Northern Kentucky women's tennis team is made up of seven players, each from a different country. In today's Q&A, senior Katja Dijanezevic, who hails from Duisburg, Germany, discusses the impact that international diversity has on NKU's team dynamic while also sharing the process behind her own multilingualism and her passion for music.  
 
What's your background in tennis and how did you end up at NKU?
I started when I was really young, probably three years old, because my dad was a tennis player in Croatia and also a tennis coach. I started to play with him and my older brother a lot, but I just played for fun all the time. I played more competitive when I was 12 years old. When I was about 16, 17, I got better and heard of the opportunity – some older girls from my club were going to the US to study. When I first heard it, I thought I would never be able to come, but I started to read about it, how to do it, and worked harder, and then I talked to some people and started to look into some universities. Then I decided on coming to NKU.
 
What are you majoring in, and what do you plan to do with your degree?
International business, and my minor is marketing. I would probably come back to Germany, and I'm not sure exactly what I would do. I was planning to come back either to do my master's or I start doing internships. I hope to work in a big company and do international communications with the customers.
 
I heard you speak four languages?
Yes, German, Croatian, English, and I had Spanish for five years in school and I did an exchange with Spain. I was kind of fluent, but not right now. I really hope that I can use that to my advantage, that I speak that many languages. I think I'm interested in doing translations or negotiations with different countries so I can use my language skills.
 
Can you explain a bit about having a multilingual family?
My mom is German and my dad is Croatian. I was born in Germany, but over summer we always go to Croatia. All my family from my father's side is still there. They planned it from the beginning that both my brother and I would learn both languages. They also talked to some doctors on how to do it best. They told them it's best if my mom only speaks German, and my dad Croatian, so they don't mix the languages. I think it was a pretty cool thing (as a kid) to say that you can speak two languages.
 
What are some of your hobbies outside of tennis?
I play the piano. I started when I was five years old and I had lessons for 11 years. I had to quit, but I still like to play. I teach myself some songs and I play multiple times a week to relax. During quarantine as well, I play soccer or basketball with my brother, and I enjoy all kinds of sports.
 
What sort of songs do you like to play?
In the music school, I used to only play classical, which I really liked. Now, when I'm choosing my own songs, I like to play musical songs or songs that are used as background music in films. Or sometimes I also like to play something like Adele. I quit when I was 16, and before that I already started to play less and less because of tennis.
 
Do you think your relationship with music will pick back up after your tennis career is done?
Yeah, I would like to practice it more. I thought about maybe learning to play the guitar. That's one of my dream instruments. I love to play the piano, and I want to keep it up until I'm old, but I just discovered how much I like the guitar a couple years ago. I also started to practice a bit because my dad plays the guitar. He also played the violin when he was younger. Both my parents thought it would be beneficial for me to get involved in music. For me, it was always just fun for me and time to relax and have something different than sports. Something where I could be creative as well.
 
Who's been the biggest influence in your life?
I think my dad was probably the biggest influence on me. He's also like my best buddy overall. We spend so much time together on the court, but also off the court. We talk a lot and always go to Croatia together. He's a really big part of my life. He was actually the Yugoslavian champion when he was a teen. He wanted to go pro, and he was playing future tournaments, which is a step before the pro tournaments. Then he got injured with his shoulder and they told him that he'd never be able to play again.
 
How was it moving to the other side of the globe?
It was pretty scary at the beginning. Even though they are the same in many ways, as the US is such a developed country like Germany, there are still so many differences that I had to get used to. Also the language, I felt like I was speaking pretty well and I understood well from school. But the accent, and everyone's talking so quickly, I was having struggles at the beginning. But I got used to it pretty quickly.
 
What have you taken away from your time here?
I think I learned a lot and grew in my confidence, doing things on my own and being independent. Due to the team and the atmosphere, and the athletic department, I learned how to be part of something big and be part of a team. That will help me a lot in the future.
 
Do you think that having such strong international diversity impacts the team dynamic?
Everyone has their separate background, so we all have something in common and share the same experience. It was the same for all of us to come to the US, so I think that strengthens the atmosphere. Overall as a team, we are just so close and get along with each other so wll; I never experienced something like that before.