If one were to see Nikola Grbic walking through the halls of Cathedral among his classmates, one would never know that he had recently made the 6,191 mile journey to El Paso from his hometown of Belgrade, Serbia. Nikola’s father was forced to relocate to Fort Bliss for career purposes, and the opportunity to come to America presented itself.

 

Nikola had his doubts at first, explaining “I didn’t want to leave my home, my friends. I didn’t speak English, and it was a big change.” With the encouragement of his father and brother, Nikola decided that he would capitalize on his opportunity and make the move to the United States. Nikola’s family chose Cathedral High School because it afforded the best education they could find in the El Paso area.

 

Nikola believes he has found his home at Cathedral, stating, “Everyone here is close, there is a unique brotherhood, and everybody is there for each other. The teachers are nice here, too.” Nikola attributes his ability to speak English to being thrown into an environment where English is taught in the classroom and spoken by all his friends. Nikola’s favorite classes are British Literature and World Religion. His religion teacher, Mr. Saucedo observes, “Nikola is a hardworking, disciplined young man who has been able to excel in difficult circumstances.” He is looking forward to teaching Nikola in the second semester.

 

Nikola likes the academic facet of Cathedral, but what he truly enjoys is basketball. In his first year, Nikola is a key contributor to the second-ranked Irish varsity basketball team, and has helped lead them to a 19 and 5 record. Nikola’s father introduced him to the game when he was seven years old, and he has been playing ever since. “I love basketball,” Nikola remarks with a smile, “It’s the only sport I’ve ever wanted to play, and I want to play college ball.”

 

Nikola says that basketball helped him find a place at Cathedral and in the United States. “It wasn’t easy at first,” he says, “It’s a whole new language, a new alphabet, a new culture.” Nikola finds that basketball is a sport that spans languages and nationalities: “When I’m playing basketball, I don’t think about anything else, just playing the game and winning.” Nikola certainly has been winning this year and is looking forward to playing the top-ranked Faith Christian this coming week, and succeeding in the playoffs at the end of the season.