{"id":845,"date":"2025-10-20T07:55:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T11:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/magazine-2025\/?p=845"},"modified":"2025-11-14T11:02:36","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T16:02:36","slug":"all-the-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/magazine-2025\/2025\/10\/all-the-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"All the Difference"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Vlasta Zekulic, \u201902, rose through the ranks of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets to serve as First Battalion executive officer. And she didn\u2019t stop there. The Croatian-born graduate has kept climbing. Today, she serves as a senior official at NATO\u2019s Supreme Allied Commander Transformation headquarters.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

1998
Zagreb, Croatia<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat do you mean you\u2019re going to the United States?\u201d Vlasta Zekulic\u2019s mother shrieked into the phone. \u201cYou\u2019re going to start all over on the other side of the world? God knows what will happen to you. Why are you doing this?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zekulic stood at the lone phone booth at the end of the spartan concrete-and-tile corridor in her dormitory at the Zagreb police academy. Tears streamed down her face. Her friends clustered around her, trying to comfort her. \u201cI was crying,\u201d she said, \u201cand my friends were asking what was happening, but I could barely get the words out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you leave,\u201d her mother continued, \u201cyou can forget you have a home here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Croatia was still recovering from the aftermath of its brutal war of independence. The country\u2019s economy was in tatters; its infrastructure, ravaged. Zekulic\u2019s father had died from cancer, his treatment hindered by a broken healthcare system. \u201cIt all happened so fast,\u201d she said. Her mother was scraping by, alone, living 250 miles away in Split, an ancient city on the Adriatic Sea, in a ground- floor apartment, where she tended a garden of grapes, figs and flowers. Zekulic\u2019s sister, a part-time model, studied biomedicine in Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a young girl, Zekulic devoured books on World War II and pictured herself as a partisan courier, darting through alleyways with secret messages. She admired bravery, patriotism and strength. While other girls dreamed of tiaras and ball gowns, Zekulic dreamed of a pressed uniform with a weapon at her side, chasing bad guys. \u201cThe spirit of law enforcement, justice and physical and mental fitness,\u201d she said, \u201cit was all there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her family thought this was just a phase. Zekulic knew that it was her calling. When she learned of a government-sponsored program to study at an American military academy, she applied for one of a handful of openings. It was a long shot\u2014nearly 3,000 applied, but only a few would be chosen. She had not said anything to her family … until now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A week after the explosive conversation, Zekulic called her mother. \u201cI understand that you\u2019re worried,\u201d she said, \u201cbut this is the chance of a lifetime. I\u2019m going, whether I have a home when I come back or not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, her mother relented, and Zekulic began preparing for what she believed would be a move to the U.S. Military Academy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Two months later
Charleston, S.C.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The silence was palpable. She stood with her classmates in the Fourth Battalion gallery, facing the quad, one of only three freshman women in Oscar Company. They waited, tense and still.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cadre began its death march, the platoon sergeant calling their steps: \u201cLeft. Left. Right, left, right. Left face.\u201d The scene was cinematic. They looked magnificent\u2014tanned and strong, white gloves sharp against black service hats pulled low. They stopped and stood at attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The regimental commander\u2019s voice echoed over the loudspeaker as he addressed the Class of 2002. \u201cThis is going to be the worst four years of your life. You will never be as miserable, as tired, as hungry as you will be here, but after you survive it, you will know that whatever happens to you, you have been through worse,\u201d Zekulic remembered him saying. \u201cThe fourth-class system is now in effect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the end of his announcement, the cadre members broke apart, chaos erupting in every direction\u2014the cadre shouting orders, freshmen dropping for pushups, others running in place, bracing at attention. The noise swallowed everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a soul-searching year\u2014one she had planned to spend at West Point. But before she arrived, she was reassigned to The Citadel, a move she later learned was driven by a strong network of alumni determined to find qualified female candidates to help the college integrate women successfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Zekulic asked about the change, she was told, \u201cYou will not be going to West Point. You\u2019re going to The Citadel.\u201d She remembered asking, \u201cWhat is The Citadel?\u201d They reassured her: \u201cSame thing, same program, same credentials at the end, but it\u2019s on the beach and there are palm trees. You\u2019re gonna love it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

News of an all-male senior military college in South Carolina admitting women had not made the journey to Zekulic\u2019s side of the Atlantic. When she arrived, she found herself in unfamiliar territory\u2014 the unrelenting fourth-class system, the Southern culture and the slow pace of change. But for the young woman who beat out 3,000 other Croatian cadets for a chance to attend a U.S. military college, the challenge was what she needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had this rebellious streak in me,\u201d said Zekulic, a computer science major with a perfect grade point ratio her first semester. \u201cI\u2019m fit. I\u2019m strong. I\u2019m smart. I deserve to be here, and there\u2019s nothing you can do about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that realization, the petite young Croatian woman climbed the ranks. As a senior, she served as First Battalion executive officer, and when she encountered an ethical dilemma when one of her classmates needed to be disciplined, she turned to retired Army Col. Tony Lackey, assistant commandant for discipline, for guidance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t give you a job to be liked. We gave you a job to do what needs to be done, and whether it\u2019s easy or hard, whether they like you for that or not, you know what needs to be done\u2014do the right thing,\u201d Lackey told her. \u201cIt\u2019s a lonely place at the top. Everybody can advise. Everybody can have an opinion. But you have to lead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lackey\u2019s advice stayed with her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2004
Kabul, Afghanistan<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She stood on patrol with her unit outside Camp Warehouse, one hand resting on a NATO-issued rifle strapped across her body, the other near the pistol at her side. \u201cIt was hot and dry,\u201d she said, \u201cdust scraping our eyes and throats, and the smells were awful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raw sewage in shallow canals oozed through narrow passages. Flies swarmed over carcasses and piles of rotting vegetables. In the distance, fields of vivid green vegetables thrived, thanks to recycled chemical toilet water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From behind wraparound sunglasses, she scanned the roofline. In the distance, people crowded into long polling lines to cast their votes. She was 26 years old, educated by Americans, a Croatian Army officer commanding her own unit\u2014the first woman in her country to do so. But she wasn\u2019t content simply to follow orders; she needed to understand the reason behind them. By the time she deployed, she had already begun a master\u2019s degree in international relations and national security. \u201cI was studying the theory of how national security systems are built,\u201d she said, \u201cat the same time I was helping create one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just a few years earlier, the September 11 attacks during her senior year at The Citadel had reshaped the world. She was deployed as part of the NATO- led International Security Assistance Force to help secure Afghanistan\u2019s first presidential election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2012, armed with a doctorate, Zekulic returned to Afghanistan for a third tour. The optimism was gone. \u201cI was fundamentally disappointed,\u201d she said. \u201cWe made a lot of tactical-level moves. NATO troops trained well and gave the Afghan forces knowledge, but it was with constant six-month rotations. It wasn\u2019t adding up. It was a perpetual Groundhog Day. They never adopted our mindset or our values.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2014, ISAF declared the mission complete and withdrew. Zekulic reluctantly followed orders but channeled her frustration into an academic article. \u201cAs a soldier, I couldn\u2019t say what I thought,\u201d she said. \u201cBut as a scholar, I could. I wrote about where our theory went wrong\u2014and how we should have done better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2018
Brussels, Belgium<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside NATO\u2019s sleek, glass-walled headquarters, she clenched her fists in frustration. Twenty-eight hands had gone up for her proposal an old policy she\u2019d revived and rebuilt into a digital system designed to untangle civilian-led projects and better support allied nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But one nation held out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breaking protocol, Zekulic approached the delegate. \u201cWe need to have a coffee,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the cafeteria, they sat on barstools by a long window overlooking the lawn. That\u2019s when she learned the entire dispute came down to a single word. The delegate\u2019s country had forbidden her to approve any policy changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow committed are you to the word \u2018policy\u2019?\u201d the woman asked. Zekulic laughed, relieved the problem wasn\u2019t the substance of her proposal and amused by the absurdity of international politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the next session assembled, \u201cpolicy\u201d had been swapped for \u201cmechanism,\u201d and all 29 hands went up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe real world is messy,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not nice, clean and organized. It\u2019s not black and white. It\u2019s complicated. It\u2019s complex. It\u2019s full of politics. And politics are determined by different groups, different nations, different positions, and they shift.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zekulic\u2019s career with NATO began in 2014 in Norfolk, Virginia, following her last tour in Afghanistan. A Croatian army major at the time, she joined NATO\u2019s strategic planning directorate. One of her first challenges: helping draft a strategy to counter hybrid warfare after the annexation of Crimea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NATO leaders were so pleased with her work that they asked the Croatian government to assign her to NATO headquarters in Brussels, where she became deputy head of strategic assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brussels was also home to her mother\u2014who had moved there to be near Zekulic\u2019s sister and her family\u2014the first time in more than 20 years that they all lived in the same city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2017, as her tour of duty came to an end, she struggled with the idea of returning to Croatiato do more tactical-level work. She considered separating from the military and applied for a civilian job with NATO in the operations division, tracking Russian activity and planning political and strategic countermeasures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Croatia, however, was not ready to let her go. For five years, she continued in frozen status\u2014still in the military but working as an international civilian\u2014before finally retiring as a lieutenant colonel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, she continues her work with NATO in Norfolk, leading strategic efforts and helping shape solutions that balance the needs of 32 member nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2025
Charleston, S.C.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re living in a world full of uncertainty and complexity,\u201d she said as she walked across the stage in Capers Hall. The audience sat silent, fully focused on her words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the audience, her husband, a retired Marine, sat among cadets and faculty, listening to her journey from postwar Croatia to NATO headquarters. Her words reflected lessons learned in uniform, in classrooms and on the battlefield. She spoke about the power of planning, knowledge and leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of campus has changed since Zekulic was a cadet. New buildings have risen. New faces fill the walkways. And the oaks around the parade ground stretch taller than before. Her return to Charleston carried her back to 1998, when a determined young Croatian woman arrived at the Military College of South Carolina and chose the road less traveled. The path was not an easy one, but she rolled up her sleeves and faced it head-on. \u201cAnd that,\u201d as Robert Frost wrote, \u201chas made all the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Three Lessons from Vlasta Zekulic<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Planning is an art<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a freshman, Zekulic began setting weekly, monthly and semester goals\u2014a habit that stuck with her. \u201cThe ability to take everything that needs to be done and break it into manageable, doable blocks\u2014that started here,\u201d she said. \u201cThen you check them off, one by one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowledge is essential<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What you learn in college will become obsolete within seven years. \u201cThe world moves too fast, so it\u2019s not the absolute terms of what you learn. It\u2019s actually the ability to prime your brain to constantly learn and connect the dots\u2014to let your knowledge work for you and adapt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leadership means preparation and accountability<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe hardest part about leadership is dealing with the consequences of your decisions,\u201d she said. \u201cYour agility as a leader is your ability to live with yourself and find the right balance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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