Winston School Alums Offer Advice for College Life

Those first months away at college can be a daunting, coming of age experience under the most ideal circumstances. But imagine the grit it takes to get through it, if you’re a student with learning disabilities? Three alums of Del Mar’s Winston School offered their secrets for making it in college with Winston students at an assembly last week.

Daisy Ramon, 20; Anthony Switt, 19, and Jake Sterling, 19, all graduates of the college prep school that offers learning options for students with Autism, Asperger Syndrome, Dyslexia, ADHD and various learning disorders – shared insights about college campus life.

Ramon, who’s a sophomore at Sweet Briar College in central Virginia, suffers from Traumatic Brain Injury and has trouble memorizing information. Her condition went undiagnosed until she was in middle school when her parents and teachers noticed she had difficulty learning. College was not in the cards for her. But she credits the teachers at Winston School and the one-on-one attention for moving her past her impairments.

Today she finds herself immersed in campus life, living 3000 miles away from home, and reveling in activities she never envisioned she’d like. “Here I am going to college, on my own away from everyone I know and loving things like my theater class and building stage sets,” she said.

Her best advice for other students like her: “Don’t be afraid to experiment. Step out there, it’s a huge growth experience.”

Daisy’s classmate Anthony Switt, who attends Fairleigh Dickinson College in Florham, N.J., says the freedom and responsibility to manage his own time and class studies were the biggest adjustments for him at first. “At home and at Winston School, you have your parents and your teachers telling you what to do. At college, it’s all on you to show up. It’s a refreshing experience but it’s up to you to get things done,” he said.

Switt has a disorder that causes him to require more time to process information and read slower. The condition was diagnosed when he was in first grade. He attended another school that offered him more support but it wasn’t until he transferred to Winston as a high school freshman that things started to click for him.

He credits the school’s teaching system for helping him cultivate the confidence and problem solving skills that led him to consider an out-of-state college. “I must be willing to take charge of my needs, get help when I need it and use the resources that are available to me. No one is going to do that for me,” he said.

Switt wishes he’d spent more time on his studies (particularly math) for better access to available scholarships. “The teachers tell you these things, but you don’t realize until later that they know what they’re talking about,” he said. His advice: Take your studies more seriously.

Of the three graduates, Jake Sterling sees himself as the biggest long shot for college. As a youngster he didn’t speak until he was six years old and was uncoordinated. He has visual and sensory processing disorder and didn’t accept that he had a learning disability until he was a teenager. “I was out of control. My disabilities were controlling me and that didn’t turn around until I got to Winston.”

Sterling transferred to the school when he was 14 and teachers taught him coping and problem solving skills that turned everything around for him. “It feels like yesterday that I was a 12-year-old kid who couldn’t tie his own shoes. I said then that I was never going to college and here I am. It’s so surreal,” he said.

A freshman at Randolph College in Lynchburg, VA, he admits to missing some fun campus activities because they were outside his comfort zone. But he’s getting better about challenging himself. “You think you’re the only one who feels this way and that’s just not the case. You have to give yourself credit for being competent,” he told the assembly.

None of the colleges the three alums attend have special curriculum for students with learning differences. Each school has support resources for students that need help with their studies, but that’s all. “At Winston, we approach college prep by helping our students learn how to manage their disabilities so they can thrive in any setting, not just those tailored for them,” explains Headmaster Mike Peterson.

Judging by the strides these alums have made, it looks like The Winston School’s formula is working.

For more information about The Winston School and its solutions for kids with learning differences, go to: http://thewinstonschool.com/