Isaac Steinmeyer
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Taking online classes allowed me gain knowledge and master the technology needed to work with my disability in a collegiate setting without disrupting a traditional classroom.
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– Isaac Steinmeyer
“You have to change the constitution to legally station soldiers in civilian houses.” Dr. Arniski explained as he gestured in his classroom 1600 miles away from where I listened. This online class was surprisingly easy to learn from. Presidency and the Constitution became my first online education experience as a high school freshman. Online classes began to quench my thirst for knowledge, offer a variety of courses not locally available in my rural environment, present options for career exploration, develop technologic savvy, and allow me to work with my disability to become college ready.
Dysgraphia makes normal academic activities difficult. I cannot hold a crayon and making a pencil write borders on miraculous. Instead of handwriting notes, I intensely listen to what is presented and use assistive technology to record my thoughts. Because dysgraphia also interferes with my hand-eye coordination, I spent hundreds of hours honing various skills on my computer.
Academically, I use progressive steps to achieve goals. My steps to prepare for onsite college classes took an unusual step in high school when I started auditing online college classes to gain fluency with the assistive technology skill and explore subjects of interest simultaneously. The audited classes include Russian Literature, Russian History, US History, General Psychology and three 100 level Economics courses. Through these classes, I learned to take useful notes, edit, and complete assignments with my computer. The next step was to successfully complete a couple online college classes for credit. I successfully completed World Geography, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, College Algebra, and others as a dual credit student. Taking online classes allowed me gain knowledge and master the technology needed to work with my disability in a collegiate setting without disrupting a traditional classroom.
Beyond synchronizing assistive technology, another benefit of online courses was the vast assortment of subjects available. Online classes allowed me to explore different topics of interest and potential career options. As a graduating senior, I applied to universities having a certainty of my career path. The exploration was complete. I utilized thirteen online classes while in high school to arrive at a college major decision. Online learning is one of the best choices that I made during high school, as it changed how I view the world around me.
Collegiately, I plan to double major in Russian Studies and Economics with an International Business emphasis. College is a means of preparation for the arduous journey ahead by increasing my knowledge and establishing a network within the international community (private, corporate, and governmental) with interest in economic development, capital investment, and sustainable industrialization in Eastern Europe and Russia. Coincidentally, the strong auditory, observation skills, and work ethic that I developed because my dysgraphia significantly benefits me in collaborating with and leading teams since I listen, pay attention, and delegate. Online class work directly taught me about time management and exponentially increased my writing skills.
In the future, I know that I can use assistive technology, take online classes, or research online for information anytime I need additional information or training. After graduating from college, I plan to join a firm specializing in the sustainable development of natural resources to reinvest and upgrade community infrastructure and services in the Eastern European/Russian region. My twenty-year plan is to draft trade treaties and rewrite existing economically repressive laws. My ultimate career goal is to bring economic liberation to the Eastern European and Russian people groups.
My ultimate career goal may seem improbable to some people, but many historical events initially seemed far-fetched. Could a Macedonian man conquer the entire Middle East? Could a deaf man write majestic symphonies by only feeling the vibrations? Would a small Russian boy grow up only to create an empire stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean? Through online classes, I developed a vision for my capabilities and career path. Dysgraphia taught me the value of hard work, ethics, and honesty. I learned that innovation, drive, and determination necessary to deal with the challenges brought by dysgraphia are applicable and essential to achieve my ultimate career goal. I learned that there are ways to work with my disability and that includes online education. I could have let dysgraphia defeat me. Instead, I was refined by the challenge, took online high school classes, and become a positive, humorous, compassionate, and analytical person — a person with a vision to see a region of this world economically liberated.