byron

BYRON


 Byron has been in New Zealand conducting scientific research since June. He applied for and received a grant from UNH’s International Research Opportunities Program (IROP) to study the effects of UV radiation on sea urchin embryos. Byron will return to UNH in January to complete his bachelor's degree and to contemplate his future plans. Options at this point include pursuing a postgraduate degree in the U.S. or abroad; participate in a research project in the Antarctic; or sail as an Assistant Scientist for the Sea Education Association's SEA Semester.

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GOING TO SEA

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FINDING OUT I HAVE A LEARNING DISABILITY

 When I was a senior in high school, I asked to be tested. They just looked at my transcript. I was taking advanced placement classes, doing well, and they said it was just not possible. But they didn’t see the behind the scenes when it would take me 2 hours to read a chapter. I realized if I am going to get good grades it is just going to take me longer than everyone else. I would be the last one done on tests. Sometimes I would need to stay after class to finish. In situations like that I had accommodations although nothing was documented.

When I was having difficulty in college, I knew I had the potential to do well but needed the extra time to answer the questions. You can’t get a good grade if you don’t finish the test. No matter how much I studied, I was at a distinct disadvantage. In a test situation, I need to dissect the question and see how it relates to what I know. Sometimes my reading gets so slow that the concepts gets so chopped up, I can’t put the whole picture together. I have to read slow enough to conceptually understand it but it gets too fragmented.  I didn’t know when I was tested what the results would be. When I did have a learning disability, it was good. Finally everything I felt was being backed up. I am not just being crazy. It is not that I just can’t manage my time.

Now that I am documented with a learning disability, I am registered with the Access Office. I bring paperwork to my professors and they sign so they know that I get time and a half on my exams. In some situations, I am grateful for having the label. If someone doesn’t understand, I can bring out the paperwork and say, it is documented.