By: Kevin Modeszto I Published: March 17, 2025
It’s a regular day in class, all is normal, except your hand involuntarily taps something. Then it taps that thing again, and again and again. Next, you start making a mild squeaking noise. Squeak after squeak, tap after tap. Stopping it is futile, it can be done for a few minutes, but these can not be suppressed.
These involuntary movements are called tics. When they happen one after the other, they’re called tic attacks. To some, this sounds odd. To others, terrifying. But to Alyssa Mikita, this is life.
Mikita is a sophomore at Kean majoring in history education and minoring in American Sign Language. She’s an older sister to three sisters, a native of North Brunswick, a devout Christian who goes to church every Sunday, a dancer, and she has Tourette’s.
“I’ve had it since I was in third grade, it actually started on a trip to Disney. It started off as just physical tics, so I didn’t get the official diagnosis until I was a junior in high school,” Mikita said.
The tapping tic described earlier is a physical tic, while the squeaking tic is a verbal tic. When Mikita began developing verbal tics, she was diagnosed with Tourette’s.
Life with Tourette’s is not easy, described by Mikita as “very very tiring.”
“I’ve had to call out of work because of it, there’s times where it’s really hard to function and go out in public because my tics are so bad. It physically and mentally drains you,” Mikita said.
After a tic attack, Mikita finds it difficult to do anything besides chill on the couch.
“It’s hard to function, it’s hard to do basic things, it’s hard to eat because my tics are so bad,” Mikita said, “there’s so many aspects to it that make it a challenge to manage.”
Despite this, Mikita says Tourette’s does not have much of an impact on her college experience. It only becomes a problem when she gets dizzy and loses her ability to focus.
“I just have to deal with it,” Mikita said.
Mikita has one outlet to escape her tics: performing. Mikita is a life-long performer, finding her footing in orchestra and theatre in elementary school. But now, her focus is dancing. She is involved with the Kean Dance Theatre group, taking part in the “In Memory Of” showcase on Feb. 26. She even helped start the dance ministry at her church, The Sanctuary of North Brunswick, at the age of eleven and is a key leader there to this day.
“It’s allowed me to become more approachable with choreographing and teaching,” Mikita said about the ministry.
This sentiment is echoed by Kean Dance Theatre’s secretary, junior and K-12 English Education major Noelani Quinones.
“She was in my jazz dance for winter, and she was very helpful during that piece. If they didn’t know something, she would help them. She was very sweet coming in and she was very patient with me,” Quinones said.
Quinones takes inspiration from Mikita everyday.
“She is such a bright light, she was a little shy when she came in but she has broken out of her shell so much. She’s very helpful with the group, and she’s the sweetest,” Quinones said.
Despite how beloved she is there, Mikita only became a member of the group by accident. She had nothing better to do, so she went to Kean Day looking for the theatre group. Instead, she found Kean Dance Theatre.
“Everyone who was at the table was super super nice and super welcoming, and it was an easy decision to make. I knew this was the group for me,” Mikita said.
Mikita is able to do all of this despite struggling with her Tourette’s.
“The percentage of people who dance and have Tourette’s, especially in the Kean community, is probably low, but…whether it’s the mental exhaustion from dance or Tourette’s, just don’t let it stop you from doing what you love,” Mikita said.
You must be logged in to post a comment.