 Media Credit: Joslyn Brown
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As her light brown ponytail bounces with nods of enthusiasm, Jane Grdinovac talks about her passions: traveling, toast and researching.
Grdinovac, senior in psychology, is one of K-State's few undergraduate researchers and recently gave a presentation on her work at the 13th annual K-State Research Forum, an honor extended to only 25 undergraduates.
"She was quite professional," said Robert Downey, Grdinovac's research adviser and professor of psychology, about her presentation.
"I thought she did an excellent job presenting her findings clearly and explaining her work to the judges and audience."
FAMILY TIES
Grdinovac tells the story of her family's unusual start: Her parents met, fell in love and got married - all in one week.
Her parents are Croatian and were both born and raised there, living periodically in the U.S. When Grdinovac turned two, the family moved permanently from Croatia to Kansas City, Kan., where her parents opened a barbecue restaurant.
"We all worked in [the restaurant] while we were growing up," she said smiling, recalling the simple joys of her childhood. "I loved it because I got to be around my family and it was just a great atmosphere."
Grdinovac attributes her success in life to her tight-knit family background.
She had an aunt and uncle with several children whom she lived next door to in Kansas City.
"My parents would decide to move across town or to a new neighborhood, and [her aunt and uncle] would just move next door to us each time," she said. "It was crazy."
Still chuckling at her family, Grdinovac shares a few of her own quirks. For example, she has a twin brother and an obsession with eating toast.
"It's just so good," she said. "I can't help it - I eat like four pieces a day, at least."
Though she is close to her family, Grdinovac has always been independent, so when it came time to look at colleges, she said she knew K-State was the right school for her. Though neither of her parents had attended college, they strongly encouraged all three of their children to pursue degrees.
"They just really wanted us to be successful, and so they pushed us to apply and go where we wanted," she said.
GETTING HER START
Grdinovac decided to enroll as a psychology major, though she was still uncertain what she wanted to do for a career.
During her freshman year, she took a clinical psychology course that she said she didn't enjoy. However, she also took an industrial psychology course, taught by Downey, and she said class is what sparked her interest in industrial psychology.
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