Hermina Sorić, an alumna of the Faculty of Croatian Studies, completed her undergraduate studies in Sociology and Communication Studies, specialising in Public Relations. After graduating, she moved to Amsterdam, where she completed a Master’s degree in Sociology at the University of Amsterdam, focusing on courses in the sociology of culture, vulnerability, the body, and emotions.

Throughout her studies, both in Croatia and the Netherlands, Hermina continuously pursued her interests beyond academia. She volunteered and worked in a wide range of fields, from theatre, film festivals, and debate clubs to educational coordination, photography, storytelling, and branding.

Her diverse experiences and skills naturally led her towards entrepreneurship. During her Master’s studies, she joined Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam as a project coordinator for a Dutch national entrepreneurship programme for scientists and academics, which supports researchers in transforming their ideas into socially beneficial business ventures.

True to her interest in connecting different worlds, Hermina gradually moved into the field of experience design, helping brands translate their values into concepts, strategies, and programmes that are both aligned with their identity and beneficial to individuals and communities. Today, four years later, she works as a researcher and learning experience designer, creating sustainable development programmes for high-tech organisations. Her work draws on behavioural neuroscience and is often expressed through art.

As an entrepreneur, she helps brands develop experience-based and value-driven strategies. More recently, she has also begun mentoring in Croatia, which she considers a particularly fulfilling part of her work. She describes much of her professional journey as being dedicated to observing what we consider “normal” and everyday, uncovering its hidden meanings, and designing ways to help others become aware of the multiple layers of social and cultural reality.

Learning remains an integral part of her everyday life. She is currently training in Gestalt psychotherapy at NSG in Amsterdam. Hermina emphasises that her knowledge of microsociology, particularly phenomenology, ethnomethodology, and symbolic interactionism, has proved highly valuable in developing her therapeutic practice.

Reflecting on her student years, Hermina often recalls hearing that “you can’t make a living from sociology” and that career opportunities for sociologists were limited. Today, she is grateful that her younger self was curious, courageous, and persistent enough to explore how sociology could be applied in different contexts. It is precisely this curiosity that has enabled her to genuinely love what she does today—and to show others what sociology can truly offer.