In the dimly lit McDaniel Free Press office in Rouzer Hall, Djerdj Matkovic ’07 sits in front of a glowing computer. Pictures of former editors line the walls. This spring, his photo will be added. Students elected Matkovic, a transfer student from McDaniel’s Budapest campus, co-editor of the newspaper.

“I edited the newspaper in Budapest, and the paper was the first thing I got involved in when I came here,” says the Communication major.

Matkovic, one of six Budapest students currently finishing their bachelor’s degree in Westminster, transferred last spring in order to widen his experience of college and to earn a degree from an American institution.

“It is quite an experience to come from an apartment in Budapest in a big city, where college was not where you lived, to here, where I live and study with people similar to myself,” he says with a wide grin.

As co-editor of the Free Press with Michael Habegger ’08, Matkovic will organize meetings and staff contributions. This semester, the duo has plans to make their mark on the paper. They’ll introduce color on the front page, sports pages and center spread. They’ll include a collection of in-depth articles reported by students in English Professor Terry Dalton’s “Advanced News Reporting” course, as well as publish articles from students in Budapest.

“The best part about Djerdj is that he gets things done and done well,” raves co-editor Habegger. “We developed a camaraderie that stuck with us, and when I found out that he was going to be editor, I was excited.”

Born to diplomat parents in what was then Yugoslavia, Matkovic has lived in Canada and Zimbabwe. He honed his writing and editing skills while interning with the Associated Press in Belgrade and for a diplomatic news bulletin.

“He jumped right in,” says Lisa Breslin, director of the Writing Center and faculty adviser for the Free Press. “He’s got a great sense of humor and is approachable, funny and a quick learner.”

As someone who considers everywhere he’s lived home, Matkovic quickly adapted to life on the Hill. After graduation, he plans to move to Washington, D.C., where he’ll work in journalism. Until then, you can read his work every two weeks when the Free Press hits the Decker Center newsstand.