Although they did not take home the title of students of their school's generation, these young people deserved to be on the podium with them, because they are the best that Subotica has, with their successes, contribution to the community and the values they cherish.
This year, organization "IT Subotica 2030", along with 12 valedictorian students of Subotica secondary schools, decided to expand the prize pool and, within the "Students of the Year" event, award those high school graduates who distinguished themselves with their work and effort during their four-year schooling.
In order to be completely objective and sure that they made the right choice, the organization announced a competition in cooperation with Subotica secondary schools. High schools then submitted applications for four anonymous candidates based on their evaluations and internal consultations with professors and pedagogues.
"The values we were guided by in this competition meant that a student does not necessarily have to have excellent results, which is certainly not undesirable, but we wanted to reward those students who stood out and had notable results in extracurricular activities, who showed themselves in volunteerism, joined some initiatives, projects or actions. Therefore, we wanted to see how the students think about their local community and they were also able to show us this through the anonymous motivational letters they submitted to us. That was what we were guided by, because these are actually the values represented by our organization", says Filip Budanović, project manager of the organization "IT Subotica 2030".
The received applications were considered by a three-member committee, which consisted of Professor Dr. Sc. Zlatko Čović from Subotica Tech - College of Applied Sciences, Professor Dr. Sc. Vuk Vuković from the Faculty of Economics and Nenad Mirkov from the company "Auxality", who are also members of the organization, and when they finally selected the eight best candidates, the schools submitted the names of the students.
"From the very beginning, the goal of the organization was that the 'Students of the Year' project does not include only valedictorian students, and after last year's experience, this year we put it into practice and decided on a total of 20 prize vouchers in the amount of 30,000 dinars. Thus, at this year's event, in addition to 12 valedictorian students from all secondary schools, eight more exceptional graduates were awarded," says Filip.
One such graduate is Dario Vajda, who graduated from the IT department at the "Svetozar Marković" Gymnasium. What kind of mathematician and physicist he is is best evidenced by his awards, which he won more than 20 in competitions in these subjects during high school alone, while for the last two years he successfully competed in mathematics and in the A category with mathematics high school students.
Dario also took part in the Serbian Mathematical Olympics, as a member of the national team he represented his country at the “International Romanian Master” in Physics Competition. But attending the computer science course, in addition to the existing two, brought him another love, which is computers, which is why in his free time he works on numerous projects, from artificial intelligence to websites.
"My love for mathematics started from the first competition in elementary school, where I saw that I was good at it. At the time there wasn't too much thought behind it, but as time went on I realized that math has great applications outside of science and since one day when I graduate college I would like to work in the IT, and I believe that my knowledge of math will make a significant difference between me and someone else who does computing or programming. I think it will be a great advantage, because mathematics is the essence of computers", says Dario.
And that his knowledge has already made a difference, as shown by three prestigious faculties that sent him offers to study. The University of Warwick in England, as well as Ecole Polytechnique in France, had already reserved a place for Dario to study mathematics, but he chose what he had dreamed of since childhood, which is to attend the University of Cambridge (University Of Cambridge) in England.
So far, he has successfully passed the interview, he has also taken two exams in mathematics, and while he is waiting for their results, he is also waiting to find out whether and how much of a scholarship he will receive from the "Peterhouse" college to which he applied, which is why this award from the organization "IT Subotica 2030” is very significant for him.
"I'm glad that someone recognized my efforts, successes and talent, and I'm sure there is a possibility to return to Subotica after my studies, because I've spent my whole life in this city and everything really ties me to it, both family and friends. This potential departure of mine to Cambridge is too great an opportunity to miss, but I believe that life will bring me back home eventually and my goal is to one day be an entrepreneur with my own company in the IT industry", said Dario.
Another awarded high school graduate comes from the IT department of the "Svetozar Marković" Gymnasium, and his name is Aleksandar Rašković. As an excellent physicist, Aleksandar proved himself already in elementary school, where he was first in competitions in this subject at all levels, from municipal to national. This led him to the Serbian Physics Olympics in the eighth grade, where he won the third prize and a pass to the selection competition for the International Junior Science Olympics.
He continued to follow the path of success in high school, during which he was a national champion twice, and once second at the republic level physics competition, he also represented his country as a member of the national team at the “International Competition Romanian Master” in Physics, and as one of the successes he is most proud of, he points out that he is the youngest holder of the St. Sava award given by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of Serbia, and it is not surprising that he was on the list of the organization "IT Subotica 2030".
"This award means a lot to me, because it motivates me to make extra effort, as I have done until now, if not even more. After this, I will go to the university, where I have a lot of studies and a lot more to learn, and I will use the free time to improve my knowledge", says Aleksandar.
Apart from the desire to progress, Aleksandar also has a research spirit, and he gladly participated in the Summer Science School at the Petnica Research Station and the Applied Physics and Electronics Camp in Tršić. He enjoys creating his own projects, from video games and web pages, through physical simulation and virtual reality, to Arduino programs and digital signal processing, and will continue his studies at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade, majoring in Software Engineering.
"After my undergraduate studies, I plan to enroll in a master's degree, and maybe even more than a master's degree, I haven't had time to think about it yet, because I've mostly followed where life takes me. In my opinion, Subotica is a very nice city and I think it offers great opportunities, especially in the field of information technology. I can see that from the numerous IT companies that have already opened here, and I think that I have good opportunities to make a career in Subotica as well", says Aleksandar.
That Subotica does not only have fantastic mathematicians and physicists, but also artists, confirms Marko Uzelac, a graduate of the Polytechnic School majoring in art technician, where he got the opportunity to show off the talent in his drawings, graphics and paintings since childhood.
Thus, he won the first place at the national competition for classical art media for high school art students with his drawings on the theme "Order and Disorder", and his works were also sent to a competition in Japan, where he will represent his country as an artist.
"I have always been attracted to art and I wanted to attend a course where I could draw and paint, that is, do what I want. I like to draw people and portraits the most, but I am also interested in drawing and painting in a digital sense, something like animation, where I could also express my artistic and creative sense, so maybe I would like to try my hand at that as well", said Marko.
What Marko has tried his hand at so far is exhibiting his paintings and drawings at the “Museum Night” event, he also had an independent exhibition of paintings at the Polytechnic School, and some of his works can currently be seen at the "Danilo Kiš" Foundation in Subotica.
Although he will continue his painting studies in Novi Sad at the Academy of Arts, in which, as he pointed out, the award he received from the "IT Subotica 2030" organization will help him a lot, Marko's wish is to give his hometown a series of exhibitions in the future, and maybe even a mural, thus contributing to the modernist spirit of Subotica.
"I'm going to Novi Sad to get an education, but I think I would still stick to Subotica and work there. It would definitely be something artistic, where I could express my creativity, because I'm not a person who sticks to just one thing. Sometimes I like to draw, sometimes I like to paint, and sometimes something else, but I would definitely like to create and do what I want and I see the possibility for that in Subotica", concludes Marko.
In addition to Dario, Aleksandar and Marko, the organization "IT Subotica 2030” also awarded Lila Tot from the Medical High School, Damir Ademi from the School of Chemical Technology, Noemi Fodor from the School of Economics "Bosa Milićević", Ramona Njerš Bako from the Music High School and Zofia Arnold from the "Deže Kostolanji" Gymnasium.
