Six Slovenian journalism students say ‘pozdravljeni’ or ‘hello’ to Bradley

10/25/2012 8:06 PM

Pictured are students from Slovenia with Bradley host students.

By Crystal Vining ’13

Bradley counts a rich exchange program that has welcomed hundreds of students from all over the world and recently the Slane College of Communications host six Slovenian journalism students eager to learn about American culture and media.

“In Ljubljana, we study journalism and it was always interesting to me to see what it would be like in another country,” said Jasna Rajnar Petrovic, one of the visiting students from the University of Ljubljana.

Many of the students visited other, larger cities like Washington D.C., Miami and New York before arriving in Peoria. The group dubbed Peoria the most “American” city they visited.

“When you picture America, you see the crops and the long fields. The Midwest is what we consider to be the real America,” student Zarja Protner said.

The international students were able to explore campus and noticed the many differences between the Hilltop and their own campus. “At our university, we do not have any clothes with our school logo on it,” said Barbara Erzen. “It is very cool to see so many students wearing them around campus.”

Their campus tour also took them to WRBU The Edge, Bradley’s student radio station, where two of the executive members hosted their show.

Apart from attending communication classes at Bradley, the students were able to visit the Peoria Journal Star newspaper and Simantel, a local advertising firm in downtown Peoria.

“I really enjoyed going to see the different companies in Peoria because they are unlike anything we have seen yet,” said Monika Kern. A recent Facebook post by Simantel stated how it was “insightful to hear the student’s feedback on both campaigns and talk about their future career goals.”

With their stay in Peoria drawing to an end, the students wished they could stay longer.

“Everyone is so nice here. We wish we could stay a little longer. Hopefully some of the students will be able to come visit us in the spring,” said Andreja Gradisar.

Bradley students may have an opportunity to visit Slovenia next year and possibly see the students again. Dr. Margaret Young, an associate professor of advertising, will be teaching a course, Communication Expedition 494, during spring break 2013 in Slovenia.