Rebecca Fadler
When describing what it feels like to have a disability, senior Elementary Education major, Lindsey gently said “It’s like I am driving at night without headlights on… the RCPD lit my headlights.”
As many students who grew up with a disability can relate to, Lindsey felt like she had to struggle for accommodations in her K-12 years. Whether she needed a calculator to work through the simple math in a complicated calculus problem or a few extra minutes on an exam, Lindsey felt like she was underrepresented and not being heard. When Lindsey came to the RCPD, she was delighted at how easy and seamless it was to level the playing field.
Lindsey, who has dyslexia, struggles to learn by reading alone. As an Education Major with a focus in (and a passion for) Language Arts, this could have proven problematic, but for Lindsey, it was just another opportunity. Lindsey knows that reading her textbook visually is not an effective way to learn for her, but she has learned that as a result of her disability, she learns easily when she can hear a book or tactically manipulate an equation. Instead of becoming lost in the dark, Lindsey says she is always “utilizing my strengths to combat my weaknesses.”
Between Lindsey’s exemplary positive attitude and the support of the RCPD, Lindsey excitedly announced that as a senior in college, she has the best GPA she has ever had in her life, a full 1.0 higher than she was ever able to obtain before. With that in mind, Lindsey quickly transitioned to explaining that she has her own definition of success. Instead of marking her success with a GPA or a dollar value, Lindsey said “I just want to know that I’ve done everything in my power, and used my resources and my abilities, to do my best.”
As an education major, Lindsey hopes to bring the value of individual success into her classroom. While Lindsey wants to push her students to be the best they can be, she thinks that it is equally as important to focus on what individual students want to succeed at. Her other life policy is to be kind: be kind to yourself, be kind to others, be kind to materials, and be kind to the world around you.
Lindsey a delightful and bubbly character inside the office, and she carries her attitude through her everyday busy life. Lindsey is a tutor and a mentor for the STATE Program, which is a program for students with learning disabilities, who will always make time for her mentees. She is also a nanny for two elementary age girls which means early morning school drop off and afternoon dance classes. On top of that, Lindsey also works at an elementary school as a student-teacher.
With everything that Lindsey has to offer her community, it is not surprising that Lindsey is a Katrina Tagget Fellow. The Tagget fellowship is an experience through the RCPD that gives students like Lindsey the opportunity to focus on their education and alleviate the financial strain that is characteristic of many college experiences. When asked about Mrs. Tagget, Lindsey said, “I would like for her to know that each day I get to work with the STATE program I try to honor her daughter and let her legacy live on.”
The college experience is really what students make of it. Lindsey could have skated through her undergraduate experience, but she chose to thrive instead. Lindsey plans to continue her education and pursue a Masters in Art of Teaching: Curriculum and Instruction.
Meet Lindsey here.