology. I studied the quality of life and stigma among parents of autistic children and children with motor disabilities, Marija says about her education.
Her greatest wish was to continue working at the university. It never crossed her mind to leave the country, but fate had other plans for her. She worked for several years as a teaching assistant at the university and led practical classes; the salary was small, but in return she received reduced tuition fees for her doctoral studies. For a year and a half, she worked as a substitute teacher at the “Vukašin Marković” school in Kragujevac, and then a position opened in Belgrade for a special education teacher at a kindergarten, again as a substitute. There was no permanent job anywhere.
At that time, her good friend went to the United States and, wanting to help Marija, found an Autism Center in New York and suggested that she apply for an international program. Marija did not hesitate much, because even with two university degrees and several years of volunteer work, she could not get a permanent job back home.
– I applied for a job in New York and immediately “got through” and was assigned to the clinical department. At the time, I did not know how long I would stay or what would happen afterward. I simply went to try something new and learn something new. I worked for a year and a half, first with children and later with adults, and I learned a great deal because the Center uses so-called ABA therapy, or applied behavior analysis, which helps children with autism and developmental disabilities, something that was not very well known at the time, Marija says.
After two months, she found out that she needed a license to continue working, so she enrolled in an online school while working at the same time. What was new to Marija was that everyone had their own specific area of responsibility.
Here, she had done several things at once, while there she had a specific assignment – to find a way to help autistic people reduce aggressive behavior toward themselves and others.
She did not have much time for herself. She worked until five in the afternoon, occasionally babysat on weekends and studied for her license. Everything was very expensive, and she could not afford to fail any exam. After completing her education, she realized that she wanted to stay in the United States and find a job in her field, which was not easy at all. At that time, she could not return to Serbia because of her visa and financial situation, nor could she take the only exam she still had left in her doctoral studies.
She obtained a prestigious visa
She tried to obtain an American visa and sent hundreds of emails to every company working in the ABA field. One company contacted her and told her that, because she had conducted research, she might qualify for an O-1 visa. This visa is intended for people with extraordinary abilities, such as someone who has won a Nobel Prize or a gold medal at the Olympic Games. Of eight criteria, she needed to meet at least three.
– That is how it all began. My new mission was – how to get that visa. I had very little time left, so I found lawyers who specialized in work visas and offered free consultations over the phone. I spent hours and hours doing this, they gave me some good ideas and I realized that I could meet three of the requirements, despite the fact that many people told me I was young and that because of my age I could not get the visa. Still, I thought I could at least try, Marija says.
She met a young woman in New York, a lawyer who had just graduated. Her services were the cheapest, just $2,500, so Marija decided to hire her. The professors she had worked with wrote her the best recommendations, and that helped her the most. She obtained the prestigious O-1 visa, which later enabled her to obtain a green card and American citizenship.
– You should always try, believe, and attempt to reach your goal, and along with that, a little luck always comes, Marija says with a smile that always shines on her face.
All the doors opened for her and she got a job in San Francisco. She worked with autistic children in their homes and spent 18 months there. Since life in that city was very expensive and she also traveled a lot to visit her clients, she tried to get a transfer.
At that time, the company she worked for opened an office in Hawaii and she immediately applied. She moved to Honolulu in 2017, and a year later she got a job at a university.
The right place to live
She was thrilled by what she saw there, and only one thought ran through her mind – maybe this is exactly the right place for me. At the university, she conducts autism-related research and holds the position of assistant professor, having meanwhile earned her doctorate from the Faculty of Special Education in Belgrade. In two years, she will become an associate professor. She now also works privately for the insurance company “Kaiser” through the Hawaii Department of Health as a consultant to parents of autistic children up to three years of age.
Despite all this, Marija does not live a luxurious life. She has been living in the same apartment in Waikiki since her arrival, paying $2,500 a month, although such an apartment costs $3,500. Life on the island is very expensive. Her university salary would not be enough to cover all her expenses, so her private work means a lot to her. She can afford many things, and she is most devoted to traveling. She travels at her own expense, but also at the university’s expense thanks to the research she conducts. She frequently travels to conferences in different parts of the United States, as well as to other countries, where she presents her work. This year, she was in New York and New Orleans, and in Seattle she stayed at the invitation of the University of Washington, which each year selects only one researcher from the United States. She had the honor of being a visiting professor. She also appeared in Prague as a lecturer.
She has three months off during the summer, so last year she spent two months in Japan, working a little and traveling a little. Before that, she was in Bali, Thailand and Korea. She has learned a great deal about life in Hawaii. She says that the local population greatly values family and cultivates hospitality and warmth toward everyone who comes there. As everywhere, people have different financial circumstances. There are wealthy people, but also many poor homeless people.
Marija is in love with surfing and whenever she has free time, at least twice a week, she practices this sport. She loves opera and ballet and whenever she has the opportunity, she attends performances. She herself practiced ballet, but gave it up after an injury. However, she exercises regularly, and on Sundays she conducts research with autistic children, with groups of them coming to play and learn through play.
Marija is also dedicated to volunteer work. For the seventh year already, every month she has been holding free online psychological sessions for parents who have children with developmental disabilities, as do her colleagues. She believes this is very important for parents in Serbia as well, who can join the group through the mysenscare.com platform and receive useful advice and support.
– Together with the friend who “took me” to New York, I created a platform through which parents can find special education teachers, tutors, babysitters, and everything is free. I have now also started posting videos of children with autism on Instagram and Facebook, and everyone is welcome.
She also volunteers in some other, unusual jobs for us. For example, she has protected turtles that come out of the sea to sunbathe on the beach so that tourists would not disturb them, and she transplants corals in places where they are dying out in order to help preserve them from extinction.
And what next, what does she say to young people?
– I think everyone should follow their dreams. If there is a desire, you should always try. Many people finish school and then return home. Some find themselves and stay. I found myself, Marija admits.
She plans to work on assessments that would examine the strengths of neurodivergent children (children with autism and developmental disabilities) in the area of social play. Only then would support be developed based on what they can do and what they are capable of, rather than on their deficits, as is predominantly the case now.
– I publish papers in the best journals in the world. I come to Kragujevac every year, but there I can give the most and at the same time help our community in terms of the work I do. If I had gotten a job here, I would never have left, but now I am not thinking about returning, our interviewee says honestly.
She already has plans to travel to South Africa next year, where a major conference in her field will be held. She will take the opportunity to stay in Africa for a while because she has never been there. And afterward, who knows where the roads will take her.
MORE TOPICS:
Source:: Kragujevacke.rs , Foto: Kragujevacke.rs