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Female Student Athlete of the Month-January
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Jan. 23, 2003
CHARLOTTESVILLE – Student Athlete-of-the-Month showcases athletes who have demonstrated excellence both on the playing field and in the classroom. The January Female Student Athlete-of-the-Month, fourth-year Mirjana Bosevska, has displayed a strong work ethic in her academic and athletic endeavors. A Psychology major from Skopje, Macedonia, Mirjana works hard to excel in both her swimming and her courses.
Q: You were born in Macedonia, so what brought you to the United States?
A: My parents thought that it would be a lot better for me to continue my swimming career in the US because there are so many more opportunities and better training conditions here. If I hadn’t come to the US, I probably would not be swimming right now!
Q: Why did you decide to attend UVa?
A: Obviously, UVA is a great school academically and when I came to visit the team, I really enjoyed the people I met. I felt that UVa was one of the few places that would offer me the kind of education I wanted, as well as the kind of training I needed. The UVa coaches were the first ones to start recruiting me in high school. Mark even called me in Macedonia, so I knew that they really wanted me to come here.
Q: Tell me about being named the 2002 Macedonian Women’s Athlete of the Year? What does the honor entail and how does it make you feel to have received this recognition?
A: It was a great honor and I’m really happy to receive it. A couple of times I’ve made it in the top 5, so it was a nice feeling to hear that I actually won this year! The way that they decide who is chosen as the Women Athlete of the Year is by having all the sport organizations and the media vote on a panel of nominated athletes. I’ve been told that they all voted so it was pretty exciting.
Q: Who would you consider to have been your biggest influence growing up?
A: Definitely my parents. They support me 100% in everything that I do and if it weren’t for them, I probably would not have been able to accomplish all the things I have done so far in my life.
Q: What is your favorite swimming moment here at UVa and why?
A: There are so many, but a couple of them include being named the ACC Swimmer of the Year for 2002, and ACC Championships last year because of how well our team came together and supported each other.
Q: What has been the biggest challenge you have faced while attending UVa?
A: Just trying to be successful in the classroom and in the pool without getting too stressed out.
Q: What events to you swim?
A: I swim the 200 and 400 individual medley, the 200 butterfly, as well as the 200,500, and 1650 freestyle.
Q: How do you balance your swimming schedule with your schoolwork?
A: It’s definitely not easy, but it something I have gotten used to. I try not to fall behind in my classes at all because if I do, it’s really stressful trying to catch up. So I usually try to stay on top of the readings and all the work. I have learned to manage my time really well because athletes really don’t have all the free hours in the day that regular students have. But probably the hardest part of having a really busy day is staying awake in class after a 6am practice!
Q: What are your future plans?
A: I have decided to stay in Charlottesville after graduation and train for another year for Athens. That will be my main focus for that time. And hopefully during that year I will decide on what I want to do next.