It was an amazing, forgetful and life changing experience. I would like to help everybody who was involved in the project, especial to the boar of Faculty of organisation and informatics in Varaždin, University of Zagreb, Croatia! 

Today we got a day off, so we got lost in the big city and got a "taste" for it. We visited the Navy Pear and Chinatown. The huge buildings, warm people and endless things to explore left us want more and wanting to comeback!

The day began with listening in on the mentor/student consultations about student researches in DePaul University with dr. Luciano Berardijem, after which we went to the Consulate General of Croatia in Chicago, where we met with dr.sc. Jelena Grčić Polić, consulate general who presented some of the consulate work there in Chicago and said words of praise about the McNair exchange program and Faculty of organisation and informatics in Varaždin , University of Zagreb.

We are grateful for her time and kind words.

After visiting with the McNair students we wen't to the Northwestern University in the Chicago suburbs. There we listened in on the lecture their PhD student gave to pregraduate students hoping to motivate them to go for a PhD. After the talk we went on a tour of the peaceful campus and then took the yellow bus to the University of Illinois.

At the University of Illinois on the research colloquium I got an opportunity to speak about my volunteering experience I got through FOI projects. The  colloquium was led by Dr. Fabricio E. Balcazar, PhD who later led the discussion about the challenges the University is faceing and later showed us some projects the University starter with the goal to held people and students with disabilities with their professional and academic career.

First day in the big and dynamic city of Chicago went as expected, full of excitement and interesting events.

The day began with Experts panel where there the experts among which was our own prof Doc. dr. sc. Violeta Vidaček-Hainš talked about the exchange program and its impact on the students involved.

Later on the student poster section we presented out research to the experts and the students present. It was exiting to hear their opinion and feedback, it even set a new direction for my future work. After the poster section we got the chance to take a tour of the DePaul University one of the homes of the McNair program and get the feel for the student life there.

We managed to charge our phones, have some breakfast at the beautiful Courtyard Orlando Downtown hotel and met Michael at the hotel lobby who drove us to the University of Central Florida and its huge student campus - one of the homes of the McNair program!

The library, the sports arena, how the college buildings are arranged, students inviting you to join them on their activities and so much more makes this campus a students dream come true and it felt like a privilege to visit it - thank you.

There we met Elizabeth who took us on a tour of the campus and shared her experiences she got by living in it!

After getting the feel for the student life there, we went on to present our research results where we met some of the students interested in our work! Later, we even got a chance to meet them and talk about Croatia, Varaždin and Faculty of Organisation and Informatics, University of Zagreb.

Following the presentations, we got the opportunity to introduce ourselves to Elliot Vittes Interim Vice Provost & Dean, Undergraduate Studies.

At the end of this exiting first day in Orlando, Florida, we even got a chance to help out the campus volunteers in maintaining a street sponsored by the UCF. We can proudly say the street was spotless when we left!

So the long awaited day when we pack out things finally arrived. Can't remember when I was this excited! There were two stops planned on our way to Orlando, FL - Amsterdam, NL and Detroit, MI. 

We crossed a huge distance! Over 7000 km (4000 mi) in just under 24 hours! The trip did take its toll, but interestingly enough I never felt the length of the trip, we even had a chance to take a nap on the really comfortable transatlantic flight!

Finally, we landed in Orlando, Florida at 10:40 PM local time, were we received a warm welcome, not only by the almost tropical Florida climate, but by our host Michael Aldarondo-Jeffries, the postbaccalaureate achievement program director, and FOI alumni Alen Delić. They greeted us with the, how Prof Violeta Vidaček-Hainš explained it, now almost traditional sign "Welcome home!" - Dobrodošli kući! 

Hello!
 My name is Tadija Bagarić. I'm a graduate student at the Faculty of Organisation and Informatics in Varaždin, University of Zagreb.

This year, together with two other students I got an exiting opportunity to present our student research at the 6th Student Research Symposium which will be held in Orlando, Florida, University of Central Florida and in Chicago, Illinois, DePaul University Chicago.

In Orlando we will present our student research results. After, in Chicago, I will talk about my experience gained as a volunteer on several FOI projects.

I'm exited to go there and I'm sure we will meet interesting people from around the world!

Pozdrav!

Oh, and please watch my short introduction video :)