伊内斯 & 玛丽安娜·波旁小时
家乡:墨西哥索诺拉市Obregón
“来LC之前, 我不知道如何开始写一篇文章, but I’ve learned so much vocabulary just from writing with teachers.”
——伊内斯 Borbon hours
伊内斯 and 玛丽安娜·波旁小时 were diagnosed with ADHD when they were ages 16 and 15, respectively. They say their mother decided to have them tested after watching them struggle in school more and more with each advancing year.
Getting a diagnosis was no small feat; Mariana and 伊内斯 traveled more than 1,000 miles south to visit with a psychiatrist in Mexico City. “He told us that the understanding of ADHD and learning disabilities wasn’t as advanced in Mexico,伊内斯回忆道. 结果是, one of his recommendations to the family was for the sisters to go to school in the United States.
As teenagers who only knew the tight-knit community of their Hometown, 他们被家人包围的地方, the prospect of shipping off to another country was daunting. 玛丽安娜最后先走了, having finally become disillusioned by her high school’s lack of empathy and ability to provide the support she needed.
Mariana’s experience in a New York boarding school was such a balm that she began lobbying her older sister to join her. “I kept on calling her to tell her how much fun I was having and how much help the school was giving me. 我做得很好，”她说. 伊内斯 made the decision to transfer mid-year and her grades also improved. The two lived in the same dorm and — feeling liberated by the greater understanding about their ADHD — forged close friendships with many of their fellow students.
到了选择大学的时候, 然而, the sisters discovered another cultural difference between their native land and the U.S., where the array of choices was greater and the process of applying to schools was much more competitive. “我们不习惯美国的学校, and we came when it was time to start thinking about college,玛丽安娜说。. “一切都势不可挡。.”
The parent of one of Mariana’s friends told her about Landmark College. She visited the campus and liked that the small class sizes and rural campus would offer a similar environment as the boarding school. 伊内斯 first opted for a private college in New York, but quickly found its LD support services weren’t providing what she needed. She transferred to Landmark College after one semester.
Even though the sisters share the same ADHD diagnosis, their learning difference manifested in distinct ways. Mariana would get distracted in class and struggle with time management and organization, whereas the biggest challenges for 伊内斯 were with writing and language acquisition. 幸运的是, they both found solutions at Landmark College that have helped them become good students.
For Mariana, the access to her teachers during office hours helped her stay focused. “I need the relationship with my professor to feel comfortable,” she says. “Just meeting with the teachers to talk about the class so I could understand it better, 这对我帮助很大.”
伊内斯 has been a frequent visitor to the Drake Center for 学术支持 (DCAS), where the staff has helped her devise strategies for writing. “在我来地标学院之前, 我不知道如何开始写一篇文章,伊内斯说, adding that she feels the level of experience the DCAS staff has is a strength over her previous college. “but I’ve learned so much vocabulary just from writing with teachers, who also have a more extended vocabulary than the students who were helping me there.”
Both sisters credit LC for not only equipping them with tools and strategies to be successful students, but also for helping them acclimate to living and going to college in the United States. Each of them now has plans to venture forth with their studies,
“我在LC的目标不是获得学位, 只是为了提高我的写作水平,伊内斯说。, 她补充说，她还在考虑其他选择. “If I don’t get accepted where I want, I’ll stay here.”
Mariana plans to stay through next fall and the January term, at which time she’ll have earned her Associate of Arts in Liberal Studies. Like 伊内斯, she’s well aware of what she’s leaving behind.
“老师们都很好. I don’t know if I’m going to have teachers like this at another school. 学术支持也很好. I don’t know if I’m going to have that at other schools,” Mariana admits. “But I have tools, like all the schedules and the organization. I would do well at some other place, but I really like Landmark.”