Give Your May Flowers Super Natural Powers

The bigger boys began the usual routine of shoving him into lockers and knocking his books out of his arms, but Kozarevich surrounded himself with friends who backed him up.

He eventually transferred to Alex W. Spence Talented/Gifted Academy, where he met dance teacher Lisa Moya King.

She took him under her wing right away. She moved to Woodrow, and Kozarevich auditioned for Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Though he was accepted, he turned it down because he decided not to go into dancing as a profession.

“I didn’t want to go through what had happened earlier on because I was still a little naive about that, and I was also shy,” he says.

Instead he enrolled at Woodrow, which once again put him under the tutelage of King.

During his freshman year, while he was still fending off bullies at school, Kozarevich’s mom, Sue, was diagnosed with stagefour breast cancer.

“It scared me because I didn’t know what was going to happen,” he says. “That’s the most vulnerable you can be. Freshman year, I was starting to get back some of my self esteem, and then it just hit me like that.”

His other mom, Nancy, quit her job to take care of Sue, and Kozarevich started missing school days in order to spend time with them. At first, his grades suffered, but he worked with teachers and managed to complete the semester with all his credits.

Doctors determined that Sue was going to be OK, but about two months later she was diagnosed with skin cancer. They caught it before it spread.

During Kozarevich’s junior year, his mom’s breast cancer returned in the same spot as before.

“That’s when I started talking with Ms. King more about my personal stuff, and she helped me get through it,” he says.

Sue just recently found another lump, but the Kozarevich family is still waiting for the results. This time, they’re confident they will get through it together, just like they have every other time, Kozarevich says.

“It has helped being a dancer, because I feel free. I feel in control when I’m dancing. When I’m dancing on a stage, that’s when I feel the most in control and the most vulnerable.”

King has been working with Kozarevich on developing his leadership abilities. She’s also helping him learn to balance caring and compassion for things that matter and not caring about the things that don’t.

“A lot of the other boys were looking up to him,” King says, “but he didn’t see himself as a leader. I had to really push him hard to see himself that way. I think it kind of scared him at times.”

Her efforts paid off, and it helped Kozarevich change the way he interacted with his peers at school.

“Now, when I see someone get bullied in the hallways, I’ll be the first person to stick up for them, because it’s not fair that some people end up committing suicide because there was no one to help them,” Kozarevich says.

“I feel like I can make a change and overcome the stereotype of getting bullied.”

But more than anything, King’s class gives him the outlet to express himself.

“He wasn’t afraid to try anything with dance,” King says, “which comes from his upbringing. In dance, he’s very open. He doesn’t hesitate to get out there and try something.”

Even though he didn’t enjoy the visibility that Booker T. students have, Kozarevich was recognized by the Dallas Black Dance Theater, and he began dancing with the Allegra Ensemble.

He also has been accepted into Steven F. Austin and Texas State, where he plans to continue with dance as well as pursue a veterinary career.