Anela Dujsic: From Rutgers Tennis to Small Business Owner

Rutgers tennis takes great pride in all of our alumnae that go on and forge career paths in various fields. Anela Dujsic, a letterwinner of the program from 2004-08, used her career in the fashion industry to produce comforting masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

After graduating from Rutgers with a degree in Biology, Dujsic made a shift to pursue a career in fashion. She moved back to her hometown of Toronto to study apparel design. During her studies, Dujsic became particularly interested in social and environmental responsibility within the industry.

“I worked with a local non-profit that focused on this work and ultimately got a job with the global womenswear brand EILEEN FISHER, that is an industry leader in sustainability. I worked out of their Toronto office but often visited the head office in New York, which was extra nice because I got to catch up with many of my Rutgers friends who were in the New Jersey and New York area,” said Dujsic.

“While at EILEEN FISHER, I also completed an MBA part-time at the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management with the class of 2020, where I blended my science/design/business background and studied design thinking, which is a human centered approach to problem solving and innovation.”

In the midst of completing an MBA and working at an industry leader of a new career path, the brand EILEEN FISHER was forced to close their corporate office in Canada due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the setback, Dujsic switched gears once more and founded a mask and accessory brand of her own called Considerate Goods. 

As someone with a history of Hodgkin’s Lymphnoma, Dujsic was told early on that she should exercise extra caution when the pandemic hit. While she was grateful for the support of her family and friends grocery shopping and supporting her at the beginning of lockdown, Dujsic knew that it wouldn’t be sustainable long-term and she would have to prepare to enter into the world safely again. That is when she had the thought to turn to her love of sewing and made herself a mask. 

“When I ventured out into the world, I was so thankful and reassured when I saw people wearing masks, it was so considerate, and it gave me so much confidence that I could reintegrate into the world safely and literally regain my independence.  But I also recognized that mask wearing was a big adjustment for people. Wearing a mask was foreign, it was often clunky, and ultimately it was a glaring reminder that things were not normal and scary!,” Dujsic recalled. 

Through processing all of those thoughts and emotions from seeing everyone adjusting to mask wearing, Dujsic set her sights on creating masks that people could feel more comfortable in. 

“I first focused on fit. All of my styles are original designs and were lovingly developed with many iterations and adjustments to make sure wearing was easy and comfortable. Second, I focused on choosing prints that felt fun, but also easily wearable and wardrobe-able,” Dujsic explained. 

The Toronto native constructed her small business with these concepts as her focus, encouraging people be considerate of others, while still staying cute and comfortable. She also carried the considerate approach into how her products are made, producing locally and repurposing scraps from the process into scrunchies and other products in an effort to reduce waste. 

The masks, sold on her website ConsiderateGoods.com, are 100% cotton and are reusable and washable to keep up with the environmentally conscious approach. Various prints are available to pair well with everyday outfits. Having also been a Division I tennis player, the former Scarlet Knight added a tennis ball design to her catalog. 

“I wrote Coach Hilary Richie to tell her my story and was met with such kindness, openness and support.  And the whole team too. They just recently sent me a photo of all of them wearing my tennis ball mask and it totally made my day. It made me feel like I was right back there with them.  It’s honestly magic to have that connection even though many years have passed at this point,” said Dujsic.

"The last year has provided so much time for us to reflect on what is important.  While sports might seem trivial, the bond that teammates, coaches, fans and alumni have is undeniable,” said Head Coach Hilary Ritchie. “It was wonderful when Anela reached out, wanting to send us her masks. The team was so appreciative, and they love wearing them.  I can't wait until we can host alumni functions again and be with our whole RU Tennis Family."

Forever a Scarlet Knight, Dujsic noted her pride of all the amazing things the program has been doing, relating to what it takes to be a student-athlete. To this day, she continues to utilize the time management skills built from balancing school, practice and matches. Another skill that has stuck strongly with her is resilience. 

“Resilience is something I reflected on even when I was going through my treatment for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. As student-athletes, you are often training and pushing through workouts that don’t always feel great in the moment, but you know you need to move through them to reach your goal.  Having that mindset and experience has been huge for me in many ways, including navigating through the challenges of the pandemic and striving to turn them into something positive through Considerate Goods.”

Paired with her resilience, Dujsic also turned to her connection with community and other activities to adjust to life in these challenging times. 

“I think the state of the world really highlighted the importance of the small moments, and an increased appreciation for them. The importance of our communities, and showing understanding, care and support for one another,” Dujsic.

“For me, it’s been the small things and the points of connection that have really helped me navigate through all of the adversity, change and anxiety. The walks, the socially distant visits with friends, the calls and zoom catch ups, trying and sharing recipes, getting back to old hobbies like sewing.”

A resilient mindset. A rekindling of an old hobby. A toolkit of skills as a student-athlete. A group of friends, family, and strangers that showed great support. All allowed Dujsic to make a pivot in her career during an unprecedented year and create a small business that makes a difference. A small business that inspires us all to be considerate and shows that there is always a way to provide others with comfort even in the hardest of times.