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A Worldwide Influencer
THERE’S A LOT THAT COULD BE SAID ABOUT MILANA “MIM” BIZIC and her influence in the classroom, on Serbian culture in America and within her Pittsburgh community. But perhaps Steve “Woz” Wozniak, Apple co-founder and philanthropist, said it best in 1988:
“You will probably never realize or fully believe what an important inspiration your example has been to me, mostly in education, but also in kindness and friendliness. This inspiration has kept me moving the last couple of years toward my goal of teaching and helping youngsters. I wish the Mim Bizics of the world were more abundant and more in control of things.”
The two met when he presented her with her first of four Apple Computer Awards for her work introducing students in grades first through sixth to computers. They became friends, corresponding over the years, and Woz even made a visit to Edgeworth Elementary School, where Mim taught, upon her retirement in 2004.
“He always did so much for me and impacted my life in a positive way,” Mim said.
Born to Teach
Mim is quick to pass the credit for her drive and success to her parents. Both her maternal and paternal Serbian Orthodox grandparents immigrated from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, now known as Croatia, in 1897 and 1908. They didn’t have a lot of money but had plenty of honesty, loyalty and bravery. “I had two hardworking parents,” she said. “My father was 100% deaf by age 17, and my mother was crippled from an accident at age 7, but they never let their handicaps get in their way. Milan Karlo worked for the San Francisco Chronicle. They were changing things he wrote, and his editors told him to go with the flow. He wouldn’t, and he quit. It was the best gift he ever gave us – standing up for what he believed.”
Her mother, Laura Mamula Karlo, attended Carnegie Tech. She taught database skills for Kaiser in California to 40 women from Oklahoma who fled the Dust Bowl, and back in Pittsburgh, worked at the family’s store and in a factory. Growing up on the southside of Pittsburgh, Mim’s whole family – aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents – lived
within a few blocks of each other, making for a wonderful upbringing.
Her fifth grade teacher, Ms. Veronica Wolfe, made a permanent impression on Mim, even after saying her name, Milana Karlo, incorrectly.
“I was so embarrassed,” she recalls. “She finally asked me how to say it and replied to me by saying, ‘It sounds just like a movie star.’ She was a wonderful teacher and such an inspiration.”
Mim taught for 42 years, mostly in Quaker Valley School District, as well as at Penn State’s Beaver campus, covering graduate level courses on integrating computers into the curriculum.
“It was beautiful because you had such creative, dynamic, productive parents;
children who came ready to learn; and grandparents who were ready to help in any way, plus administration and fellow teachers,” she said of her classroom experience.
An Early Adapter
In the early 1980s, Mim was one of few women who signed up for a six-day intensive course on Fortran computer coding. On the last day of the course, the professor, Don Caputo, came back from lunch with three large boxes with the now familiar Apple logo. She recalls him saying, “This just came in. I don’t know how it works or how to put it together, but I do know it’s going to change the world.”
At the time, American workers were used to large computer mainframes which took up entire rooms. Having children learn BASIC computing on a machine that fit on a table put Mim ahead of most classrooms across the country. In addition to her Apple Computer Awards in 1985, 86, 87 and 89 (she was ineligible in 1988 to give others a chance), the Smithsonian recognized her as the #1 Honoree for the National Science Award. She was named a Who’s Who of American Teaching in 1992 and a Who’s Who of American Women in 1995. Beyond the classroom, she was recognized as Woman of the Year in Sewickley (1987) and as Citizen of the Year for Sewickley (1997), along with Dr. Robert Fusco and Dr. Joe Marrone.
Pride in the Past
Mim’s pride in her heritage and family is on full display in her apartment at the Masonic Village at Sewickley. Photos of relatives with Serbian royalty cover windowsills, and her bedroom wall features a woven tapestry that once belonged to King Aleksandar of Yugoslavia, symbolizing the Kingdom of Yugoslavia’s coat of arms.
One of her most prized possessions is her grandmother’s diaries. In addition to her active support of war efforts during World War I and World War II, one of Mim’s favorite details of her grandmother’s life is an encounter with King Peter of Serbia. Upon meeting him, Mim’s grandmother said, “I want to kiss your hand for all you’ve done.” The king replied, “It is I who should kiss your hand.”
In September, Mim fulfilled a lifelong dream of visiting Serbia for the 75th anniversary of the Halyard Mission, a trip that came together in less than three weeks, thanks in part to Rep. Valerie Gaydos, who traveled with her. In 1944, 512 American airmen (432 American and 80 Allied) were
rescued by Yugoslavian resistance leader Draža Mihailović and hid by local families. This was the greatest rescue of American airmen ever, but it was covered up by the State Department for political expediency.
It is a story close to Mim’s heart since more than 20 of the men who participated in the mission or were rescued lived in the Pittsburgh area, including George Vujnovich, who planned and coordinated the mission from Italy and grew up across the street from Mim’s father. She heard tales of the rescue since she was 7 years old.
As soon as Mim learned the trip was happening, she began raising money for the Halyard Mission Scholarship Fund for graduating seniors who are grandchildren of those who contributed to the rescue mission. The worldwide goal for the fund was
“L” is for Learning
$8,000. Hoping to raise a few hundred
dollars, by the time she presented the check, Mim had raised $6,100, thanks to friends and family.
The highlights of her trip included meeting with relatives in Belgrade she hadn’t seen in 10 years. “It’s like I was there yesterday,” she said. She was also able to shake hands with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić (pictured left), who asked her for information on her website (babamim.com) which covers much of the history about Draža Mihailović and the rescue.
“The best part was hearing all those famous people on the stage saying this was and is the greatest rescue ever from behind enemy lines,” Mim said. “It was covered up for so long. It was thrilling to hear Americans and Serbians talk about it.” On the importance of continuing to learn, no matter your age, Mim partially credits her spark to Dr. Seuss and his book, “On Beyond Zebra!”, and Astronaut James Lovell, who quoted the book during a keynote address at Mim’s sister’s college graduation:
“In the places I go, there are things that I see,
That I never could spell if I stopped with the Z!”
She passed this lesson onto countless students, reminding them even once they completed high school and college, their education was just getting started. Her son, Nick, also a history buff, has inherited her love of learning, along with her granddaughter, Jocelyn.
Mim continues her education every day at Masonic Village.
“I’ve made wonderful new friends with amazing stories to tell, like World War II hero John Francis or Marie Hetherington, who was an opening act for Sinatra (see her story on p. 20),” Mim said. “There is always something going on – morning, noon and night. I especially love Todd DiPastino’s history presentations and the wide variety of incredibly talented musical groups.”
Next on her to-do list is a trip to Paris and London in April with her sister, and then a few months later, she’s headed to Alaska.
