Željka Piljagić: Best Student of the Class of 2024 at the Faculty of Security Sciences

Security, police, military, and intelligence services have always been the sphere of interest for young Banja Luka native Željka Piljagić, who completed her first cycle of studies at the Faculty of Security Sciences with the “Golden Badge.” Now, she is passing her knowledge on to new generations, which, as she says, she enjoys.

Although this faculty is often considered male-dominated, Željka, in an interview for “Nezavisne novine,” points out that through her example and results, she wants to break those prejudices and encourage all those who wish to pursue a career in security.

“Perhaps the Faculty of Security Sciences and the jobs related to it are traditionally considered male, but we at the Faculty do not hold such an opinion. There is huge interest in this faculty from both guys and girls. I believe that women, just like men, can achieve top results with enough effort and dedication,” she says, and her success is confirmed by the grades in her transcript.

Namely, she finished the first cycle with an average grade (GPA) of 9.48, and she is now acquiring further knowledge in the master’s studies at this Faculty within the Security and Criminalistics program.

Since the Faculty of Security Sciences was her first and only wish, the choice of faculty was not difficult, but the path to the title of the best student was challenging.

“Being the student of the generation is a great success for me, but at the same time, getting there was a challenging path. There were many ups and downs on that path, difficult exams; sometimes it was hard to balance study time with private obligations, but also with training, because our faculty requires physical fitness. Certainly, all of this required a lot of effort and sacrifice, but those sacrifices paid off because they allowed me to be where I am today. I will remember my undergraduate studies for great colleagues and even better professors who selflessly shared their knowledge, so the four years passed very quickly. It may sound like a cliché, but organization really is half the work. With good organization, effort, and dedication, success is guaranteed,” Piljagić tells “Nezavisne novine.”

She crowned her success with the “Golden Badge.”

“The University’s ‘Golden Badge’ represents a great recognition for me, but also a responsibility. A recognition that I completed the first cycle of studies the way it should be done, responsibly and dedicatedly, and a responsibility to continue on that path and persevere in my goals during my master’s studies, for which I decided to enroll motivated precisely by the success in the previous cycle,” she states.

The knowledge she has acquired and is still acquiring, Željka now passes on to new generations who decide to enroll in the Faculty of Security Sciences, and, as she says, she would like to engage in scientific research work in the future.

“Given that I have been appointed as a demonstrator (teaching assistant) in the narrow scientific field of Security Sciences, I would like to remain at the Faculty, specifically in that field. I enjoy working with students; I try to pass on my experience and everything I wish I had known when I was in their place. It makes me especially happy when I hear from colleagues that they see me in that profession and that they remember some lessons precisely because I explained them in my own way,” says Željka for “Nezavisne novine.”

During her four years of study, Željka was also an active member of the Student Organization of the Faculty of Security Sciences, and in her fourth year, she was appointed President of the Assembly of the Student Organization.

As she says, she spends her free time training because physical activity is not only important for health but also positively affects learning, memory, and concentration.

Text taken from the website “Nezavisne.com”