Colin

Colin


Colin is a Senior, Sports Studies major at UNH.  This is his third year as Student Manager for the Hockey Team. He is responsible for all of their equipment and helping with day to day operations. Colin loves the job and it is a great learning experience as he wants to work in college athletics or coaching when he graduates this year. A high point of the job is traveling with the team to places like Minnesota and the Fleet Center. Colin was formally diagnosed with his learning disability during his Sophomore year at UNH and it was a relief to finally understand his strengths and weaknesses.


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MAKING THE TRANSITION TO COLLEGE


STRATEGIES


CONFIDENCE


HAVING A LEARNING DISABILITY


USING SERVICES


LIVING ON CAMPUS


WORKING WITH THE HOCKEY TEAM


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MAKING THE TRANSITION TO COLLEGE
Freshman year I really struggled with the big courses… a lot people and a lot of work but I got by. Second semester, I really struggled. That is when I started to work with people at CFAR and got tutors. It was really rough because I was worrying about my grades. I got on academic probation and was called into the Dean’s Office. He thought I was slacking off being the typical freshman. At that point I wasn’t labeled officially with a learning disability.  In high school, I was close to being labeled, but wasn’t because I was so close to being done. We did the testing in the summer before sophomore year at UNH. The paperwork didn’t come in until half way through the semester. So I knew I had a learning disability but the suggestions from the paperwork weren’t in so I wasn’t getting accommodations. I was so frustrated I was ready to be done with school. My dad once said he thought for sure I would arrive home one day with my car all packed!

 Luckily I stayed with it. Second semester sophomore year I got back rolling and had a successful semester. Now I am pretty comfortable and I know a lot of strategies to help me out. I know what classes to stay away from. I have trouble articulating on the spot so I try to avoid classes that are heavily discussion unless I know the professor and the subject matter. It is also easier because I am not in the big general education classes anymore.



STRATEGIES
One of my best strategies is to go in and talk with the professor to show them what I am doing or ask them what to do. They are more than willing to help me out. If I am doing a paper, I can rewrite it. They will sit down and go over tests with me. We might look at a test question together where I have gotten 5 out of 10 points. They will ask me what I know about the question and if they give me one key word, I can go on and on. It opens something up. They can see what I know.
 
I go into the first test knowing I am not going to do well because I don’t know what to expect. It is huge to me to find out how a professor gives a first test and what kinds of questions he asks. It is a little bit like sports. Before heading into a game you find out how the other team plays. It makes you better prepared. So one of my strategies now is I sit down with the notes and the study guide and check off areas where I should study. That is so much more effective than trying to learn all of it. I think that is what good test takers do.

I also go to the syllabus to see how many tests there are and what percentage they are. I can see what is expected of me and what types of work I will have to do in the class. I have a notebook and every time I get a paper or test back, I write down the grade. You need to pay attention. You need to worry about attendance. They might give you 5 points for attendance. I think about what I need to focus on in the class and where I need to put my energy.



 CONFIDENCE
The end of high school is great. You accomplished so much academically and you feel great. I lost a lot of confidence freshman year. I feel like I got knocked down and I am still climbing my way back to where I was. It is like an injury that I haven’t regained my total strength from. I am a competitive person and a big sports fan. I don’t like to lose. I try to just push through it. I take a small positive and roll on it. I draw on the positive. Now, I am much more well rounded as a person and I can do a lot more things. I am older and more independent. I just don’t feel the overall confidence that I had. It hasn’t been fun but you appreciate the fact that you get to grow. It is a huge change.



 HAVING A LEARNING DISABILITY
I don’t think being labeled is a bad thing. For me, it has been helpful. I was tested very thoroughly so I know exactly where I struggle. My learning disability is language based and college is like the language Olympics! Even when I am not struggling, I don’t love school. I wish it was easier so I could get more out of it.  I feel the learning disability holds me back because I don’t take some of the harder courses. An accounting course might be helpful down the line but I shy away from it because I struggled with statistics. The only negative with having so much success in sports is that I stay with that and don’t venture out. There are a lot of good opportunities to learn in classes and other experiences that I am not doing.



USING SERVICES
If I am struggling, I figure out who to see. The huge thing for me is notes. I don’t use a lot of the note-takers because of the availability of power point and blackboard. I go to Access to take tests in a distraction free room away from the classroom. At one point from CFAR, I had two tutors and was working with someone on strategies. Between all those appointments you run ragged. You get worn down. People need to be aware of that. You need to get help but not line up too much.



LIVING ON CAMPUS
I lived in the smallest dorm on campus my freshman year. I probably knew everyone in the dorm but I just didn’t feel the connections. Sophomore year, I wanted a single room. With my learning disability I knew I would need to work a lot harder. I ended up in Stoke Hall on a floor with all singles. That was difficult. I didn’t have a support network with people living around me because I was living alone. How do you meet people in a hall where there are 500 to 800 people? I am a very social person but it took a while to get going. Once I got into hockey, I got to know all of those guys and now I live with some of them. That is where I find I really fit in. The only negative is that I spend so much time with hockey and around these friends that I don’t talk to other friends that much anymore.



WORKING WITH THE HOCKEY TEAM
I heard Coach Umile talk one day in the MUB (student union) about how he viewed life and what he thought was important. After his talk, I asked if I could help out with the hockey program in any way. I got involved with the team my sophomore year as their student manager. I worked really hard doing simple things and they started taking me everywhere. I went all the way to the Frozen Four with them!

I put everything I can into hockey because I can be successful at it. I put in forty hours a week, sometimes more, sometimes less. It hasn’t impacted my school work in any negative way. It is good for time management. I have been on the other end too: times when you have all week to do work and don’t get around to it because there is so much free time. Now when I have a spare three hours or on my day off, I know what I need to get done!

Hockey has opened so many doors for me. Two years ago I knew the game of hockey from watching it on TV. Now I handle all of the equipment for the team and help the coaches with day to day activities. It is a demanding job. You need to juggle the needs of 30 guys and 5 coaches. You have to pay attention to detail. If you forgot to pack something important that is a big thing.  I have been in high pressure situations where a player’s skate breaks and I have to fix it in the middle of the game. I have learned how to sharpen skates. If it you don't understand something, you have to track down the answers. You keep talking to people and you watch what others do it. It all comes together. These are skills that are important in real life.

To feel that kind of success is really big especially when struggles in the classroom pile up. It makes it a little easier when you are beating your head against the wall in geography, it doesn’t seem as stressful. You have other view points. I have come so far from where I was. It is huge when you hear from someone you are doing a great job.
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