Hi, I'm Zara!
Computer Science and Biology Student
I am an incoming third-year student at Northeastern University, where I study computer science and biology. I am currently training to become a full-stack developer. In addition to my coursework, I am currently learning React and Python to enhance my development skills further and broaden my toolkit.
In my free time, I LOVE to travel and cannot wait for my next adventure!

About Me
I was born and raised in Massachusetts, with strong Croatian roots that have shaped both my identity and outlook. From a young age, I’ve been drawn to math and science, curious about how things work, and passionate about solving complex problems. I completed the International Baccalaureate program in high school, spending time in both Boston and Zagreb, which gave me a deep appreciation for different cultures and perspectives. I’m especially interested in back-end development and the impacts of artificial intelligence, where I can combine technical precision with creativity to build thoughtful, impactful systems.
I am excited to share that starting in August, I will be in Barcelona working at Nearby Computing for my first co-op!
Experience
Featured Projects
Three Trios Card Game
I implemented a turn-based strategy game in Java where two players place cards on a grid, each card having directional attack values. I designed the game model to enforce rules around card placement, turn order, and battles based on card stats. I handled loading custom board and card configurations from files, added logic for determining the game’s winner, and developed a graphical interface using Java Swing to visualize the gameplay.
Map Your Degree
As part of a team of four, I built a fully functional website in under 36 hours at Hackbeanpot 2025 to help students visualize and plan their academic journey. The project aimed to simplify Northeastern University’s confusing degree audit system by offering an intuitive, customizable interface for tracking graduation progress. I developed a robust backend by dynamically scraping data for all 329 majors using Python and storing it in a structured SQL database. I ensured consistency across irregular and inconsistent university pages, and contributed to the frontend by helping design and implement a user-friendly interface using Streamlit that clearly presented degree requirements and progress.
Travel Tracker
Together with a partner, I built a full-stack application that allows users to plan, log, and view travel itineraries, supporting both past memories and future trip planning. I led the backend development using MySQL, designing a relational schema optimized for destinations, trip metadata, and user-generated notes. On the frontend, I created a responsive and intuitive graphical interface using Java and Swing, implementing seamless Create, Read, Update, and Delete (CRUD) operations. The application includes input validation, dynamic trip previews, and search functionality to enhance the overall user experience.
Get In Touch
I'm always interested in hearing about new opportunities and interesting projects. Whether you're a company looking to hire, or you just want to say hello, I'd love to hear from you!
Say Hello