Mirza Germovic

SFS ’14
Age: 22
Hometowns: Sarajevo, Bosnia, and Des Moines, Iowa
Major: International Politics

Why did you decide to come to Georgetown?
I actually knew I wanted to come to Georgetown since I was like 12. It was just kind of one of those dream schools. I applied early admission, and it worked out. I fell in love with the city before I fell in love with the school, so it eventually sort of bled into it.

What was it about Georgetown that made you want to come here so early?
Just with visits, coming to the university, I just enjoyed the people, the atmosphere. I like the fact it was a little secluded in D.C. I didn’t want something like GWU that was just downtown. I really enjoyed the seclusion aspect and then the great cultural things to do in the area too.

What are you involved in on campus?
I haven’t really been involved on campus since my sophomore year. I started a nonprofit my sophomore year called The First Wire. I worked for the Voice my freshman year. I started this nonprofit, it’s basically a customizable news magazine, and I sell that off campus with some students from UCLA. That’s sort of been the bulk of my activity here. 

What made you want to start the news magazine?
My freshman year I did the Compass Fellowship, which teaches you about social entrepreneurship and starting your own business, and that gave me a lot of great ideas and a support base to start something. 

Do you feel like you fit in at Georgetown?
Yeah, absolutely. I think it’s hard not to fit in at Georgetown. I don’t think it’s a school that necessarily has a stereotypical student. I know a lot of people would like to think the idea of a Jane and Joe Hoya exists, but I think more and more it doesn’t. I think anyone can basically fit in here if they think that they can.

What would you change about Georgetown?
I think easier access to university officials would be something a lot of students would benefit from. I think there’s a lot of bureaucracy with so many different offices, and I think consolidating our [Division of Student Affairs] would be a really useful thing. Georgetown has really great student affairs, but I think it could be even more efficient and improved if some offices were consolidated. 

Which television character do you see the most of yourself in and why?
A life I would like to lead perhaps, I would say maybe Olivia Pope. I don’t envy her profession necessarily, but I think the idea of being very confident about your career, your chosen field of work, the idea of living it — I’m a big fan of you choose to do something, and it shouldn’t be the kind of thing that’s 9 to 5 and then you go home and start living your real life. I feel like you should invest in a career that sort of takes over your life in a good way. I think that she’s pretty much the epitome of that, in some ways too far.

Interview by Emma Hinchliffe