精选麻豆二区

Adapting to life in the U.S. didn鈥檛 come easily to Zorica Stamenkovska at first. Hailing from North Macedonia, Stamenkovska came to 精选麻豆二区 on a fully funded Fulbright scholarship in 2024 and has since learned what it means to stand on her own in a new city.

Today, she joins four other students and one faculty member to share personal experiences and perspectives on happiness and healing at , organized by the Office of Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility and the Public Communication Center. 

This year鈥檚 TEDxTowsonU, Happiness by Design, features students sharing transformative perspectives that empower us to reprioritize, reboot and refresh our lives. Stamenkovska鈥檚 talk, Recipe for Happiness, discusses the emotions that arise when you move abroad.

鈥淔or me, this talk means finding a recipe for happiness far away from home. I tried to build a balance of dealing with nostalgia and memories from home while also finding happiness and belonging in a new place,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 am building daily rituals that make happiness a practice of life in a new country.鈥�

Finding happiness away from home

Stamenkovska鈥檚 time in the Communication and Advocacy Graduate Program in the College of Fine Arts & Communication is best characterized by what she deems living in between and finding happiness away from home.

Last year, Stamenkovska shared her culture and cuisine with students at Around the World 鈥� an annual celebration of international culture hosted by 精选麻豆二区鈥檚 International Student & Scholar Office and the Global Village Living & Learning Community.

Sharing her culture and reminiscing on aspects of home inspired her to explore autoethnography鈥揳n autobiographical research method focusing on the lived experiences of the author in the realms of self-identity, communication practices and more.

In collaboration with Professor Comfort Tosin Adebayo, Ph.D., she wrote her autoethnography, "Walking a Tightrope: Too Foreign to Be Fully Accepted, Too Changed to Return Unchanged," which recounts the development of a sense of self in a new world through the lens of negotiation identity theory.

鈥淚鈥檓 interested in topics related to emotions like happiness, joy and resilience. They鈥檙e good emotions to have, but it鈥檚 also about having a balance,鈥� she says. 鈥淪ometimes we aren鈥檛 aware that we鈥檙e pushed to be happy鈥揳s women, international students or general citizens of this world.鈥�

Expanding our understanding of joy

Stamenkovska is blending her background in advocacy and communication with her research and TEDxTowsonU experience to bring her master鈥檚 thesis to fruition. With a focus on women social entrepreneurs, Stamenkovska is researching how women in high-pressure fields navigate happiness and joy.

鈥淚鈥檓 in the beginning stages of my thesis, but I enjoy exploring how women are pushed to be happy by society and how they actually find joy and community in what they are doing,鈥� she says.

Her research and support from faculty members, including Professor Sarah Parker Hughes, inspired her to apply to be a TEDxTowsonU speaker.

鈥淶orica鈥檚 presentation at the Communication Studies Research Showcase last spring was unforgettable. She spoke with such honesty and heart that I found myself deeply moved," Parker Hughes says, "I remember thinking, 鈥楾his is a TEDx talk waiting to happen.鈥� I told her right then that her story needed a bigger stage. Seeing her now bring that vision to life is one of those moments that reminds me why I love mentoring.鈥�

The supportive nature of the community Stamenkovska joined in the Communication & Advocacy Program helped her hone her research interests and feel confident in her academic pursuits.

鈥淩esearch is for everyone. Ask yourself what matters to you and what is connected to your lived experience. What do you care about in a world that is constantly changing?鈥� Stamenkovska says. 鈥淭he right mentor will inspire you to move out of your comfort zone. When you do, research becomes addictive.鈥�

Push through the fear

While navigating her own path in the U.S. has included a mixture of nostalgia, joy, imposter syndrome and fear, she says that she wouldn鈥檛 trade the experience for the world.

For international students yearning to pursue their passion in a new place, Stamenkovska encourages them to start now.

鈥淛ust do it. Don鈥檛 overthink it, don鈥檛 try to plan how it鈥檒l turn out, because you鈥檒l never be able to guess. There will be a mix of emotions, but it is a very special time in your life when you move somewhere else and you build your life in a new culture,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 promise it will be more beautiful than the fears you have in your head.鈥�