Abu Dhabi: Emina Osmandžiković Receives Award for Promising Leader!

A group of BiH citizens working and studying in the United Arab Emirates joined the aid efforts for BiH, which was devastated by catastrophic floods last week, from the very first day. Among them is Emina Osmandžiković from Sarajevo, a young and exceptionally successful student at the prestigious New York University in Abu Dhabi, reports the BiH news agency Patria (NAP).

As one of the three most successful first-year students, she is also the recipient of the prestigious award for a promising leader, which, in addition to excellent exam grades and active participation in lectures, includes exceptional innovation, effort, and commitment to the community within and outside the Faculty.

A former student of the Bosniak Gymnasium from Sarajevo, she is studying psychology and political science at the world-renowned University in Abu Dhabi.

- I went to Abu Dhabi because I wanted something more, an experience I couldn't have in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I wanted to find myself on the global map and put my name on a world-renowned University, because I knew I could. That's why I am where I am today, but my journey is not over yet - Osmandžiković tells Patria.  

Despite having many obligations as a student, Emina volunteers in local and international organizations and works as an intern at the University and with established companies. However, she has not forgotten where she comes from.

- I am very aware of all the events in my own country and I follow everything actively through social networks and online editions. I am surprised by the stagnation of certain processes that should have made me proud as a citizen of BiH. Abu Dhabi is my temporary residence, and I do not consider it home, but a place from which I can draw inexhaustible inspiration for my studies, and at the same time a place from which I can adequately help my country in shaping its status on the international stage, because people like me are fantastic social ambassadors of a culture and a region - says Emina for NAP.

Abu Dhabi, as she says, is an impressive city, a feast for the eyes, and a "mecca" for any kind of business and international cooperation.

- This city is proof that differences help in building a unique community that is an indicator of a better future. Moreover, sometimes daily examples of cooperation serve as an example of everything that could be applied in my hometown, Sarajevo. And that's why I never go anywhere without a handmade wooden plate with an engraved shape of Sebilj, which I bought at Baščaršija a few years ago, and a coffee cup that reminds me of the spirit of Sarajevo with which I grew up. - she adds.

Osmandžiković (in the blue shirt on the left) with friends during an aid action for flood victims

Emina plans to return to her country after completing her studies, as she believes that people like her can bring about change.

- Of course, first, one must reach that level of expertise and perfection, but it is never too late to help and improve the place from which I came and which raised me and made me the person I am today. Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a potential EU member, has a very bright future, both due to its exceptionally rich natural resources and due to its exceptionally intelligent and hardworking people who are ready to work for social and economic unity under the umbrella of properly implemented democracy - she emphasizes.

She believes that more should be done to activate young people in all possible fields through which they will actively work to create a better and more promising future for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

- Regardless of the so-called and artificially imposed borders that are meant to encourage the splitting and polarizing of characters of different origins that make Bosnia and Herzegovina a unique country of diversity. At the end of the day, working in unity is a miracle, because we would all be fighting for the same goal, which is a better tomorrow, both externally and internally - she adds, reports Patria.