Two women who believe in him have inspired him to work for his dreams, said Andrew Isaiah Cozier, a member of the class of 2016 at Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School in Takoma Park.

The 18-year-old Silver Spring resident will be attending Morgan State University in Baltimore this fall, studying computer engineering. He hopes to eventually major in aerospace engineering and someday work on aircraft.

The love and support of his mother, Lucy Kiganda – a native of Uganda who works for Montgomery County and who is raising him and his brother Joshua – has “shaped me a lot,” he said.

“The way I am now, I respect my elders, that I got from her. She taught me to be confident with myself when I’m doing big things. She just believes in me,” he said.

After struggling academically his first two years at Don Bosco Cristo Rey, Cozier attended a summer school session, and he said the extra encouragement of Tiffani James, the school’s assistant principal for academics, helped him turn his schoolwork around.

“I wanted to get my grades up. I was telling myself I couldn’t do it. Miss James gave me that extra spark, saying I can do it. I just needed someone else to believe in me,” he said. Since that time, his grades have steadily risen. “I want to finish school strong with good grades,” he said.

His favorite classes at Cristo Rey have included algebra. “It was challenging. I love challenging things,” he said. He noted that in his physics class that day, he and classmates presented a video project on sound waves, mechanical waves and vibrations.

When he began at the school, Cozier said he was shy and quiet. “If someone messed with me, I was mad. That’s not the case anymore,” said the student, who speaks in a confident tone.

He has played power forward and guard for Cristo Rey’s basketball team the past three years, an experience that taught him the importance of team chemistry and also built up his confidence.

Like other Don Bosco Cristo Rey students, Cozier participated in the school’s Corporate Work Study Program, where he gained professional experience working, and also earned money to help pay for his college preparatory education. During his freshman year, he did clerical work and ran errands for the Gleason, Flynn, Emig and Fogleman law firm in Rockville. For his sophomore, junior and senior years, Cozier did similar work for the Williams & Connolly law firm in Washington, where he will be an intern this summer before he begins college.

Cozier attends St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Silver Spring, where he was a member of the parish elementary school’s last graduating class four years ago, before the school suspended operations. During his years at Cristo Rey, one of his service projects was volunteering as a waiter at the Christmas Day luncheon at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, serving meals to the homeless, poor and elderly who came there that day for a warm meal.

As he goes on to college, Cozier said he will take the lessons about faith that he learned at St. Michael’s School and Cristo Rey with him. “There’s a lot of distractions in college,” he said. “My faith is a priority. It’s how God judges you, whether you’re faithful to him and follow his law.”

Salesian Father Michael Conway, Cristo Rey’s president, noted how a school staff member’s care and extra support helped pave the way for Cozier’s success in school and in life. “This was one of the kids who had potential, who struggled, (and) who was willing to work with us to become the person he is today,” the priest said.

That point was echoed by the school’s assistant principal for academics, Tiffani James, who said, “Isaiah is the reason our school exists.  He had a rough start; and our rigorous college prep curriculum and four day school week made the road even more challenging.  However, he rose to the challenge, transitioning from a student who was required to attend academic support for one hour after school each day, to a well -rounded student athlete who has been on the honor roll all of his senior year.  He is a DBCR success story.  I am so very proud of him.”

The Cristo Rey graduating senior expressed gratitude for his assistant principal, and “the fact that she helped me become a better person and the man I am now, and made sure I was on track with my grades, and doing the things I wanted to do.”