30th Anniversary History Book

Students of DETERMINATION

Cassandra Bergman and Ary Brown appear to have little in common. She is quiet, considers herself an introvert. He is outgoing, a good conversationalist. She is deliberate in her responses, thinks a bit before answering. He is not afraid to offer an opinion. She is brown; he is white. But they share an abiding bond in that both are students at Beacon College. Bergman is Beacon’s 2019 valedictorian, carrying a 4.0 GPA. She expects to attend graduate school as she pursues a career in

psychology. Brown is a senior in the midst of a coveted summer internship with Dell, Inc. in Round Rock, Texas. Both struggle with learning disabilities that led them to downtown Leesburg, Fla. and the Beacon campus. She has autism and a visual and auditory processing disorder that, in her words, causes her to be “slow on the uptake.” He has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and could not read with any proficiency until the fifth grade. Perhaps their strongest tie is the fact that they refuse to allow their learning difficulties to define them. They were convinced they were much smarter than how they might have been perceived by others. “It was just a matter of getting started. I’ve always had issues with getting my feet on the ground, getting my balance,” said Brown, who was raised by a single mother in Winter Springs, Fla.

“I just needed to know there was support for me,” said Bergman, who hails from just outside Philadelphia. And that’s why they intersected at Beacon, the nation’s first accredited college offering four-year degrees designed around the needs of students with diagnosed learning disabilities. Bergman is one of 85 graduates from a growing student body that stands at more than 400 and is projected to climb to as high as 500. Along with her mates, Bergman represents the largest graduating class in Beacon’s 30-year history. The streets Bergman, Brown and their fellow students walk, the dorms and apartments they call their home away from home, the classes they attend, the places they eat, drink and study — they are all a far cry from 1989, when Beacon was founded and humbly offered a single bachelor of arts degree (BA) in human services.

“It was just a matter of getting started. I’ve always had issues with getting my feet on the ground, getting my balance... I just needed to know there was support for me.” – Cassandra Bergman ’19

PAGE 4