Students with last names Li-Ri are in for a real treat. After my up-close and personal interview with Mr. Miocic, I found out a lot about his history as a counselor and his personal life.

Q: Why do you think you’re a good fit for BC?

A: It’s very similar school to my last school. A lot of the stuff that I did there that I enjoyed, you have here. For example AVID; I was the AVID counselor at my last school. I know they have a Frisbee club here and I did that at my last school. That’s another big thing that I do. Also, population of students; college goals, career goals, etc.

Q: What school were you at before?

A: Harry D. Jacobs High School

Q:What is the last thing you read?

A: Game of Thrones – the first one. I read a lot of articles on sports and psychology, too.

Q: What is your favorite food?

A: Portillo’s [a restaurant chain in Chicago specializing in Chicago style food like Italian beef and hot dogs].

Q: Do you consider yourself a leader?

A: Yes. I always have been. That sounds really arrogant.

Q:  No, not at all.

A: In order to be a good leader, you have to be a good follower. I’m a firm believer in that. I don’t think leadership is being in charge all the time. Leadership is being confident and doing what you think is best and not having someone tell you what to do. I was always a leader, not necessarily always a captain, but always a leader.

Q:  Do you think leaders are born or made?

A: I think both can happen. But I think there are natural characteristics that good leaders have. You don’t have to be an outgoing person, I think there are a lot of leaders that can be very passive and a little more introverted. But I think people tend to follow people that are confident and more kind. In order to be a good leader, you have to understand who you want to follow you;  in order to do so, you have to learn about them.

Q: How long have you been a guidance counselor?

A: 10 years

Q: What about your career has made you stay for so long?

A: I like the whole academic piece. I am a big fan of academia. I like the idea of how kids learn and why they learn. I like the freedom counseling gives. You don’t have a set curriculum, you just meet people’s needs. You help kids through emotional/personal stuff, as well as academic stuff. I like all that stuff and every day is a little bit different.

Q: Who or what inspires you?

A: It changes all the time. I was always inspired by my parents. They were immigrants from Croatia. They always taught us that nothing would ever be given to us so we have to earn everything. I was always inspired by their ability to just do well for themselves with little to no education, just hard work and perseverance. I am inspired by everything. I’m inspired by competition.

Q: Where did you go to college?

A: University of Iowa

Q: What did you major in?

A: History and Political science 

Q: What was your first impression of BC?

A: People here are really nice. [During] my first experience here, people were waiting 3-4 hours to see me and everybody was still really nice and polite. A lot nicer than in Illinois.

Q: If I gave you $1000 right now, what would you do with it?

A: I’d probably go on a vacation somewhere. Or save it to go to Croatia.