Describe something you learned in high school.
I learned how to advocate for myself to receive the accommodations I needed at school.
I went against the advice of the administration and the school counselors by pursuing a diagnosis for a learning disability. At that time, my school district refused to acknowledge it as dyslexia. When asked why, I explained that I was struggling to complete homework.
Their solution was simply to ‘try harder,’ to stop ‘wasting time,’ and to cease being ‘lazy.’ They refused to acknowledge my learning disability, citing my average state scores as evidence that I was passing.
What they refused to acknowledge was my struggle to complete homework and keep up with my reading. While my test scores were average, the school district ignored the fact that I was consistently the last one to finish my testing.
I finally received a diagnosis of a learning disability, and that was a turning point for me.
Alexandra Mars 