The next person I would like to introduce you to is Albert Einstein, German theoretical physicist who developed the theory of relativity along with one of the two pillars of modern physics.

Albert was born in Ulm a city in the old German Empire in 1879, he was a non-observant Jew, but attended Catholic elementary school in Munich for 3 years, then at 8 years old he transferred to the Lutipold Gymnasium this is where he received his advanced primary and secondary education until his family left the German Empire 7 years later. Einstein in school excelled in special reasoning and visual imagination.  Albert attributed his conception of his relativity theory to a thought experiment. In this experiment he envisioned himself riding on a streetcar traveling at the speed of light. Albert due to his Dyslexia which went undiagnosed at the time struggled in school and he didn’t learned to talk or write for a while. This is a reason his mind was so imaginative such as in his quote “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world”.

Alberts work is known for its influence on the philosophy of science itself and is best known to the public for his famous formula for mass energy E=mc^2. He would receive the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 for his services to theoretical physics and his discovery of the law of photoelectric effect which is seen as a pivotal step in the development of quantum theory. Except for a 1 year where Einstein lived in Czechoslovakia, he then in Switzerland between 1895 and 1914, he renounced his German citizenship in 1896 and would go on to receive an academic diploma from the Swiss federal polytechnic school in 1900. He acquired Swiss citizenship in 1901 after 5 years without a official country to call home and he kept for the rest of his life. Albert was awarded a PhD by the University of Zurich in 1905 then that same year, he published four groundbreaking papers. Albert visited the U.S. in 1933 and then is when Hitler came to power in Germany and with his Jewish background Albert would not return to Germany. He would then settle in the U.S. and would receive his American citizenship in 1940. Now being one of the most prominent physicist in the U.S. he wrote a letter to President Roosevelt on the Germanys potential development of “extremely powerful bombs of a new type” this meaning nuclear weapons and he recommended that the US begin similar research as soon as possible. This would then lead to the development of the Manhattan Project and to the creation and use of the atom bomb by the U.S. on Japan to bring World War II to an end. Albert would join other scientist and warned of the danger of nuclear weapons as well, he would later be affiliated with the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University until his death in 1955. It is truly amazing how much one man was able to accomplish in his lifetime not just help changing science as the world new it but changing the world in the process his work and life would make the name Einstein associated with genius forever.

The next person I would like to introduce you to is the world renown American Boxer, philanthropist, and activist Muhammad Ali. Who is seen as one of the most celebrated and significant athletes of the 20^th century.

He was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1942 under the birth name Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. he was always drown to sports especially boxing from a young age. He began training as an amateur boxer when he was just 12 years old. Just a few years later when he was 18 he won a gold medal at the 1960 Olympics in Rome, in the light heavyweight division. He is known as a very inspiring, polarizing, and controversial figure both inside and outside the ring. Soon after the Olympics he would change his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali with his conversion to Islam, he described Cassius as his slave name. This had become somewhat common for some African Americans during the civil rights movement used to show racial pride. Soon after winning the 1966 heavyweight title, Ali would defy norms and the establishment by refusing to be drafted for the Vietnam War. Ali would be arrested and then found guilty of draft evasion and was stripped of his boxing titles. Ali successful appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, the court would rule in Ali’s favor in 1971. His actions may have put his boxing career on hold but it made him a huge figure and voice for the counterculture generation in American. Ali remains the only 3-time lineal champion of the heavyweight division, his records of beating 21 other boxers for the title which was shared with Joe Louis were unbeaten for 35 years.

From all his titles and fights you can imagine a lot of honors and nicknames came along with it. Ali has the popular nickname “The Greatest” along with being The Ring Magazines Fighter of the year 6 times and ranked as one of the greatest athletes of the 20^thcentury by Sports Illustrated. It is truly amazing everything Ali was able to accomplish in his life, especially given that he barely got through high school with his Dyslexia.“Ali was diagnosed with dyslexia. He understood the pain caused by being unable to perform well in school because of reading difficulties and wanted to help others experiencing the same issues. Ali and his wife worked to improve the literacy of African Americans. They created the Go the Distance series of books and magazines selected to motivate and inspire young black readers” (Dyslexia Help Success Starts Here). He would retire from boxing at age 39 in 1981, he was able to focus of his religion and charity, but later in 1984 he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. It would really change Ali and he made far less public appearances and was cared for by his family until his death in 2016. One cannot be but inspired by this hero of his times not just a great athlete but an overall great human would is able to stand up against the establishment and has the desire to help others which helped fuel him in his later years. It can be seen in the video below that the effects of dyslexia continue in Ali’s children.

The next person I would like to introduce you to is Jennifer Aniston, renown and iconic American actress and producer.

Jennifer was born in Sherman Oaks, California in 1969 and as child moved to New York City with her family. Even though her father was an actor her family tried to keep her away from TV but as a kid she found ways around it. She would attend the Waldorf School where she then discovered acting and when on to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. During this her parents got a divorce when she was nine which was very hard on her. As a child she struggled in school and did get diagnosed with Dyslexia until she was in her 20’s. She stated in an interview “I thought I wasn’t smart. I just couldn’t retain anything,” and “Now I had this great discovery. I felt like all of my childhood trauma-dies, tragedies, dramas were explained”. Some studies show that many accomplished actors and actresses are Dyslexic, it really helps fuel their creative spirit for their work helps gives them empathy, careful observation, it also really helps them get into the heads of different characters. Jennifer started out working in off Broadway productions and supported herself with several part-time jobs a lot like Joey from Friends one of these included a waitress which probably prepared her a lot to work at Central Perk. She later a minor role in a film called Mac and Me (sounds like Joey’s show Mac and Cheese from Friends just saying) and also had been on The Howard Stern Show representing Nutrisystem.

Jennifer would then move back to LA, she got her first TV role on Molloy and appeared in Ferris Bueller but both of these shows would be cancelled. She had stared in the show Camp Cucamonga and in the movie Leprechaun (worst many see as her worst role ever literally if you want to laugh look up the trainer to the movie you won’t be disappointed). She appeared in several other shows until the magic really started to happen that helped change her life and define a decade. Jennifer was fairly depressed by her unsuccessful TV shows she reached out to the head of NBC entertainment Warren Littlefield for advice and told her to keep acting and he help get her a role in Friends (and the world changed for the better). Originally the show writers wanted her to audition to be Monica but saw Courtney Cox fit it better and made her Rachel Green. At the same time, she was offered a spot-on Saturday Night Live but she turned it down to be on Friends (best decision ever). As we all know the show Friends is amazing and went on to be one of the most popular and iconic shows of the 90’s and early 2000’s. The whole cast still makes millions from the show which is amazing given that it ended 14 years ago. Jennifer has gone on to have a very successful career in film and is still one of Americas most famous and iconic actresses was able to rise above her disability and become the icon on a decade and has help make millions of fans laughing for years.

The next person I would like to introduce you to is Walt Disney, the great American film producers, entrepreneur, voice actor, and animator.

Mr. Disney is seen as a pioneer of American animation and the industry as a whole, he introduced many new developments in cartoon production. He also holds the record for the most Academy Awards (22 Wins and 59 nominations) earned by an individual film producer, along with an Emmy, two Golden Globes, and many other awards. He was born in Chicago in 1901, and then grew up in Missouri where he grew a love of drawing, he later moved to California with his brother Roy and started Disney Brothers Studio. He found his first big success in his now super famous character Mickey Mouse which he later developed and animated. As his success grew he introduced many news things to his films as time went on including full-color, synchronized sound, and feature length cartoons. With these techniques he was able to create many of our own childhood favorites Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Dumbo, Pinocchio, Bambi, Fantasia, Cinderella, and Mary Poppins. When the 1950s came around Disney wanted to expand into the amusement park industry, he then opened Disneyland in 1955. To fund the creation of this park he diversified the company into television programs as well, including Micky Mouse Club and Walt Disney’s Disneyland. Along with helping out in the planning of the 1960 Winter Olympics, Moscow fair, and New York’s World Fair. Mr. Disney continued to expand then bringing this magic kingdom to Florida and started construction Walt Disney World in 1965. Sadly, he would never see his new kingdom finished dying of lung cancer in 1966. Walt Disney truly had an amazing life building an empire that still stands and thrives to this day. On the inside he was a shy and insecure man in private but was able to adopt a warm and outgoing public persona. In high school he struggled a lot due to his learning disability but worked hard which he was known for and was able to overcome his struggles and succeed.

Like Steve Jobs and Steven Spielberg is it just so amazing to think how much that one man can change people’s lives. I think every single person at Penn State has had some form of impact from these great men that were able to overcome personal struggles and rise up to have such positive impacts on the lives of millions. Walt Disney remains a very important figure in the history of film and American culture as a whole and his company to this day still fills the minds of children and adults alike with imagination that inspires every last one of us.

The next person I would like to introduce you to is Anderson Hays Cooper, American journalist, author, and television personality. Primarily known for this work as a primary anchor of CNN and correspondent for 60 Minutes.

Anderson was born in 1967 in New York City, he was the youngest son of his father Wyatt Cooper and mother Gloria Vanderbilt. He has had media experience since he was young, he was photographed as a baby for Harper’s Bazaar and also appeared on The Tonight Show with his mother when he was only 3 years old. Age 9 he appeared on To Tell the Truth, and from 10-13 models for Macy’s, Calvin Klein, and Ralph Lauren. His family life was frayed when his father died in 1978 and his older brother Carter committed suicide in 1988, he cites his brother’s death for sparking his interest in journalism. “Loss is a theme that I think a lot about, and it’s something in my work that I dwell on. I think when you experience any kind of loss, especially the kind I did, you have questions about survival: Why do some people thrive in situations that others can’t tolerate? Would I be able to survive and get on in the world on my own?”. Anderson grew up in a home where reading and writing were seen as very important, he did struggle as a child with his Dyslexia mixing up letters but he got a special reading instructor who helped him so much. He went to Dalton for high school and even graduated early and spent time in Africa before attending Yale studying political science. It is truly amazing what Anderson had been able to accomplish in his live and overcoming his learning disability. One thing Anderson and I have in common is for years we tried to hide our Dyslexia from people and just act as if we were normal smart kids, at the end of the day we have to be proud of who we are and what makes us different.

This brings up the big importance of improving access to help for people with learning disabilities, Anderson said himself that he was very lucky to go to his school and be able to get the help he needed. When it comes special education of the public-school system has truly failed to help children around the country overcome their disabilities. I know this first hand from my experience with special-ed and I was only able to find the help I needed by going to private school. I believe that this is an issue that really needs to be looked at in the education systems of every state.

The next person I would like to introduce to you in Steven Allan Spielberg the greatest and most popular American filmmakers in history and is considered by many as one of the pioneers of the New Hollywood era.

Steve, one of American films most successful filmmakers and is praised by million for his talent of directing and has won the Academy Award for best director not once but twice. His films are also some of the most successful and profitable movies in history. He himself has a net worth of over $3 billion. Stevens life is truly remarkable how much one poor boy from Cincinnati, Ohio was able to grow up and accomplish in one lifetime and still going strong. He was only diagnosed with Dyslexia a few years ago, as a child there was no real help from children which difficulty’s reading he didn’t learn to read for two years after his classmates. He was bullied a lot by the other children and he truly dreaded going to school. Steve went on to college but eventually left to pursue a film career with the support from his parents he did go back and finish his degree. Steve started gaining traction in Hollywood for his work in directing TV shows and a few theatrical releases but really came to fame and notoriety with his film Jaws in 1975. It was a huge success and is seen as the first summer blockbuster. After this success he went on to direct so many of the films I and so many people truly love including Indiana Jones series, E.T., Jurassic Park, The Color Purple, The Empire of the Sun, Schindler’s List, Amistad, Saving Private Ryan, Munich, Lincoln, Bridge of Spies, and The Post. Steven also co-founded DreamWorks Studios and Amblin Entertainment, and has serves as a producer from many films such as back to the future and Men in Black. He has been dabbled in the video game industry as well.

It is just so amazing to think how one many can accomplish so much in his life and create things that have true magic that make us think, imagine, and dream. I can only hope to achieve a fraction of what he has, this man has touched the minds and hearts of almost everyone in America through his films. I can remember as kid being amazed by the adventures of Indiana Jones and as I’ve gotten older been through back by the historical accuracy and truth of Lincoln and Bridge of Spies. He does not just take us to different worlds and make us think beyond our own he teaches us able our own history and the many possible futures we could have.

His message to those who struggle with Dyslexia everyday “You are not alone, and while you will have dyslexia for the rest of your life, you can dart between the raindrops to get where you want to go. It will not hold you back.”

The next person I would like to introduce to you is Steve Jobs the founder of Apple the man who still have impact on our life every single day, weather checking the weather or texting your mom from one small device that fits in the palm of your hand you have to give him special thanks.

Steve Jobs was born on February 24, 1955 in San Francisco to a single mother who put him up for adoption knowing she would not give him the live he deserved. He was raised by his adoptive parents in the Bay Area. Steve was one of the greatest businessman and entrepreneurs in American history. He was the chairman, CEO, and co-founder of Apple Inc., founder and chairman of NeXT, along with being a member of Disney’s board of directors and helped founded Pixar.  He is seen as one of the pioneers of the microcomputer revolution. Steve always struggled a lot in school, he always found it very hard to pay attention and didn’t think it had much practical application in life. He did go onto college as his adoptive parents promised his birth mother that he would attend. He went to Reed College and dropped out after one semester he just did not see the purpose in the classes and after dropping out he stuck around for a while and dropped in on some classes that he found interesting but eventually just stopped going all together. He then went to India with his friends in 1974 seeking enlightenment he studied Zen Buddhism he would later return home looking how his purpose. I think it is just so interesting how much time has changed in that people were still able to work and succeed without college, I feel like nowadays the world we live in has made it almost impossible to succeed without college. After returning home he worked for Atari for a while and thought the new technology was so interesting, when working on a new project he asked his friend Steve Wozniak with help who was very interested in programing. They started working on a person computer for the average person, bringing this new technology that most people didn’t understand into their home. They would go on to own to start Apple together in 1976 selling the Apple I the personal computer, the company really took off after the invented the Apple II one of the first highly produced personal computers. Their success would continue with the Apple Lisa in 1983 and their biggest breakthrough with the Macintosh. As the company continued to grow they started to struggle and Steve’s leadership was questioned so they brought on John Sculley as CEO, Steve continued working on Apple projects and helped develop the computer graphic division of Lucasfilm. Along with helping to start Pixar which first film was Toy Story which is personally my favorite movie of my childhood.

In 1985 Steve was forced to resign by the board of Apple and John Sculley, he felt like he lost a large part of himself. He started a new company called NeXT computer where he works on a lot of different stuff and tried to figure out his life. During this time, he put a lot of time into his family and his company, but as he got himself together Apple started to fall apart. The company went through a couple CEO’s and the company needed proper leadership and vision. Steve was invited back in 1997 and merged NeXT with Apple and is seen as being the one who saved Apple which was on the verge on bankruptcy. He brought in the moto “Think different” which lead to all the apple products we love today from the Mac to the iPhone. Steve was diagnosed with a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor in 2003, he would die at 56 in 2011, of respiratory arrest related to the tumor. Steve is truly inspirational in how he lived his life and what he was able to accomplish. I truly love his quote about the dots in his life during his famous Stanford commencement speech “So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something—your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

The next person I would like to discuss is Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson famous British investor, business magnate, author and philanthropist who founded the Virgin Group, and controls more than 400 different companies.

Branson even as a young boy had a taste for adventure and expressed desires to become an entrepreneur and had his parents support from an early age. He started his very first business venture just at the age of 16, this was a magazine called Student. Later on, in 1970 Brandon had set up a mail order record business, he would go on to open a chain of record stores named Virgin Records, later renamed Virgin Megastores. This Virgin brand had robust growth in the 1980s he was able to form Virgin Atlantic airline and later expanded the Virgin Records music label. Branson would be knighted in 2000 by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to entrepreneurship. He had become a very prominent figure for all of his work ranging from music, transportation, and retail along with his interests in air, land, sea, and space travel. He would be named in the 2002 100 Greatest Britons by BBC and continues his work with space travel. In 2004 he founded Virgin Galactic his spaceflight corporation which has had huge progress in finds ways to make normal travel into space possible. As of June 2018, Forbes estimated Branson’s net worth at $5.1 Billion.

As a child Richard Branson did not know he had Dyslexia he and most others simply thought he was stupid, he wouldn’t find out until later in life that he had a learning disability. He was beaten by the headmaster of his school on a regular basis for not being able to do his work, this is extremely distressing how students with learning disabilities used to be treated. It makes me feel so lucky to be born in this time and into my family that gave me so much support in order for me to rise above and succeed. He talks about in interviews that in his time if someone was not good traditional school work it was designed to make them feel stupid. He feels inspired by other people who have Dyslexia such as Winston Churchill who was able to rise above his difficulties and run a country but save if from destruction.  His advice for children who are struggling in school is to think really hard and find something they’re good at work hard and become really good at it. He says he wouldn’t change anything in his life he feels blessed to give such a good time and feels that Dyslexia did not hold him back but was actually an advantage.

The next person I would like to discuss is American actress Bella Thorne, most of us probably know her best from her role in the Disney Channel show Shake it Up.

Bella was born and raised in Pembroke Pines, Florida in a lower-class family. Her father died when she was 7 and her mom raised Bella and her 3 siblings by herself. She says in interviews that’s party of the reason she started to model and act as a child was to help earn money for the family. She first noticed she had a problem in first grade she couldn’t read as well as the other kids in her class, she would mix up letters like b & d and m & w. Bella was diagnosed with Dyslexia, she was bullied a lot as a child for not being able to reading being called stupid and dumb by her peers. Bella would start home schooling after this due to the bullying and continued to cry to get better at reading. Her mother eventually enrolled her in Sylvan Learning Center which was so helpful for her (My Benchmark) she was eventually reading ahead of her grade level. Bella Thorne learned to face problems and not run away from them. Her family would also try to help out making her read everything around her from menus and cereal boxes to road sides everywhere they went. Bella as a child actress would get so nervous when she auditioned during table reads because she was so scared she’d mess up the read but she was progress pasted that now as an adult.

Studies show that around 1 in 5 students have some form of learning disability and is different for everybody. Disney who hired Bella to play Cece in the show Shake it Uphad her character also be Dyslexia so to better relate to those viewers out there who have a learning disability. It was great with views Bella says in interviews that she has gotten so many letters from fans who have Dyslexia and how much they could relate to her and her character and it was nice to see on TV. Bella likes to remind people both in interviews and through the show that Dyslexia does not affect your intelligence, it just makes people learn differently.

Personal I thought it was really cool when I was younger and I saw that not just Cece her character was Dyslexic but Bella actually was in real life. Along with talking about her disability in commercials. It was one of those you’re not alone moments to know that someone famous you see on tv has the same struggles as you. To quote Bella Thorne “Dyslexia makes things hard for me but not impossible”.

 

I think it is important to start with myself, I know I’m not one of the world’s great leaders or minds quite yet but I don’tthink I have a right to discuss others disabilities unless I discuss my own first.

Hi,I am Michael Jones and I have Dyslexia.

During my early years in school most teachers did not know what was holding me back, many thought I was just not paying attention or was not bright. My kindergarten teacher told my parents that she did not see me making it through high school. To be told their youngest child at age 7 may not be able to make it through school, my parents experienced a lot of emotional strain. My parents had no experience with this issue, their older two daughters never struggled in school, as they were honors students. I was enrolled in my local elementary school and put in special education, hoping to solve my problem. My parents and I quickly learned special education in public schools is not effective, you are sent to a different room for a few hours a day with other people who have problems from ranging from ADHD to forms of Autism. Two teachers are supposedly there to help all the students, but I think it’s safe to say it was not helpful for me and I continued to struggle. This upset my parents to see me struggle and beginto resent school, so in fourth grade I went to testing found out I am dyslexic.

 

This diagnosis opened up a new world for my parents and I.I finally knew it wasn’t my fault, butsomething inherent in my brain. Now that we knew what was wrong, my parents immediately started to try to find me help. They began researching schools that specialized in helping children with reading disabilities and found the Benchmark school. This school is a national known school for its work in helpingchildren with all varieties of learning disabilities. Once my parents went through the enrollment process for Benchmark, the only remaining problem was the $30,000 per year price tag.Being a typical middle-class family,my parents did not have that kind of money and sued the school district. We won when they finally admitted they weren’t helping me at all. They agreed to pay for 2 of my 4 years at Benchmark, which was priceless due to the amount that it helped me. During my 4 years at Benchmark I learned so much about working through my disability and to self-advocate for myself as a learner with special needs.

With everything I learned from Benchmark I was able to return to my school district as a new person. I attended to West Chester East High School and enrolled in nearlyall honors and AP courses. I graduated in 2018 as a member of The National Honors Society, while being able to balance school with clubs, sports, and social life. I am a current student at The Pennsylvania State University with plans to double major in Economics and Political Science with aspirations to go to law school.

 

I am Michael Jones and I don’t let Dyslexia hold me back, I took a stand and continue to work harder than others to get where I want to be.