By LAURA BORRELLI
Web Editor
Everyone has different passions in life; senior student athlete Roko Jelavic is driven by his passion for swimming. Jelavic is an international athlete from Croatia, excited to finish his final year with a bang at Saint Rose.
Jelavic is an active member in the community. He is captain of the Swimming and Diving Team, vice president of the International Student Organization, a campus tour guide, as well as a SAAC, or Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representative. Jelavic is on a good path now, but it was not always this way.
When Jelavic was in Croatia he started swimming at a very young age. He struggled with depression and started smoking cigarettes in eighth grade. He had stopped swimming for a while and had surrounded himself with negative people.
It wasn’t until he saw that swimmers in Croatia were given amazing opportunities to go to school in the U.S. with scholarships, that he began to decisively work towards swimming.
“It was the light at the end of a dark tunnel,” said Jelavic. It was this hope that brought him back to the sport he fell in love with long ago.
Jelavic worked extremely hard. “High school was four years of hell I persisted through.” Jelavic’s high school career helped set up the foundation in order to get himself at The College of Saint Rose.
Keith Murray, the head coach of the Swimming and Diving Team, had heard from Jelavic’s agent that he was interested in colleges in the United States. Murray reached out through emails and they got to know each other and really considered if Saint Rose would be Jelavic’s ‘HOME.’ for the next four years.
While in the process of finalizing details, Murray had gotten in a bad bike accident and had broken his back. “I almost did not come to Saint Rose, at that point I did not have communication to finalize the deals, and I did not know where I was going to end up,” said Jelavic.
He and Murray had to communicate while Murray was in the hospital in order to finalize the process. “It was a unique process,” said Murray.
Coach Murray admires Jelavic’s perspective on life in the U.S. “It was crazy watching Roko experience new things that are normal for me. It really opens our eyes to the amazing opportunities we have in the U.S., the Albany Area, and Saint Rose.”
This year Jelavic will be one of the captains for the swim team. He is not only a role model for the team, but he is also an outstanding performer.
“Roko has a love and passion for the sport, and his results speak for themselves,” said Murray. He won the 200 breaststroke at NE10s last year, alongside his fellow senior captain, Gabi Ficano.
“I have known Roko for four years, and being able to win the 200 breaststroke together, it is something we will never forget,” said Ficano.
Ficano watches Jelavic’s hard work all year round and understands his passion for swimming. He is always interested in learning more and understanding everything around him.
Ficano loves Jelavic’s calmness and relaxed vibes he brings to the team. America is a very fast-paced place and is always going instead of taking a step back and watching.
“Jelavic is open minded and moves at a slower pace. He is very aware of surroundings,” said Ficano.
Besides his swimming career, Jelavic is actively involved on campus as vice president of the International Student Organization, or ISO. He is in charge of this club with his fellow senior student athlete, Isa Yolbarsov, President of ISO.
Yolbarsov, is also an international student from Turkmenistan, who went to high school in the U.S. and fell in love with Saint Rose. However, Yolbarsov, found his passion for swimming from Jelavic.
Yolbarsov met Jelavic at an ISO meeting, and he had mentioned that he wanted to learn to swim.
“Roko taught me how to swim at the end of my sophomore year,” said Yolbarsov. “I went to morning and night open swim just to practice and I joined the next year.”
Jelavic was able to share his passion with someone else, and Yolbarsov is grateful to be on the swim team. “He is positive, supportive, motivating,” said Yolbarsov.
Jelavic and Yolbarsov work actively on the ISO executive board together and helped to make this club known throughout campus. There are around 20-30 members.
“We all have separate lives but this club is our meeting point to learn about each other’s cultures,” said Jelavic.
Jelavic is a well-accomplished international student athlete, and brings a lot to Saint Rose. “100 percent I have no regrets.” said Jelavic. “I am happy to call Saint Rose my home.”
Laura Borrelli is a member of the Saint Rose Swimming and Diving Team.
