A Global Journey, A Local Impact: Iva Angjeleska’s Path to Medicine

Nearly 5,000 miles from her hometown in Skopje, North Macedonia, Iva Angjeleska is precisely where she belongs. Shaped by the heartbreak and urgency of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UNC Pembroke junior is pursuing neuroscience and a future in neurosurgery in a culturally rich university town that reminds her of home.

Angjeleska attended an international high school in North Macedonia. She planned to participate in a one-year exchange in the United States during high school, but those plans were derailed when COVID-19 shut down international travel. Instead, she stayed home and began volunteering with the Red Cross.

That experience changed her.

“I saw people dying,” Angjeleska said. “I wanted to do something, not just watch.”

The loss of her aunt to cancer made the impact even more personal. By her third year of high school, Iva knew she wanted to become a physician. In Europe, students often go directly from high school to medical school. Still, Iva was drawn to the American system, where students enter medical school with deeper preparation through undergraduate study and research.

She began looking for an affordable, high-quality pre-med program near Raleigh, where her uncle lives. UNCP stood out.

“UNCP was the best fit in every way — financially and academically,” Angjeleska said.

Arriving in Robeson County was a cultural shift. Angjeleska had not realized Pembroke was a small town, but she quickly found something special in its sense of place.

“The culture here is real,” she said. “It reminded me of a village back home. I love this community. UNCP accepted me as an international student in a good way.”

That desire to give back now shapes nearly every part of her life on campus.

Researching the Brain, One Worm at a Time

Angjeleska's passion for medicine has found a powerful outlet in neuroscience research. She works in the laboratory of Dr. Courtney Alexander, associate professor of biology and a neuroscientist whose mentorship has been transformative.

“Iva is a very bright student,” Alexander said. “She is very ambitious and is really dedicated to pursuing a career in medicine, which I think she would be well suited for.”

Their work centers on BK channels — potassium channels in nerve cells that help regulate brain electrical activity. Using Caenorhabditis elegans (microscopic roundworms), the team studies mutations in the slo-1 gene, which is homologous to the human KCNMA1 gene. In people, mutations in this gene can cause seizures, epilepsy and neurological disorders.

“We use mutated worms and study how their behavior changes,” Angjeleska said. “We are trying to understand how nerve cells and muscles are affected.”

Her long-term goal is to earn both a medical and a doctoral degree, become a neurosurgeon and help uncover why these mutations occur — and how families might prevent them in future generations.

“I want to find a cure.”

Leadership with a Purpose

Beyond the lab, Angjeleska is one of the most engaged students on campus. She serves as a global ambassador, peer academic leader, community ambassador, wellness ambassador, 1887 Society member, and treasurer for the Health Career Access Program (HCAP). She is also a campus photographer.

For Angjeleska, leadership is about service.

“I help students succeed in their first and second year,” she said. “I like being involved. It makes me happy.”

Her energy comes from community. “When I'm surrounded by positive people who share the same energy, it keeps me motivated.”

That dedication was recently recognized when she was selected as a Top Hawk, one of the university's highest student honors. “I didn't expect it,” she says. “To be chosen from 51 people, it showed me that what I am doing for the campus and academically has paid off.”

After medical school — likely at Duke or UNC–Chapel Hill  — Angjeleska hopes to return to southeastern North Carolina to serve communities like Robeson County.

Her goal is clear: to leave a mark at UNCP and beyond.

“When I first came here, I was lost. I didn't know how to register for classes. But my professors, the Biology Department and the Office of Global Engagement supported me,” she said. “UNCP has given me so much. I want to give something back.”