When I was in middle school, I wanted nothing more than to be in the honors classes. I knew those students were reading more books, tackling bigger challenges, and engaging in exciting science experiments—opportunities I was denied simply because I had an IEP. Rather than accept the limitations placed on me, my learning disability became my motivation. I worked tirelessly to prove I belonged, eventually earning a place in honors classes in high school and later gaining admission to the honors program at East Tennessee State University (ETSU). It’s a huge achievement to get in, and I feel proud. However, sometimes old memories of stumbling over words as kids stared at me resurface. In those moments, self-doubt creeps in, but I remind myself that I can achieve my dream of becoming a paleontologist, something I’ve aspired to since childhood. Reading has always been extremely difficult for me, but the first letter that stuck in my brain was "D"—for David and dinosaur. I didn’t know it at the time, but "D" also stands for dyslexia, a defining aspect of my life. In elementary school, I carried a huge National Geographic Dinopedia everywhere I went. I loved it because it had color photos to accompany the text, making it easier to understand. Strangely enough, I eventually learned how to break down the big Latin names that other kids struggled with. I had a knack for understanding the prehistoric world, and that passion led me to double major in biology and geosciences at ETSU. My ultimate goal is to obtain a PhD and teach future generations about the ancient world. I believe I am a strong candidate for this scholarship because, despite my ongoing struggles with dyslexia, I am thriving. I’ve learned to navigate obstacles, such as taking exams in the Disability Office and using assistive technology tools. It takes my brain four times longer to read the same material as my neurotypical peers, which means I have less time to work outside of class. However, I make the most of my study time—I made the Dean’s List my freshman year. With the support of this scholarship, I will continue to break barriers, advocate for accessibility, and pursue my dreams in science. Just as Dylan inspired others with his determination, I hope to inspire students who face similar challenges. I am committed to proving that learning disabilities are not roadblocks but rather unique perspectives that can change the world.

Richard Branson, Keira Knightley, and Steven Spielberg all have something in common with me. We are all dyslexic. Growing up, I was taught to embrace my dyslexia, which led to a natural development of strengths in verbal communication, reasoning skills, and the ability to think outside of the box. It also meant that I developed empathy and understanding for anyone who may be slightly different from the status quo. It’s not easy being the kid who stumbles over words when asked to read aloud. Excelling in Honors, Advanced Placement, and Dual Enrollment classes meant I had to find ways to flow around the rocks of dancing words. Despite my challenges with dyslexia, I've always had a deep desire to learn everything I could about the natural world around me. Consequently, my dyslexia is not a barrier; it’s a catalyst for change in academia. According to a Yale University article on dyslexia (Yale, dyslexia.yale.edu/story/jack-horner), paleontologist Jack Horner has been recognized for his significant contributions to the field despite coping with dyslexia. He rose to the top of the field by thinking outside of the box and disrupting the status quo. One of his most famous discoveries is dinosaur embryos, which had previously been thought to be impossible to find. At the time Horner graduated high school, neurodiversity was not fully embraced in academia, which is why he never earned a college degree. However, after all of his discoveries, Montana State University hired him to be a professor in the Honors College and curator at the university’s Museum of the Rockies. Horner was a changemaker in more ways than one. I’d like to follow in Horner’s footsteps as a dyslexic student who is doing research in Appalachian paleontology. My plan is to continue shattering disability stereotypes and earn my bachelors degree from East Tennessee State University. My interests lie in theropod dinosaurs, specifically the Appalachiosaurus montgomeriensis (Carr et al., http://www.jstor.org/stable/4524423). As mentioned in the article by Carr, scientists have only discovered a juvenile species. With the resources available to university students, I’d like to search for an adult specimen, which is one idea for my eventual thesis. Collaboration with campus partners, studying abroad, and opportunities for internships will all help in this journey to creatively solve the problem of discovering who walked these hills before us. In conclusion, if I am chosen for this scholarship, the impact would help advance our understanding of the community in which we live, and my disability advocacy would also disrupt the status quo by showing that anything is possible. Diversity in thinking enriches the academic experience for all involved, and I hope to be an advocate for neurodiverse students on campus by having a voice at the table in academia. Jack Horner, Steven Spielberg, Keira Knightley, Richard Branson, and myself have all proven that being identified as dyslexic should not hold anyone back. In fact, it should be embraced because neurodiversity enhances groups to see beyond uniformity. By looking outside of the box, the impossible becomes possible and our community thrives into a place of remarkable outcomes.

"I wish reading was never invented!" Those are the words I yelled at my mom as I threw a book across the room when I was in 4th grade. I loved to learn, especially about dinosaurs, but the words on the page just wouldn't come together for me like they did for other kids. I wanted them to so desperately and it angered me that it was easy for everyone else. My mom told me this was due to dyslexia and that my brain was 10% bigger than non-dyslexic brains. That helped me to understand the “why,” but it didn’t make pulling those words off the page any easier. The one passion I’ve had in life since I could talk is learning about dinosaurs. I watched Jurassic Park when I was 7 years old at my grandma's and my mom worried I’d have nightmares. Instead, it connected me with Dr. Jack Horner, the famous paleontologist who worked with Steven Spielberg to create this classic film. Dr. Horner, in fact, has an honorary doctorate. He couldn’t make it through college before disability laws were passed because, like me, he also has severe dyslexia. After learning about Horner, I knew that I could make my dreams come true too. Back to the reality of elementary school, I was pulled into an hour and a half of reading help every single day with the special education teacher. She was kind, and her room was a respite from the world of words outside. But I wanted more than anything to "just be normal" and not have to do the special reading help. I wanted to take an art class and be in the honors classes. I knew that I was smart, and I was so frustrated that reading was so very difficult. Assistive technology in the form of audiobooks and a laptop was introduced to me in 2nd grade, however, I hated using them because I didn't want to stick out. No one else used those tools in my school. That all changed my Freshman year in high school, which was the first year we re-entered the classroom after the COVID-19 shutdown. While COVID was bad in so many ways, it did open the door for the outside world, the neurotypical world, to realize the need for technology as a communication device. For the first time, the playing field was even; every kid in my school had a Chromebook. My grades and my self-esteem soared. Thanks to these tools and the drive within me to learn, I earned a 3.9 GPA in my Freshman year. My only B was in ELA, and I missed an A by 2/10 of a point! I earned the Ecology Award, my first high school academic award. After that year, I was a different kid. I was recommended for the National Honors Society and the Tennessee Governor's School for the Scientific Exploration of Tennessee History at East Tennessee State University (ETSU). While there, I got to dig at the Gray Fossil Site and I decided I want to pursue a degree in paleontology at ETSU. In the future, I hope to one day travel the world to study dinosaur fossils, and in particular to study the Spinosaurus, which is a favorite dinosaur of mine whose features are still being debated due to being relatively rarely found. I know I can do these things because, thankfully, reading was invented and I have and use the tools to help me access all of that knowledge. This essay asked me to describe who or what inspired me to go to college, and it was really two things: Dr. Jack Horner and Assistive Technology. Disability is not a dirty word. It's a word that should be embraced because kids with disabilities can contribute so much to the world if we are only given access, empowerment, and acceptance.

"I wish reading was never invented!" Those are the words I yelled at my mom as I threw a book across the room when I was in 4th grade. I loved to learn, especially about dinosaurs, but the words on the page just wouldn't come together for me like they did for other kids. I wanted them to so desperately and it angered me that it was easy for everyone else. My mom told me this was due to dyslexia and that my brain was 10% bigger than non-dyslexic brains. She also told me about famous dyslexics, one being Dr. Jack Horner who was the paleontologist who consulted for my favorite movie, "Jurassic Park." While that information did help me understand that I am smart, it didn't help me pull those letters off the page and into my brain. Every day while the other kids got to do fun special area classes like art, I was pulled into an hour and a half of reading help with the special education teacher. She was kind; her room was a respite from the world of words outside. But I wanted more than anything to "just be normal" and not have to do the special reading help. I wanted to take an art class and be in the honors classes. Assistive technology in the form of audiobooks and a laptop was introduced to me in 2nd grade, however, I hated using them because I didn't want to stick out. No one else used those tools in my school. That all changed my Freshman year in high school, which was the first year we re-entered the classroom after the COVID-19 shutdown. While COVID was bad in so many ways, it did open the door for the outside world, the neurotypical world, to realize the need for technology as a communication device. For the first time, the playing field was even; every kid in my school had a Chromebook. My grades and my self-esteem soared. Thanks to these tools and the drive within me to learn, I earned a 3.9 GPA in my Freshman year. My only B was in ELA, and I missed an A by 2/10 of a point! I earned the Ecology Award, my first high school academic award. After that year, I was a different kid. I was recommended for the National Honors Society and the Tennessee Governor's School for the Scientific Exploration of Tennessee History at East Tennessee State University (ETSU). While there, I got to dig at the Gray Fossil Site and I decided I want to pursue a degree in paleontology at ETSU. In the future, I hope to one day travel the world to study dinosaur fossils, and in particular to study the Spinosaurus, which is a favorite dinosaur of mine whose features are still being debated due to being relatively rarely found. I know I can do these things because, thankfully, reading was invented and I have and use the tools to help me access all of that knowledge. Disability is not a dirty word. It's a word that should be embraced because kids with disabilities can contribute so much to the world if we are only given access, empowerment, and acceptance.

“Read music?” I said to my mom the summer prior to 6th grade. “I struggle to read English, let alone music. I don’t think the school band is for me.” She was in her college band and really wanted me to learn to play an instrument, but I have dyslexia, a learning disability in the area of reading. Hearing that I’d have to “learn to read music” struck fear in my soul. Boy, did I ever eat those words! Many of my friends joined band during 6th grade, and their excitement for music was contagious. I finally mustered up the courage to give this thing a try. The thing is, our band director at my very large middle school usually only allowed kids to join in 6th grade, and I had already missed that deadline. So, the summer before my 7th grade year, I asked Mr. Bowling if I could join. He said yes, but with one condition. I had to agree to take private lessons so that I could catch up. I said yes, and that one decision changed the course of my life forever. Prior to that day, I had tried many different sports trying to find “my thing.” Hockey wasn’t it. Soccer wasn’t it. But band quickly became synonymous with family. For whatever reason, reading those music notes wasn’t as difficult as trying to pull letters off the page to make words. The music didn’t wiggle like the words in a book did. I discovered that I can do this! And I was actually pretty good at it too! Currently, I play baritone in high school marching and symphonic band. All of my friends are in band, and we support one another in other classes too. Many of us have some type of neurodiversity, but none of those differences matter once we start playing musical notes together. We come together as one. Going to competitions and games has truly made my high school career special, and I plan to continue on by auditioning for college band. Music breaks up my day to allow my brain to rest, and it lets me take on the challenge of the written world again. While music isn’t my entire world, it is the part of the day that allows me to give a big sigh of relief because I know that we are all accepted in the band room. Everyone sometimes plays a funny note or makes a mistake, and we pick one another up and laugh with each other. It’s the part of my day that I look forward to most, and I know that it will continue to help in every aspect of my life. I am so glad that I gave reading music a chance.

Although I was born early, most milestones in my childhood were considered “late” by neurotypical standards. I learned to crawl and walk later than other kids, loud noises bothered me more, and certain food textures could feel like torture. Once I started school, it became apparent, quickly, that reading was also going to be extremely slow going. At age 6, I was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder, and by age 7 I was identified as having a specific learning disability in the area of reading, otherwise known as dyslexia. That began years of reading interventions, occupational therapy for handwriting, and specialized education. The first letter I learned was “d” which stood for both David and dinosaur. You’ll see why that last bit of information is important later on in this essay. Dylan believed having a learning disability shouldn’t get in the way of a student achieving their dreams, and I wish more people believed that too. When I was little, I had a major challenge just to learn how to read and write, but I knew that I was smart. I knew a whole lot about science, and I wanted to learn as much as possible about reptiles and amphibians. Despite the desire to learn, I was placed in the lower level classes until 6th grade when I told my mom I hated school and wanted to be homeschooled. She met with the school and demanded that they switch focus, place me in harder classes and teach me how to use assistive technology so that I could access the classroom material. And they actually listened. In fact, I’m writing this essay using my assistive technology tools. It’s not been easy, but as a class of 2024 high school senior, I have a 4.1 GPA. I’ve moved from special education classes to honors classes to taking dual enrollment and AP classes. The summer before my Junior year, I was selected to attend the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Scientific Exploration of Tennessee Heritage where I got to dig at the Gray Fossil Site and discovered that my childhood excitement for the “d” in “dinosaur” had blossomed into a strong passion for paleontology. Thus, I plan to attend college and major in Biology or Geology with a paleontology concentration. I eventually plan to earn my Ph.D., and I have no doubt that I can do this because I’ve already come so far from the little boy excited about “d” in “dinosaur” to the teen seeking the “d” in Ph.D. I believe, firmly, that accessibility matters and I wish all kids who are neurodiverse get the opportunity for the educational system to believe in them. It is for this reason that I feel I am a good candidate for this scholarship. I hope to make Dylan’s family proud and to carry on the passion for all kids to achieve their dreams like Dylan believed they should be able to do.

Although many adults told me that loving dinosaurs was just a phase, I dream of traveling the world and making new discoveries in paleontology, despite being dyslexic.

As I was growing up, math was the one time of day when I felt safe in school. I knew that no one was going to laugh at me for stumbling over numbers like I stumbled over words in reading class. No one would make fun of me for my spelling when I was working with numbers. Numbers, in fact, came easily to me, and that is a huge relief because letters certainly did not. I am dyslexic. As other mothers were writing angry Facebook posts about "new common core math," my own mother was asking me to help my sister with her homework. Math, to me, is logical. Adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing is a universal language, a refuge that breaks the barriers of a written world that at times could be so mysterious to my brain. Numbers made sense. In math class, I discovered I am smart and capable. In math class, I discovered that I learn just as quickly if not quicker than others, despite the fact that dyslexia is called a "learning disability." Reading may never come easily, but I am proud that math was my highest sub-score on the ACT, and that confidence has led me to take on advanced courses including dual enrollment statistics next fall. I plan to major in science at East Tennessee State University and go on to make my own discoveries in a world of various languages where numbers speak to everyone.

"I wish reading was never invented!" Those are the words I yelled at my mom as I threw a book across the room when I was in 4th grade. I loved to learn, especially about dinosaurs, but the words on the page just wouldn't come together for me like they did for other kids. I wanted them to so desperately and it angered me that it was easy for everyone else. My mom told me this was due to dyslexia and that my brain was 10% bigger than non-dyslexic brains. She also told me about famous dyslexics, one being Dr. Jack Horner who was the paleontologist who consulted for my favorite movie, "Jurassic Park." While that information did help me understand that I am smart, it didn't help me pull those letters off the page and into my brain. Every day while the other kids got to do fun special area classes like art, I was pulled into an hour and a half of reading help with the special education teacher. She was kind; her room was a respite from the world of words outside. But I wanted more than anything to "just be normal" and not have to do the special reading help. I wanted to take an art class and be in the honors classes. Assistive technology in the form of audiobooks and a laptop was introduced to me in 2nd grade, however, I hated using them because I didn't want to stick out. No one else used those tools in my school. That all changed my Freshman year in high school, which was the first year we re-entered the classroom after the COVID-19 shutdown. While COVID was bad in so many ways, it did open the door for the outside world, the neurotypical world, to realize the need for technology as a communication device. For the first time, the playing field was even; every kid in my school had a Chromebook. My grades and my self-esteem soared. Thanks to these tools and the drive within me to learn, I earned a 3.9 GPA in my Freshman year. My only B was in ELA, and I missed an A by 2/10 of a point! I earned the Ecology Award, my first high school academic award. After that year, I was a different kid. I was recommended for the National Honors Society and the Tennessee Governor's School for the Scientific Exploration of Tennessee History at East Tennessee State University (ETSU). While there, I got to dig at the Gray Fossil Site and I decided I want to pursue a degree in paleontology at ETSU. In the future, I hope to one day travel the world to study dinosaur fossils, and in particular to study the Spinosaurus, which is a favorite dinosaur of mine whose features are still being debated due to being relatively rarely found. I know I can do these things because, thankfully, reading was invented and I have and use the tools to help me access all of that knowledge. Disability is not a dirty word. It's a word that should be embraced because kids with disabilities can contribute so much to the world if we are only given access, empowerment, and acceptance.

Young Steve Irwin and little Newt Scamander are two nicknames my family and friends have given to me due to the fact that I am always finding and caring for animals. I feel these names are very fitting because for as long as I can remember I have had a special bond with creatures over humans. Looking back, I think part of that might be the fact that animals just love you for who you are, and they don’t expect you to be perfect. You see, while I have worked very hard to get good grades in school, it has not been easy. I have dyslexia, which is a Specific Learning Disability in the Area of Reading. When I was in elementary school, I was in special education pull-out classes for reading. At that time, my mom used to take me to Young Williams Animal Center where I was part of an after-school volunteer program where we read books to cats. It sounds kind of funny looking back, but the cats really liked spending time with kids and they didn’t judge if you stumbled over a word. Now that I am in high school, I use assistive technology to help with reading and writing. That allows me to take honors level classes, like Anatomy and Ecology. I also took a Dual Enrollment college class last summer. I think spending time reading with the cats at Young Williams helped me get to where I am today. When I turned 14, I began volunteering at Zoo Knoxville where I currently work as a keeper’s assistant in the budgie sanctuary, as a zoo cart biofact teacher in the reptile area, and as a youth volunteer zoo camp counselor. Zoo Knoxville is accredited by the National Association of Zoos and Aquariums which means it has to meet certain conservation standards. I was a new volunteer at the zoo when the Arc opened, which is the amphibian and reptile conservation area. This is such an important area to work in because this zoo was the first one in the world to hatch critically endangered northern spider tortoises and other efforts at conservation! In addition to my work at the zoo, I help my grandma foster kittens from our local shelter, Young Williams Animal Center. She always fosters several litters each year, and I stay at her house and help bottle feed them, ensure they are clean and warm, and help them get healthy and strong enough for adoption. This scholarship would help me attend college where I plan to pursue a field in animal sciences, likely in the area of Veterinary Medicine for Exotic Animals. I dream of helping animals that some people find scary, like lizards and snakes. I don’t feel these animals are scary. In fact, they are just as sweet as furry creatures. I know because over the years I have taken care of a fire-bellied toad, hermit crabs, cats and dogs, and my very favorite pet, Lucy, my Argentine Tegu. In conclusion, I really do hope I am picked as the Students for Animal Advocacy Scholarship recipient. My dream job is to work with animals one day, and I think this would be a wonderful way to get started toward that dream. I promise to make you proud and to do my best to help educate myself and others about the animal kingdom and why we need to protect all of the creatures of the world.