Spring 2004 Edition

Front Cover

Learning Support Services Celebrates 25 Years

Hagi - Living the Dream

A Gift of Love

Ana Rosales

Campus News

Distinguised Alumni

Faculty News

Ferris

New Athletic Director

Baseball

Athletics

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past issues:

Fall 2003 Scene

June 2003 Scene

As a high school student and college freshman in Houston, Raemi Brajenovich struggled with academics, hampered by lifelong learning disabilities that impair her reading and, even more, her writing.

"Even though I may have the thoughts in my head, I just can't get them to the pen," she said. But now that she's enrolled in an unusual college program that caters to students like her, Brajenovich is building confidence, making better grades and planning a teaching career—despite her mild dyslexia and more acute dysgraphia, a problem with writing.

It's been a sharp turnaround for the sophomore, one of 65 students enrolled this semester in Schreiner University's Learning Support Services Program. Now in its 25th year, the program provides hard-to-find accommodations for students with learning disabilities including dyslexia, dysgraphia, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder —and combinations of them.

While taking the college courses of their choosing, participants have access to counseling, unlimited tutoring, books on tape and other students' lecture notes. During tests, special arrangements include test readers and extra time.

The program is billed as the only comprehensive support program for learning-disabled college students in Texas and one of about a dozen in the nation, said director Jude Gallik. Some of the students who have gone through the program have been among the highest achievers at the 800-student liberal arts university.

The program is not designed for students with mental retardation or problems such as severe head injury. Screened participants are expected to be motivated and self-managed, Gallik said. But students, who often come to Schreiner after rough times elsewhere, usually have plenty of enthusiasm.

“It's pretty much of a relief to be someplace and feel like you can accomplish what you'd like to,” Gallik said.

In selecting students for the program, the university doesn't rely only on standardized college admission tests or grades. It uses individually administered intelligence and achievement tests and sometimes has the “heart-wrenching” duty of rejecting applicants because they are unlikely to cope, Gallik said.

Still, “a lot of it is motivation, and there's not a test that measures that very well,” Gallik said. Brajenovich, a graduate of Langham Creek High School, learned about the program from a relative here who was aware of her academic struggles. In high school, Brajenovich was in the regular curriculum but had tutoring, took tests separately and sometimes had tests read to her. But she didn't do well in her first college classes at the University of Houston, sometimes because of their size.

“I had like 400 people in my class. My teacher didn't even know my name. But here, the classes are smaller— probably 15 to 25 students in each class,” she said. “My grades have so improved,” she said, adding, “my parents love it. They like the fact that I'm succeeding in school, which is a struggle for me.”

Although Brajenovich doesn't take advantage of all the program services, she relies heavily on books on tape and testing accommodations.
“I haven't needed a note-taker yet but I've had the tutoring, and I've taken my tests outside the room,” she said.

Unlike Brajenovich, junior business major T.J. Condon, who went to Briarwood High in Houston, relies on note-takers. Like others in the program, he obtains lecture notes from students without learning disabilities who are paid by the university for copies of their work.
“I certainly wouldn't have gotten some of the good grades I have without some of the help they provide,” said Condon, who has dyslexia. “I get tutors for some of my classes. I've got notetakers for everything. On top of that, I have in the past gotten books on tape.”

Greg Kirkham, a freshman business major with dysgraphia who came here from Clear Creek High, already is among the university's top performers,
as he was in high school. “If I didn't have this (program) I wouldn't be doing as well,” he said. One program feature that he often takes advantage of is special testing arrangements.

“For essays and stuff like that, it takes me about twice as long as the others,” he said, adding that his parents found out about Schreiner while helping him research suitable colleges. “My high school had never even heard of this school. Not many people in the Houston area really know about it,” he said. That may change as more graduates are produced. Among them is an aspiring doctor, Bryce Vincent, who graduated from Schreiner with a degree in biochemistry in 2002 and has returned to Houston while he applies to medical schools. With dyslexia and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, Vincent achieved one of the highest grade point averages among biochemistry majors in his class. Now he works at a Houston medical laboratory.

“The note-taking was helpful, and the one thing I like about Schreiner in general is it's very personal. You can go up to your teacher and debate with them. They were very supportive,” Vincent said.

For the learning-disabled, the spark for success often comes from within, Kirkham said. “I'm really a determined person. A lot of these people are, too,” Kirkham said. “They will overcome whatever disability they have to succeed—regardless.”

For more information about Schreiner’s Learning Support Services program, contact Gallik at 830/792-7258 or e-mail her at jgallik@schreiner.edu. Or click here for more info!

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