Alex Slitz/Daily NewsSanja Dudaric of Bowling Green, originally from Bosnia, is the only Bowling Green Police Department dispatcher fluent in all three Bosnian dialects.

Sanja Dudaric, 29, is the only Bosnian employee on staff at the Bowling Green Police Department. She was approved for a dispatcher position by the Bowling Green Board of Commissioners earlier this month after undergoing a lengthy hiring process.

Dudaric’s success came after she had already endured personal hardships and struggles involving the adjustment to a new life in the United States.

She came to Bowling Green with her mother, Vesna Gavric, 53, in 1997 in hopes of a better future after a civil war broke out in Bosnia in 1992, leaving her native country economically unstable.

“In the city I lived in there was not that much shooting,” Dudaric said. “But all the lines of food, electricity and water were blocked off during that time.”

Dudaric was 15 when she was forced to leave her friends and family behind in her hometown of Zenica, located near Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia.

“I didn’t have a choice,” she said. “It was my mom’s decision and she had to do what was best for both of us at the time.”

Just a few months before coming to Bowling Green, Dudaric and her mother experienced a tremendous loss after Dudaric’s brother died in a car accident. Later, her parents separated, prompting Gavric to make decisions about their future.

“We came (to Bowling Green) under a lot of stress,” Gavric said. “But we managed to find our way given the sad circumstances.”

Dudaric’s uncle, Niko Juric, who was already living in Bowling Green at the time, helped Dudaric and her mother through the immigration process.

“We came very late, late at night and my first reaction wasn’t until the next morning.” Dudaric said. “I didn’t see any big buildings. Bowling Green wasn’t what I’ve seen on TV.”

After arriving in Bowling Green, Dudaric was faced with the challenge of having to quickly learn a new language.

“Someone had to learn English and step up,” Dudaric said. “Anything that my mother needed, it was me that she had to rely on.”

Dudaric married Viktor Dudaric – who she knew from Zenica before moving to Bowling Green – in 1997. She graduated in 2009 from Mid-Continent University in Mayfield with a degree in business management.

Gavric said Dudaric has always managed to accomplish goals she set her mind to, adding that there were times when Dudaric attended school during the day and worked nights at The Medical Center, getting only a couple hours of sleep.

“She’s very responsible,” her mother said. “Everyone she comes in contact with speaks highly of her.”

Dudaric worked in police records before being hired as dispatcher – a process that takes five to six months to complete. Despite having her foot in the door at the BGPD, Dudaric still had to compete for the position against other qualified applicants.

Dudaric is currently undergoing the dispatch training process, which takes two to three months. After finishing that, she must complete an additional 4 1/2 weeks of required training at the Department of Criminal Justice in Richmond.

“My training right now is focused on using the equipment,” she said. “There’s way too much information and it’s been a big challenge for me.”