Ace of all trades; tennis ace leads life full of art, adventure
April 21, 2008

Chelsi Valdez
Sports editor

On the campus of Seward County Community College, the name Sanela Dejanovic is most often used in reference to tennis. However, the sophomore tennis ace isn’t just an athlete, she is a very involved student who is a member of multiple clubs. Dejanovic spends her free time playing instruments, writing and practicing tennis, which is much more than a sport for her.
When Dejanovic was originally looking for a college, she didn’t choose SCCC. She started looking at another college, but Coach Darin Workman made sure Dejanovic came to SCCC.
“I got her name from another coach,” Workman said. “We got in tough and recruited through e-mail.”
Although Dejanovic really likes SCCC, she mostly wanted to go to a college where she could play tennis.
“I like my tennis courts,” Dejanovic said, a sophomore from Novi Sad, Serbia. “Anytime that I’m lonely or sad or when someone disappoints me or I disappoint myself, I like to spend time there by myself.”
When Dejanovic isn’t working or studying, she is playing tennis. She began playing in the third grade and hasn’t stopped since. When she was a teenager, she played club tennis, which gave her the chance to meet many different people from Serbia. Some of Dejanovic’s competition is now ranked in the top 100 in the Women’s Tennis Association.
At the same time that Dejanovic started tennis she began playing the piano. Musical instruments are just one of the many interest Dejanovic has. She is also a French horn player.
Dejanovic is also an avid fan of languages. She hasn’t always been that way, though. When she originally left Serbia for Liberal, Kan., she spoke just minimal English that she learned in school.
“I couldn’t really speak English,” Dejanovic said. “I could understand it decently, but not speak.”
Dejanovic came to SCCC from Serbia in the fall of 2007. When she arrived in the United States, she was greeted by Coach Greg Scruggs at the Amarillo, Texas, airport.
On her way to the USA, Dejanovic experienced multiple problems. She started her trip by flying from Belgrade, Serbia, to London, England. She arrived in London at the same time that there were terrorist attacks, so she was unable to fly from London to Dallas. She had to spend the night in London and boarded a plane to the USA the next day at a different airport.
When Dejanovic finally got to America, she found out that her luggage was lost. This was an especially difficult situation since Dejanovic spoke very little English at the time and all of her papers were in her lost bags. When she told the airline that they had lost her luggage, she was taken into an office where they took her passport and eventually had to contact SCCC to make sure she was where she was supposed to be.
Even with such a scary setback, Dejanovic liked the people in America from the very beginning.
“Everybody was so calm and normal,” Dejanovic said. “The people were really nice and really friendly.”
Dejanovic was surprised when she found out that she still had a three-hour trip ahead of her after all of the flying. She was also surprised by the lack of scenery between Amarillo and Liberal.
“There were so many cows,” said Dejanovic. “Lots and lots of cows.”
Since her original arrival, Dejanovic has not returned to Serbia. Luckily, she has had the opportunity to stay with different friends from SCCC over breaks.
“It was really awesome and fun,” said Erica Herrera, who Dejanovic stayed with over spring break. “It was like having another sister there with me.”
Dejanovic also spends some breaks in the dorms, including her first Christmas. She wanted to stay alone because she wanted to show that she was capable of taking care of herself.
While Dejanovic is in the dorms over break, she spends time drawing and writing. While she was still living in Serbia she wrote and had three books published. One of the books is poetry, one is a novel, and the third one is a journal. She has carried her love of writing to SCCC and is currently on staff with the student newspaper.
Dejanovic is also the president of the International Student Organization and a member of Big Brothers, Big Sisters.
Dejanovic currently works as a Resident Assistant in the dorms. She took the job to help with the expenses of college. Since Dejanovic spends most of her time in the dorms and knows many of the students, she was the perfect fit for the job.
When Dejanovic graduates from Seward County she will continue playing tennis at a four-year university. She is currently looking into Indiana Tech. When Dejanovic graduates from college, she plans on staying in the USA. She is currently majoring in political science because she can work throughout the world.
Although Dejanovic enjoys SCCC, she is ready to return home to Serbia. She has been gone from Serbia for two years so she has missed two years of her family’s lives. She will return home after this semester and the national tournament are over.
“I haven’t been home for two years, and I’ve made myself a person where I take care of myself 24 hours a day,” Dejanovic said. “I’m a little bit scared that I’ve changed. I’m excited and scared at the same time.”