Salomea Jankovic (A17) is a Pathways Fellow and a student at St. John’s College in Annapolis. She studied economics at Montgomery College in Rockville, Md.
St. John’s College: How did you get interested in economics?
Salomea Jankovic: An alumnus recommended [economics] to me when I told him that math and history were my two favorite things to discuss in class. I have always been very pragmatic and straightforward; a well-thought out argument will move me in the way that Shakespeare will move others. Identifying this aspect of how I think made me very eager to try out a subject that used the same skill set in another setting.
SJC: How has this Pathways Fellowship helped you take steps toward your career goals?
SJ: Studying economics allowed me to talk to a professor who actually specialized in that subject. Also, it gave me the ability to understand more economic literature, so that I can pursue it in my own time.
SJC: What was your favorite part of your summer experience?
SJ: I really enjoyed doing all those problem sets in my textbook. It is a different kind of homework than I’m used to, but there is something very rewarding about looking at a question and working through the answers.
SJC: What advice would you give to future Pathways applicants?
SJ: The classroom/lecture environment will be very different, but you do not need a seminar table or a great book to learn, as long as you stay engaged with the text and ask yourself questions. Also, before you pick your courses, do some research into what courses you might want to take in the future so that you have an idea of what prerequisites you’ll need. You don’t have to go in certain of your path, but don’t go in blind, either.
SJC: Why did you decide to attend St. John’s College?
SJ: I actually wanted to be a novelist, and I thought St. John’s would be a good place to learn how to think and how to transfer that thought to writing. Writing novels was always my way of engaging in a philosophical dialogue with myself, and at St. John’s I can have that dialogue with other people.
SJC: What do you enjoy most about being a student at St. John’s?
SJ: There are many great things about this place, but I have a special place in my heart for Ancient Greek. I love St. John’s approach to language, in which you are not attempting to simply put an idea into English words, but understand the idea in the fullest sense, as a part of the language it was written in. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever done before, and it’s a great intellectual exercise.
The Pathways Fellowship enables St. John’s students to transition into graduate study or careers that call for special or prerequisite courses. Visit our Pathways Fellowship page for more information.
—Brady Lee (AGI14)