ROANOKE, Va.

Edi Berbic plans to practice medicine in southwest Virginia. That's not surprising, perhaps, for a graduate of William Fleming High School and the Edward Via School of Osteopathic Medicine in Blacksburg, but his journey to Roanoke began in war-torn Bosnia, and included three years in a refugee camp in Croatia.

Berbic lived on Eden Drive for just three months, but the Roanoke neighborhood still holds a special place in his heart. "It represents the starting point for me and my new life here in the U.S.," Berbic told us. "You were living by yourself with your family and not sharing a bathroom with 50 other individuals. So it was very peaceful. It felt at home."

Earlier this month, Berbic received his degree from the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine. He leaves next week for a three year residency in New Jersey. Not bad for a kid who couldn't speak English when he arrived in Roanoke in 1995.

"I didn't know a bit of English, so me starting 5th grade, it was very difficult because you see kids talking about you, making fun of you, laughing at you," he said. "So for me it was very difficult understanding what they were talking about and as a kid you take that to the heart."

Berbic credits his teachers, and the close relationship he shares with his parents and his brother Elvir. "To be honest, he was my role model at some point," Elvir Berbic told us, "because while he was working on his doctorate, I was just finishing up my bachelor's degree. A younger brother can definitely be a role model as well," he said.

The brothers hope their experiences will encourage others to follow their dreams.

"If I can do it," Edi Berbic said, "you can do it as well. So please have that goal and that determination."

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Former refugee graduates from medical school, plans career in western Virginia