Vjera Dobrila '94

I was on the basketball team in Yugoslavia and moved to the United States in 1989 to play for Long Beach State on a scholarship. I was the first person from my family to come to the United States. At that time there were no cell phones so I had to make a date and time and sit by the home phone to talk to my parents back home. When I arrived, the assistant coach was waiting for me at the airport and from the moment I landed I felt at home in California. I lived off of Second Street with one of my teammates. Being away from home for the first time taught me that I could handle whatever comes my way. I took all my GE classes first and then decided to study marketing and business. I graduated in two and a half years and moved to LA where I lived for a few years. On one of my trips back home I met my husband. We lived six months in Europe and six months in the USA but once we had our daughter Demi, future basketball player #44, we decided to come back to Northern California. I'm now working for Carter's Inc as a GM managing people, but not specifically using my degree. Life is beautiful.