This year, the 19th Annual International Fashion Show takes place Jan. 29. Because of social distancing guidelines due to Covid-19, the show will go on without an in-person audience, instead being live streamed on and on . The only people in attendance will be organizers and participants.

“The show will occur just with the group of models and performers who signed up. It will be filmed in the Ballroom at the Student Activities Center and we will be using all of the space available to us in the SAC to social distance. Masks will be worn at all times as well,” said Lilah Kahloon, a junior psychology major who is chair of the Student Activities Board Diversity Committee, which organizes the event.

The show will be separated into six regions: North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, Middle East.

“We have students from various cultural RSOs such as Black Student Union, African Student Union and Vietnamese Student Association to name a few,” Kahloon said.

The theme, “Revolution: It’s Not Over,” will be incorporated into every part of the show, Kahloon said, adding it emerged from a feeling that “we could not put on the show without addressing the state of the world we have been living in.”

“It seems like the demand for global change is stronger now than ever. Watching the ongoing protests for Breonna Taylor and the Black Lives Matter movement as a whole, we wanted to address the ideas of revolutions and how students, like those at UofL, can often be seen at their forefront,” she said.

The show’s poster features an image of hands holding up the Earth, a powerful symbol meant to convey that people have the power to change the world they live in, Kahloon said.

Kahloon said there will be about 65 models in the show and eight dance performances.

Because anyone around the world can watch this year’s show, UofL students have the opportunity to demonstrate to an unlimited audience “the joy they have for celebrating their culture with others,” Dean of Students Michael Mardis told WHAS11 .

The show begins airing at 7 p.m. Jan. 29. 

When she was eight years old, Meliha Hrustanovic-Kadic and her family fled war-torn Bosnia as refugees. They settled in Bowling Green, Kentucky, adapting as quickly as they could to the new language and culture.

Soon afterward, her grandfather arrived in the United States as well, but his health quickly deteriorated.

“I was the oldest of my siblings and the oldest of the grandchildren. I found myself riding in an ambulance with my grandfather on a frequent basis. I became his interpreter for every emergency room visit and hospital stay. As his condition unfortunately worsened, my curiosity and passion for medicine grew,” she said.

Early in her college career, she made it official — declaring pre-med as her major during her sophomore year at Western Kentucky University.

“I can’t imagine myself doing anything else,” she said.

Hrustanovic-Kadic considered other medical schools, but knew she wanted to be at UofL.

“I felt a welcoming atmosphere from the start and loved how diverse it was. I wanted to attend a medical school that excelled in patient care, research, teaching and was involved in the community. UofL has surpassed all of my expectations,” she said. 

Hrustanovic-Kadic appreciates the school’s commitment to students’ well-being, with wellness initiatives, mental health counseling, an active LGBT program and diversity events. As a medical student at UofL, she has served as a representative on the diversity committee and volunteers for Kentucky Refugee Ministries.

“So many individuals, from instructors and attendings to fellow medical students to the medical student affairs staff, have become like family over the years,” she said. 

Wartime displacement prevented her parents from completing higher education, which, combined with learning a new language, put the best jobs out of reach. Ultimately, they reached for the American Dream, opening their own transportation company.

“I was 15 at the time and have helped them manage it ever since,” Hrustanovic-Kadic said. She has continued to support the family business even during medical school. “We function as a team and everyone tries to pitch in to help when they can. Don’t ask me how I’ve balanced everything because I don’t even know – perhaps a mix of good time management and organization, along with a ‘when there’s a will, there’s a way’ attitude.”

Her family has supported her during her medical education as well, with frequent visits to Louisville and even preparing her favorite Bosnian foods – krofne, pita, hurmasice and others – during exam weeks.

“You name a way and I can assure you they’ve done it – emotionally, spiritually, physically, financially,” Hrustanovic-Kadic said. “I cannot even begin to describe just how important a supportive family is, especially through medical school.”

She will receive her diploma at the UofL School of Medicine Convocation on Saturday, but her days at UofL are not over. Hrustanovic-Kadic will remain at UofL to pursue residency in internal medicine.

“I enjoy taking care of patients in both inpatient and outpatient settings and there are so many interesting routes one can take with a career in internal medicine,” she said. “I am looking forward to the experiences I will gain during residency.”