Her name is Esmeralda Muratovic, a secondary school scholarship beneficiary under by the REF-funded project „Support for Roma High School Students through Scholarships, Mentoring and Tutoring“, implemented in the area of Tuzla Canton, Bosnia and Herzegovina, by the Roma Association „Euro Rom“ Tuzla (September 2019 – July 2021).
Esmeralda graduated from the Public Institution Combined Secondary School in Gracanica as an Architectonic Technician. The young Roma girl has passed her Matura exam with excellent grades and was enrolled in the Faculty of Literature in Tuzla. Esmeralda received mentor’s assistance and tutor’s support in mathematics.
Prof. Amela Fazlic, Esmeralda’s mentor, describes her student in kind words:
„Esmeralda is a girl who does not stand out in fancy clothes, smart phones, ripped jeans, long nails or anything else what today’s youth try to attract attention with. On the contrary, Esmeralda shines with her simplicity, charisma, originality, creativity, clear love for literature, architecture and rich vocabulary. Her dream is to become a writer.
The girl is aware that success does not come overnight. Perhaps she often falls asleep with worries in her mind, but the worries have never stopped her to attend school regularly, with dignity, armed with knowledge, patience, warmth and wish to conquer new victories in the world of science.“
A number of recognitions, prizes, and medallions that Esmeralda won show her success.
In 2018 Esmeralda won first prize at a competition for photos, organized by the EU Information Centre in Sarajevo. She made photos of a historical Bosnian house that belonged to Mara Popovic, a valuable example of Ottoman residential architecture. The house is is built in 19th century and it was declared a national monument. The competition encouraged citizens, especially young people, to positively reflect on the values they can share with other European nations and display works of art they are proud of.
