Our Stories

Saving Private Ryan, Enemies at the Gate, A Bridge Too Far, Band of Brothers. There's a scene common to many of these films where a soldier is being sent into fire, facing near certain annihilation. You can sense their emotions as they struggle against fear and terror.

I don't want to minimize the courage of such brave soldiers, but I have known terror, the panic, the trembling, the pounding heart, the aching gut, but I wasn't facing a machine gun nest or a sniper, I was in a spelling bee or was called on by my third grade teacher to read out loud to my class.

I was making fine grades in school, but something was very wrong. Things were harder for me. I knew I was a pretty smart kid, but I felt like everybody thought I was stupid. Reading out loud was a source of humiliation. I came home almost every day in despair. My teachers did not understand my frustration. I hated school. The world of learning, which should have been stimulating, encouraging, full of discovery, happiness, and sunshine, was to me like the Siege of Stalingrad or the Bataan Death March.

And I was a lucky dyslexic. My mom knew exactly what was going on. Her experience with dyslexia went back to 1986, when she first went to work for The Schenck School. I had testing and tutors, but it was not enough. Every day, going to school was an exercise in degradation and anxiety, and my unhappiness began to extend well beyond school grounds.

For me, third grade was a miserable crisis but then I came to The Schenck School. My whole attitude about school shifted. Reading was still hard but in time I actually began to enjoy reading once I was able to relax and not worry about being slow. Rather than a source of anxiety, books became a source of excitement and joy. It was at Schenck that I read Under a War Torn Sky and Soldier X. I developed a deep interest in military history and became an expert on the Second World War. I even interviewed Mr. Schenck on his war experience.

At Schenck I learned to read better, but, more importantly, I learned to be confident in my abilities to advocate for myself and to accept change. From Schenck, I outplaced to The Galloway School. Galloway has high expectations and rigorous courses. Sometimes I struggled, but I did not fall into the trap of despair. I talked to my teachers to find solutions. I was confident enough to get involved in many activities and take leadership positions.

Through my years at Galloway, I held on to a goal, a dream I have had since my time at Schenck, tied to that interest sparked by books I read on the military. I have felt drawn to military service. Since about fifth grade, I have wanted to go to West Point.