Stefan Stanjevic
New York Hospital Queens
Volunteer
Community Involvement: Stefan Stanjevic is currently a volunteer member at New York Hospital Queens, where he is involved with the patient hospitality program. Stanjevic’s job at the hospital is to greet and converse with patients and ask them if they would like a book, magazine or newspaper. Stanjevic also works in the lab, mailroom and pharmacy in order to help keep the nurses and other health care professionals from having to leave the patients for deliveries.
Personal: Stanjevic originally lived in Ridgewood and eventually moved to Glendale. He attended Forest Hills High School and is currently a double major in biology and sociology at Stony Brook University. One of Stanjevic’s favorite hobbies is drawing, which he began doing in his senior year of high school.
“I try to keep with my hobby through college, but I find it difficult to make time” said Stanjevic. Before he started to draw he was a big fan of TV and the computer.
Currently he works for Hostess where he is a merchandiser/stock boy. This is his first “real” job and he feels lucky to have it.
Inspiration: When it comes to inspiring people in his life, Stanjevic finds a lot of them in his favorite TV shows. Stanjevic believes that characters facing extreme hardship or characters that are extremely altruistic really inspire him to be the same.
“You can always find at least one character in any of your favorite TV shows that makes you think, ‘I want to be just like that’ or ‘What they did was so kind, I wish to be more like that,’ and then you’re inspired,” said Stanjevic. “Especially when you’re growing and defining yourself, you can find inspiration to be the best version of yourself through something as simple as a TV show.”
He also says his parents set a good example for him.
Challenge: Stanjevic feels that the main challenges he faces are at school. The competition at Stony Brook is stressful. “You want to be above the curve, to ensure that ‘A,’” said Stanjevic. In one of his classes, it is all about being at the top of the class. “You could be third in the class of 20, but the only As that are given are to the first two,” he said.
Other than trying to do well at school, his other challenge is finding a way to deal with the stress that comes along with being in college.
Favorite Memory: Stanjevic’s recent favorite memory was going to Six Flags for the first time during the end of the summer before his freshman year. He had to be convinced by his friends to go due to his fear of heights. He recalls being on line waiting to go on the first ride and he was extremely nervous. When it was over he realized it was not so bad and that he actually enjoyed it.
“The day was filled with a lot of anxiety, but it was such a fun day and I really appreciated the support of my friends,” said Stanjevic.
