I’ve lived in Swampscott all of my life and have been fortunate to have a wonderful and supportive family and friends network. I’ve come up through the school system excelling in both academics and sports, and am a member of both the National Honor Society and the National Business Honor Society. In my junior year, I was proud to accept an offer to continue both my academic and athletic career at Bryant University and will play D1 soccer there in the fall. Through all of this, I had a private struggle for many years: I was suffering from undiagnosed dyslexia. This may not sound earth-shattering, but it had a tremendous impact on my life. My learning disability was very specific. I could not read words the same way others could – the condition is called Rapid Automatic Naming Syndrome. For years, in order to maintain straight As, I would put in hours of extra work. Where other students spent one hour on an assignment, I might spend 2-3. Instead of reading classroom presentations, I memorized them. And through this, my grades never faltered. On the outside, I appeared to be a high-achieving, accomplished student but it was incredibly stressful. I ended up getting re-tested twice as a junior and thanks to the diligence of one particular specialist, they finally zeroed in on this form of dyslexia. I was given a 504 plan with specific accommodations and began working with a literacy specialist, doing fundamental exercises most students learn in first grade. Although this should have been the end of it, my challenges continued due to both skeptical teachers and adapting to this new style of learning. But I have another tool now: self-advocating. When something is amiss, I speak up. It is a valuable and empowering skill to have.