honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, October 2, 2003

Wahine senior sees better world through religion

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

War took away her childhood innocence, and set Maja Gustin off on a search for peace. "She is serious, intense, committed, courageous ... and serene," says a professor.

Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

THIS WEEK

WHAT: Western Athletic Conference

WHERE: Stan Sheriff Center

WHEN: Today—7 p.m., No. 2 HAWAI'I (13-1, 1-0 WAC) vs. Fresno State (12-3, 2-0). Saturday—7 p.m., No. 2 HAWAI'I vs. Nevada (8-7, 2-0).

TV/RADIO: KFVE (5) and 1420 AM will broadcast both matches live

TICKETS: $14 lower level, $11 upper, $8 senior citizens (65-older), $6 students 4-18, $3 UH system students.

PARKING: $3

Senior series

The Honolulu Advertiser will be profiling each of the seven seniors on the University of Hawai'i women's volleyball team.Here are the dates of past profile publication:

• Aug. 29—Melissa Villaroman
• Sept. 4—Karin Lundqvist
• Sept. 12—Nohea Tano

Upcoming:
Lauren Duggins
Lily Kahumoku
Kim Willoughby

Maja Gustin remembers running blissfully through forests and along rivers near her home in Maribor, Slovenia, when she was much smaller than the 6-foot-3 volleyball player who would eventually land on Hawai'i's doorstep three years ago.

"We'd play childish games. There were no obligations," Gustin recalls. "Anything, just to be outside."

War ended her childhood much too early. The night Slovenia declared its independence in 1991, the Yugoslavian army began to occupy the republic's border crossings. The war lasted 10 days, sandwiched by years of turmoil and terror.

Gustin lost her father "not in the war, but because of it." A police agent who "tried to solve the war," her father watched in frustration as other ideas took hold. He was forced to take an oath of silence and his health deteriorated quickly before he died.

"Deep questions came into my mind," Gustin says. "Life changed. Fear was there. As soon as a person has fear there is no joy.

"That stayed with me. Slowly I'm getting rid of it."

She has found her way by seeking peace. Gustin is so sincere about her search she has created her own major in Liberal Studies, where 240 UH students pursue "individualized, inter-disciplinary" degrees.

Most are relatively straightforward, like criminology or environmental studies. Gustin wanted to study how religion could mobilize humans to accomplish things in a non-violent way. The working title of her major is "Through Understanding Religion to Peace."

Her only regret so far is that the Gandhi class has not been offered.

"When I surrender to my life I see that it's directing me toward something to do with peace," Gustin explains. "I'm very interested in how we all crave joy, happiness, security. But what I see is that we just don't know the right path. We're going in the wrong direction."

It took months to put her academic program together and it will be tweaked between now and graduation in May. But Gustin has never wavered from her basic premise.

"She is serious, intense, committed, courageous, sincere ... and serene," says Peter Manicas, Director of Liberal Studies. "Serene is the religion side. I stand fully behind her. I'm delighted to have her kind of student."

Slovenia is the rare place where you can ski in the morning and swim in the Adriatic Sea in the afternoon. More than half the country is forested and therapeutic mineral springs nurture the soul. Gustin grew up there, and grew to love volleyball, playing for her national team.

She recruited herself to this country's second-ranked team, telling her mother she was leaving the day she asked her to sign the papers allowing her to go.

Jasna Gustin cried tears of joy. Her daughter smiled that sneaky smile and escaped into the serenity of searching for her truth.

"I know I have to learn a lot," Gustin says. "I need to learn from the war and my own experiences, not just books. I really wanted to meet different people, just to make sure we are not different deep down."

The search brought her 7,000 miles to Manoa, where studies are her passion and volleyball has found its place. The game is a small part of who Gustin is. She turns 24 next week and her dream is not to rule the world but save it. She is as simple and complex as that.

To her teammates, Gustin's legacy will be her serenity and relentless search to find goodness in everyone. "It can be the devil, she'll find it," teammate Lauren Duggins insists.

When the team met in shocked silence after 9-11, it was Gustin who reassured them with insights into war, human nature and living life that none of the Americans had ever imagined.

"She opened a lot of eyes," says manager Ryan Tsuji. "You know whatever comes out of her mouth is going to have deep meaning. You know she really put a lot of thought into it."

Gustin does not go to football games or hang out. She is a vegetarian who meditates every morning for up to an hour and went to New York this summer for a huge Hatha Yoga retreat. Many of her friends are much older.

"I love the wisdom of older people," she explains with a shrug. "It feeds me."

Those older friends helped her re-discover where volleyball fit into her life. Gustin's athletic career has wavered between extraordinary and ordinary. She has been dominant and vital, injured and frustrated. But her serenity has been a constant and now, thanks to her older friends, she struggles less with what volleyball means in the midst of a bruised humanity.

"What I learned is volleyball is yoga in action," Gustin explains. "My duty is to play hard and give everything. That's especially what I'm learning this year — to go out and bring that energy and joy and put my whole being into the game.

"I'm seeing how volleyball is a big opportunity for learning. It is so intense. In life, you can cheat, but in volleyball it is so intense you can't get away with anything."

Now Gustin proudly sings Hawai'i Pono'i before each home match — "I love the Hawaiian anthem, it's spiritual actually" — and ponders an infinite future beyond volleyball and graduation.

The chill is gone. Wherever this quest takes her is where she believes she is supposed to be.

"I don't think the earth is so huge," Gustin says. "I cannot go any farther than I already have."

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8043.

• • •

Closer look

Maja Gustin
6-3 senior middle blocker

Born: Oct. 11, 1979

Hometown: Maribor, Slovenia

Hobbies: Reading spiritual books, Hatha Yoga/meditation because "it's very beneficial, it takes you to your own self, gives you the energy you need, gives you joy ... it's very important in this modern world to take time for yourself."

Languages: Slovene, Serbia-Croatian, German, English

Class schedule: Indian Philosophy, Japanese Philosophy, Indigenous Politics, American Foreign Policy, Inter-Personal Communications

Volleyball honors: Slovenian national team (four years); 2000 WAC co-Freshman of the Year, led conference in hitting (.370) and blocking (1.60, 10th in nation), all-West Region; 2001 first-team all-WAC (outside hitter) ... 14 kills short of becoming the 14th Rainbow Wahine with 1,000 kills.