Asset of NWC’s volleyball team: Freshman Teodora Tepavac (r.) hits the
ball at the national tournament against College of Southern Idaho. As a
sophomore, Tepavac will be a leader of the Lady Trappers next season.
Photos by Marc Lamberger
Spending most of their freetime together: Aleksandra Djordjevic (left) and Teodora Tepevac relax in the Powell Aquatic Center Sunday, April 12. Both
freshmen are from Serbia and have studied at NWC since August. Tepavac studies physical therapy, Djordjevic is majoring in general studies. They
have volleyball scholarships and were named in the All-Region IX team last year. The Lady Trappers reached the semifinal of the national tournament.
Becoming best friends in Wyoming: Aleksandra Djordjevic of Belgrade (l.)
and Teodora Tepavac of Kikinda build a heart at Five Spring Falls in the
Bighorn Mountains, where they went during Easter break 2015.
Dante Geoffrey, former volleyball assistant coach, talks with Aleksandra
Djordjevic, 20, at the national tournament in Casper last November. She
was named to the NJCAA Division 1 All-American team last season.
Home sweet home: Teodora Tepavac (r.) and Aleksandra Djordjevic made
Serbian pancakes for the multicultural showcase that took place Saturday,
April 11, in the NWC cafeteria. After 30 minutes, both plates were empty.
‘Teo is so important for me,” Aleksandra Djordjevic (r.) said that Teodora
Tepevac is like a sister. Both will come back to NWC next semester. After
they graduate in May 2016, they’ll probably go to different universities.
“We became best friends, we became sisters”
By Marc Lamberger
@MarcLamberger
It was a special feeling for Teodora Tepavac sitting in an air plane for the first time.
In the beginning of August, she flew from
Belgrade to London, England, from London
to Minneapolis, Minn., and then to Billings,
Mont. It was an adventure to fly, and it was
especially an adventure to move to another
continent, to live with a foreign language.
Tepavac, 19, is from Kikinda, a city with
around 60.000 residents in Serbia. She came
to the U.S. to study physical therapy and play
volleyball for the Trappers. Tepavac is not
the only Serbian in her team. She has a compatriot in Aleksandra Djordjevic, 20.
Djordjevic grew up in Belgrade, Serbia’s
capital, which is a two hour drive from Kikinda. Both are freshmen. They didn’t know
each other before their passion for volleyball
brought them together at Northwest College.
“When coach [Shaun Pohlman] told me
on Skype that Teo is coming to Northwest,
I was so happy,” Djordjevic said. “I didn’t
know her, but I was happy because I knew
that I have somebody to support, to talk, to
feel when you miss home.”
Djordjevic and Tepavac became close
in Powell and spend most of their freetime
together. Both Serbians had the same challenge: to improve their English. At the beginnging, they used sign language to communicate with their teammates.
“I knew a few words more than Aleksandra, but it was crazy in the first weeks,”
Tepavac said. “Nobody understood me, and
we didn’t know how to build a sentence in
English. So we were showing with hands
what we wanted.”
They improved their English a lot, and
got used to living in a different culture. They
handled their challenges together.
“We came from the same culture to a
different culture,” Tepavac said. “It would be
a different experience without a person who
is from the same country. I’m glad that I met
Aleksandra here. We became best friends.”
Djordjevic’s twin brother, Nemanja, lives
in Serbia, so she used to have someone on
her side while her childhood and youth.
“I’ve never been alone in Serbia,” Djord-
jevic said. “Teo is so important for me
because we spend so much time together. We
help each other for school, for practice, for
everything. We became sisters.”
However, Djordjevic learned to handle
more challenges by herself since she lives in
Powell. She said the time has come to become more independent.
“At home, I had my parents and my two
brothers who always help me. Here I have
Teo, who helps me a lot, but I also learned
to be alone,” Djordjevic said. “I need that if
I should go to a university next year and no
Serbian is there.”
She and Tepavac will fly to Serbia for
summer break after graduation day. It’s
Tepavac’s second long flight, and it’s a special feeling to see her parents and her older
brother Vladimir after almost one year.
In the end of July, Djordjevic and Tepavac will come back to the U.S. and start
practicing with the volleyball team. They
also have another assignment: to support
Jelena Slijepcevic, a freshman from Serbia,
who will play for the Trappers next season.
They want to help her like two older sisters.