The story behind the code
Priča iza koda
After finishing elementary school in Banja Luka, I wasn't sure which direction to take. I ended up enrolling in economics at Pitagora High School in Odžaci — completed it as an economics technician, but never felt fulfilled in that world. I considered law enforcement for a while, drawn by my lifelong passion for martial arts. Something clicked differently, though, and I ended up at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Banja Luka, specializing in Software Engineering.
It was the right call. I quickly found that I genuinely enjoy the puzzle of programming — not just the solutions, but understanding how things work underneath. From memory management in C to building a Linux shell from scratch, the low-level side of computing became something I actively pursued, not just studied. Now in my final year, I feel like I've found my domain.
Nakon završetka osnovne škole u Banjoj Luci, nisam bio siguran kojim putem da krenem. Upisao sam ekonomiju u Školi "Pitagora" u Odžacima — završio kao ekonomski tehničar, ali se nisam osjećao ispunjenim u tom svijetu. Neko vrijeme sam razmišljao o policijskoj karijeri, potaknut cjeloživotnom strašću prema borilačkim vještinama. Ipak, nešto se promijenilo i završio sam na Elektrotehničkom fakultetu u Banjoj Luci, na smjeru Softverskog inženjerstva.
Bila je to prava odluka. Brzo sam otkrio da mi se zaista sviđa puzzle programiranja — ne samo rješenja, već razumijevanje kako stvari funkcionišu ispod površine. Od upravljanja memorijom u C-u do izgradnje Linux shell-a od nule, niskonivojska strana računarstva postala je nešto što aktivno istražujem, a ne samo studiram. Sad u završnoj godini, osjećam da sam pronašao svoju oblast.
After mastering the fundamentals of C/C++ and Java at ETF UNIBL — where I built a CPU emulator, a cryptographic e-voting platform, and a SIMD-optimized image processor — I decided to broaden toward modern web technologies. My academic foundation in computer architecture and networks gave me a solid base, and I've since added React, Node.js, and Docker through independent projects. After a productive DevOps internship at m:tel, working with Zabbix and Prometheus in a live production environment, I'm now focused on finding a team and a mentor. I want to apply everything from system-level optimization to real-time web applications on projects that matter.
Nakon savladavanja osnova C/C++ i Jave na ETF UNIBL — gdje sam izgradio emulator procesora, kriptografsku platformu za e-glasanje i SIMD-optimizovani procesor slika — odlučio sam proširiti prema modernim web tehnologijama. Akademska osnova u arhitekturi računara i mrežama pružila mi je čvrstu bazu, a od tada sam dodao React, Node.js i Docker kroz samostalne projekte. Nakon produktivne DevOps prakse u m:tel-u, radeći sa Zabbix-om i Prometheus-om u živom produkcijskom okruženju, sada sam fokusiran na pronalaženje tima i mentora. Želim primijeniti sve — od optimizacije na sistemskom nivou do web aplikacija u realnom vremenu — na projekte koji imaju smisla.
For eight years I trained Judo — a sport that taught me patience, resilience, and how to fall well (and get back up). While I don't train at the same intensity anymore, I carry those habits forward. These days I stay active through kickboxing and weightlifting, which I find pairs well with the mental focus that programming demands. Physical training and coding scratch different itches, but they share the same core: deliberate practice, iteration, and not giving up mid-way.
Outside of combat sports, I play guitar — mostly self-taught, always learning. Music is a different kind of problem-solving: intuitive, creative, and a good counterweight to the precision of code. It helps me stay human in between debugging sessions.
Osam godina sam trenirao Džudo — sport koji me naučio strpljenju, otpornosti i kako se dobro padati (i ustajati). Iako više ne treniram istim intenzitetom, te navike su ostale. Danas se bavim kik-boksom i vježbanjem, što smatram dobrim parom za mentalnu koncentraciju koju programiranje zahtijeva. Fizički trening i kodiranje zadovoljavaju različite potrebe, ali dijele isto jezgro: namjerna praksa, iteracija i ne odustajanje.
Van borilačkih sportova, sviram gitaru — uglavnom samouk, uvijek učim. Muzika je drugačija vrsta rješavanja problema: intuitivna, kreativna i dobar protuteža preciznosti koda. Pomaže mi da ostanem human između debug sesija.