Grad stories: Guitarist who once couldn't hear found love of performing arts at Lakeview
Editors Note: The Battle Creek Enquirer is sharing the stories of area high school seniors to celebrate graduation season.
At Lakeview High School, everybody seems to know Alex Nowicki.
As hard as it may be to stand out in a graduating class of 264 students, Nowicki has done just that through his good-natured demeanor and his passion for the performing arts.
In his final performances as a Spartan, the 19-year-old appeared in a production of "Oklahoma!" and later took the stage with his guitar alongside country musician and alumnus Frankie Ballard for a special centennial celebration for the school.
"One of my first classes was guitar class here," Nowicki said. "Before that, I wasn't really into music at all. The type of music we got into in that class was classic rock, which is personally my favorite genre now."
Nowicki manages having severe anxiety, yet feels comfortable when performing in front of an auditorium filled with hundreds of spectators. The 2022 graduate says his confidence grew due to the support from his family at home and his second family at Lakeview through theatre and music classes.
"I've met a lot of good people over the last seven years from doing theater," he said. "One stage. One cast. One heart."
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Originally from northern China, Nowicki was adopted just shy of his second birthday. His parents received an early diagnosis that he was deaf, only to learn some two years later that he could, in fact, hear. He has also had more than a dozen surgeries to correct a cleft lip and cleft palate, and in the last year wore a (rigid external distraction) device —screwed into his skull, similar to a halo — to correct orofacial clefts.
Scott Nowicki, Alex's father, emotionally said, "You will not meet a more genuine, caring person."
"With everything he's been through, he looks on the world with a smile," he continued. "He's happy to see people and do things. If he asks you how you are doing, he means it."
Alex Nowicki credits a large network of support at Lakeview for helping him find his passion for performing arts, notably LMS Masque Director Deanna Flora and Lakeview High School teachers Lane Gordon and Ken Gordon.
Upon graduation, Nowicki plans to attend Michigan Career Technical Institute in Plainwell. But first, his summer plans include attending concerts and traveling "up north" with family.
"'Al' was still willing to put himself out there with theatre and different things and remain true to himself," Scott Nowicki said. "He was fitting in while remaining himself. People can learn to be like Alex and put yourself in uncomfortable situations, and sometimes, it's how you find what you love."
Contact reporter Nick Buckley at nbuckley@battlecreekenquirer.com or 269-966-0652. Follow him on Twitter:@NickJBuckley
This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Grad stories: Guitarist found love of performing arts at Lakeview
