As an undergraduate Kocourek majored in math and won a prize at the International Math Olympics. After he graduated from college, he let the deadline pass for applying to graduate schools in Europe. But he loves to travel, so at the urging of his girlfriend, who was fascinated by Chinese, he applied for a two-year Taiwan Scholarship for graduate studies at NSYSU.
主修數學、曾獲得國際奧林匹亞數學競賽冠軍的帕佛，大學畢業後因故錯失了歐洲研究所的申請，在酷愛旅遊和醉心華語的女友敦促下，申請到 2 年的台灣獎學金來到中山大學數學研究所。