Story by Luisa-Maria Michiu, Reporter
Image courtesy of Martina Devetak

Ukrainian and Italian first-year Martina Devetak is more than ready to take on all that Aquinas College has to offer. Having just arrived to the United States for the very first time, six weeks ago, Devetak has big dreams that she would like to accomplish here in the states. She was very quick to adjust to the American lifestyle, even though there are some big differences between the lifestyle here and back home in Ukraine.

“I really appreciate how organized the school system here in the U.S. is,” said Devetak. “Back home we rarely got a notice as to when we would have an exam and I feel as though I am able to have more opportunities and control over my studies and future career here in America.”

Having played tennis for nine years now, Devetak dedicates a lot of her time and energy to this sport as she is proud to be part of the AQ Women’s Tennis Team, and especially excited to be flying to Florida for the first time with her team this spring break for a tournament. Devetak is thrilled of the fact that she will be able to carry on her love for sports by majoring in Sports Management.

She stated, “I was thrilled to find out that Aquinas has a Sports Management major because that doesn’t even exist in Ukraine.”

By pursuing this dream of hers, Devetak hopes to move out to a big city (preferably New York or Chicago) after she finishes up her studies here at AQ, and continue doing what she loves.

First Year Experience (FYE) is Devetak’s favorite class. She finds it very beneficial and helpful that she can go to this class and talk about her problems/any concerns that she may have while adjusting to this new lifestyle. Martina has also had the opportunity to visit Chicago several times since she has arrived in the United States, and being a city girl, she absolutely fell in love with Chicago and everything that it had to offer. Coming from a fairly big city in Ukraine (Lviv), she was glad to find a piece of that marvelous city life in Chicago.

Something that Martina is proud of is her ability to speak four languages fluently – English, Ukrainian, Russian, and Slovenian. She is also aspiring to study the Spanish language for the time that she is at Aquinas College. Martina is ecstatic about all of the opportunities that she has had thus far and all of the ones that still await her.