Civil war, then Whitman, sidetrack Andjelkovic into a world of business

Plan as we might, life has a way of taking its own twists and turns. Voja Andjelkovic, '94, knows this as well as anyone. A native of Belgrade, Yugoslavia, he came to the United States in 1989 for his final year of high school. His plan was to return home the next year to attend medical school at the University of Belgrade, where his mother has taught for the past 35 years.

By the end of his senior year, however, rising tensions between Yugoslavia's Serbs and Croatians had already set the stage for Europe's bloodiest conflict since the end of World War II. "My parents encouraged me to stay in the United States and continue my education," Andjelkovic says, looking back with no small measure of wistfulness. "The message was basically, do not come back, the future does not look good here. What a phone call that was."

Andjelkovic still counts his blessings that he found his way to Whitman. "So fortunate was I," he says. "I had a great time. Four years went by too fast. It was a time to grow up, get involved, study, and have fun. All of that while I was 6,000 miles away from my family. I studied economics, played varsity basketball, joined the TKE fraternity, served as president of the interfraternity council, and was a member of the senior committee."

Although his father is a retired economist who once worked for one of Yugoslavia's largest banks, Andjelkovic admits he "never knew" he liked economics until he took a class from professor Jan Crouter. "Then I took a macro- economics class from Gordon Philpot, and that was that," he says. Philpot, who retired in 1996, served as Andjelkovic's adviser. "He became a great partner in my decision-making process. I remember my senior year, when Professor Philpot read and corrected numerous letters I was sending to companies in New York seeking a start to my professional career."

Another turning point came at the end of his junior year at Whitman, when he was one of 40 undergraduates nationwide chosen to attend a summer program at the University of Chicago business school. "This was truly an eye-opening experience with respect to the financial world and Wall Street in general," he says. "I studied finance that summer, met with numerous Wall Street firms, and realized this is what I wanted to do. Medical school was forgotten for good."

Following his Whitman graduation, Andjelkovic was hired as a financial analyst in the private client services group at Goldman Sachs & Co. in New York City. "That was a job that taught me a lot of things," he says. "It was 14- hour days trying to learn as much as possible while still trying to have a decent life in this incredible city. I spent over two years working with one of the senior teams in the firm. I helped with valuations, competitive analysis, private investments, and soliciting new business within a high net-worth market. I was learning and hoping I would get the opportunity to do the same thing myself in the future."

That opportunity came in late 1996 when he took a position as a vice president at J. P. Morgan in New York. "I work for the company's private bank advising a number of families and individuals on managing, structuring and investing their assets," he says. "I am very fortunate to be part of a firm so rich in history and tradition."

Andjelkovic visits his parents in Belgrade on an annual basis, and they were able to join him in New York last year. "Nothing would have been possible without the two of them," he says. He also stays in touch with Guy and Carolyn Glenn, a Long Beach, Washington, couple who opened their home to him during his senior year as a high school exchange student. "I am one of those fortunate people who have two sets of parents. The Glenns have been my home away from home."