DEBORAH CROMBIE: I have lots of fun book-ish stuff going on, but today I want to share something a little different, although it is related. Last Saturday my alma mater, Austin College, awarded me an Honary Doctorate of Humane Letters. I was incredibly, burstingly proud, for all the obvious reasons, and some that are maybe not so obvious. (Austin College in not in Austin, by the way, but is a small Presbyterian college in north Texas, known for its academic excellence. It was founded by a Princeton alum, Dr. Daniel Baker, in 1849, and its charter was modeled after those of Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Also, I might add, Austin College admitted women in 1918, so take that, Harvard!)
Here I am in my cap (which very annoyingly wouldn't stay on--I am apparently a pin-head) and gown.
(I envied the faculty in their nice soft medieval-looking caps.) And here's the beautiful hood in my school colors--I hope I have a chance to wear it again someday.
Going into last weekend, I had just finished our Jenn's wonderful SUMMER READING. It made this honor especially poignant because Jenn's dyslexic heroine's story was my story, too. I did okay in elementary school (except for the daydreaming) but when I hit middle school I really began to struggle. By 9th grade I was failing everything. My desperate parents had me tested and I was diagnosed as being dyslexic (no one said "neurodivergent" in those days.) I read fairly well although I scrambled things, but I was severely challenged in math. Things (including a semester's misadventure in boarding school) didn't improve, and at the beginning of my junior year, I dropped out.
I was lucky in that my parents never stopped trying to find ways to help me. They enrolled me in a sort of prep school that worked with dyslexic kids. I took college prep courses and eventually managed to get my GED. Off I went to a big state university, where I once again FAILED everything.
I bounced around for a couple of years after that, taking courses at community college, a stint in secretarial school. But I knew I wanted more, and when I was accepted at Austin College as a sophomore, I knew I had finally found my place. It was hard, really hard (it's not called "the Harvard of the south" for nothing,) but I loved it so much that I never wanted to leave. Here I am, revisiting the science building where I spent most of my three years at AC!
And enjoying the new lighting on the beautiful campus.
Kayti and Wren and I found my name on the plaque listing all the college's graduates from 1849 on.
When the college president, Dr. Steven O'Day, called to ask if I would accept the honor, he said that he and the board of trustees believed I was "the poster child for liberal arts" and I have never been so complimented. In these days of book-banning and the devaluation of education, especially liberal arts education, I am more aware than ever of the value of that broad and deep learning. I also know that I would not have been able to accomplish what I have in my writing career without the foundation Austin College gave me.
As I sat on the platform, watching the graduating seniors accept their diplomas, I felt hopeful that these young adults will take that gift and go out and make a real difference in the world.
And of course I'd like to see another generation follow in the Austin College tradition! Here's our Wrennie Roo doing her kangaroo pose!
The really big news of the weekend was the announcement that Austin College has received a $20 million dollar bequest from alumnus Clifford Grum, the late publisher of Fortune Magazine and vice-president of Time, Inc, which will provide full academic scholarships for eligible students. Go Roos!!
Reds and readers, is there an accomplishment that has made you especially proud?
P.S. "Honorary" is the operative word. I can't call myself Dr. Crombie. But if I want to put letters after my name, it's DHL (not to be confused with the shipping company) or LHD. Pretty cool!
Congratulations! What exciting news!
ReplyDeleteAn accomplishment that made me proud? Helping Little Ones learn to read has to be one of the proudest accomplishments for me . . . .
That's the best, Joan!
DeleteCongratulations Deborah! You're a role model of perseverance and achievement. Your story demonstrates the important idea that there are far more paths than going straight to a four-year college after graduating from high school. I hope you share your story. I standout in my family for having spent 9 years in college, finishing law school at 29 after an unhappy stint getting a masters in a program I strongly disliked. Brava!!
ReplyDeleteBrava to you, as well! So glad you found the path that suited you.
DeleteCongrats! That's a very special honor.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mark.
DeleteCongratulations!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful accomplishment, and your story is so inspiring. I agree that a liberal arts education is important. It develops people in such important ways. Congratulations for the honorary doctorate. What a thrill that must be.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Elizabeth!
DeleteCongratulations!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dru Ann!
DeleteCongratulations, DEBS!!! Yours is a wonderful inspiring story of never giving up on getting an education.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Grace. I am in awe of your academic achievements!
DeleteWow, Debs. Your story of perseverance and finding your place brought tears. That's an amazing honor, as are all your accomplishments.
ReplyDeleteWhen I took a certificate course nearly thirty years ago to retrain as a software technical writer, a computer module ran through the entire nine months. OMG, my brain does NOT work that way. We had to write 200 lines of code that actually did something, and it was a new-white-hair-producing struggle for me, but in the end you could run Planning Your Salad Garden, answer the questions, and get recommendations for which varieties to plant. A tiny but meaningful achievement for me. (The other was finishing the Boston Marathon on a charity number.)
Coding, Edith! It scambles my brain just thinking about it!
DeleteCongratulations Deborah on a well deserved honor ! Your journey is inspiring !
ReplyDeleteDanielle
Thanks, Danielle!
DeleteDebs, we're all so proud of you! Especially after reading about how much you struggled in school. (ps Princeton didn't admit women until 1973!)
ReplyDeleteHarvard didn't merge their classes until 1975!
DeleteCongratulations! Well-deserved recognition for you and the liberal arts.
ReplyDeleteFrom Celia: what an accomplishment Debs, huge congratulations, I hope you feel very proud and what an inspiring story you tell. I had a dismal educational life, too boring to set out here. Unlike you and the Reds I can’t show off a row of successful books or a degree but have left school behind I have focused on
ReplyDeleteaccepting new challenges as they arrive and trying to make them work. Writing for Julia and JRW has been a joy and something I couldn’t have never aspired to without the encouragement I received here.
Celia, your writing for JRW has been a joy for US! You are such a natural storyteller--and have such interesting stories to tell!
DeleteAnd Brown didn't admit women until 1971. They had a sister school, Pembroke, but it was not the same as a degree from Brown.
ReplyDeleteDebs, your story made me tear up. Your struggles were so difficult, but your parents were amazing, always looking for ways to help you, especially in a time when dyslexia was so little understood. If only everyone could understand that not being able to understand how an image makes a word does not also mean a lack of intelligence. In the not so distant past, dyslexia was equated with the opposite, so unfortunate for many.
Reading your latest book I was struck by your insight into human interactions, and your command of language, both American and British, and your obvious intelligence. How lucky you were to be able to find your way to that point. Your own persistence is an accomplishment in itself!
Aw, thank you so much, Karen. I'm so glad that educators now understand that not everyone's brain is wired the same way.
DeleteCongratulations, Debs! What an amazing honor to receive from your college.
ReplyDeleteI did know about the high school departure. I was a special education teacher for 9 years and you can't imagine how different outcomes can be when parents are supportive! I love SUMMER READING and am sitting here absorbing your connection to it. Wow.
Over the years you have shared snippets of your fascinating life story. Every time you do that, I am so glad you let us in.
Mazel tov!!
Thank you, Judy! I sniffled my way through SUMMER READING. I felt such identification with Sam. Brava to Jenn for telling a story that will touch so many people.
DeleteCongratulations, Deborah! How fabulous for you -- and of the College. Your story of perseverance is so important to share.Thank you for today's post. Like others have said, it brought me to tears.
ReplyDeleteI am proud for landing on my feet when my corporate job was terminated almost 20 years ago. I regrouped, completed my masters degree, and earned my living through contract (business) writing & editing work. Eventually I found my way to college teaching and never looked back.
Congrats to you, Amanda! You certainly found your place in writing!
DeleteDeborah, saluting you from northern Ohio--congratulations and take that compliment to heart--"the poster child for liberal arts"--yes!!! My brother Mitch was dyslexic--no one understood it and he was held back, labeled, etc. He finally had a teacher who cared when he was a senior in high school--the first book he ever read for pleasure! A decade later, my college students would come with learning plans--help was available for students who were neuro-divergent, thank heavens for the changes.
ReplyDeleteYes, thank heavens for the changes. I'm sure they must make accommodations now for students who can't take the standardized fill-in-the-bubble tests--which I could not do. I also needed more indiviualized teaching. The state university where I did so poorly--I did literally fail every single course that one semester--had 500 students in a lecture, taught by a TA. At Austin College the student/teacher ratio was about 12 to 1 and there were seldom more than 20 students in a class. We also had faculty mentors for our entire time there. It made an enormous difference.
DeleteCongratulations! This is so exciting. Your story reminds me of my friend Clare. We got to know each other during overseas study in the UK and traveled together a couple of times. She disclosed her struggles with dyslexia, specifically with reading. Now she is a PhD social and cultural historian who has published several books.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to your friend Clare, Gillian. That's quite an achievement.
DeleteDebs, quite a honour to receive a honorary Doctorate degree from your alma mater! Science is not my forte and anyone who studied science is a genius to me.
ReplyDeleteIf I may ask, did they also test you for hearing loss when your dyslexia was diagnosed? When I was a teenager, there was an Afterschool Special on TV about a student who discovered that he had dyslexia and he got the help that he needed. The actor was a young River Phoenix (age 12).
Writing of women at University, I recall that my alma mater University of California at Berkeley admitted women before my grandparents were born. I remember my former boyfriend, also a student at Berkeley, telling me about his great grandmother who graduated from Berkeley in 1900! She travelled in a covered wagon with her family from the East Coast to California as a young child!
My first day at Catholic school was on my 4th birthday. My teacher taught us how to read and write, She used the sandpaper cut outs of the ABC...XYZ letters and I would trace my fingers on the letters. Eventually I was reading and writing.
Diagnosed with mild dyslexia in MATH.
When reading lips, I would often confuse 15 with 50! They looked very similar!
Just finished reading SUMMER READING and loved it! There are some parallels between Sam's experiences and my experiences. Not giving away spoilers here. Like Sam, I would read the menu online before my family went out to the restaurant.
Diana
I'm trying to remember, Diana, but I don't think they tested my hearing. I also had a brain injury when I was fourteen, and looking back on things now I'm pretty sure that contributed to my learning difficulties.
DeleteI was the first female in our family to get a Bachelor of Science (several more were to follow). Now it is considered the norm to allow ‘girls’ to follow their dreams – then not so much. (My Grandmother still insisted that I was a Head Nurse and kept showing me her hangnail!).
ReplyDeleteIn my youth, kids who had learning issues were just labelled slow, and treated as such. Many a large boy would be still sitting in Grade 4 waiting to turn 16 so he could quit and get his engineer’s license (go fishing). Then they would bloom doing something that they liked.
By the time I had kids of my own, dyslexia and other educational stiles (as in a road block not a spelling error) were acknowledged, just in time to label our 2 boys. We ignored the labels and now they are fine upstanding computer geeks – they always were, it was just a matter of discovering it. I have never talked to them now as adults to see if they had life issues, or whether they felt we did the correct thing.
Congratulations on finding your path and following it and being a Poster Child.
Thank you, Margo. My husband is a computer geek, too. It's a special kind of brain. I'd been interested to hear what your sons have to say.
DeleteWhat a wonderful story! I can't wait to look up Austin College on Google as my granddaughter is considering colleges next year (she'll be a senior - can't believe it!).
ReplyDeleteCongratulations and thanks so much for sharing your struggles and the importance of parents in helping their children.
I cannot say enough good things about the school and I be thrilled if I pointed even one student in its direction!!!
DeleteI WOULD be thrilled!
DeleteThanks so much Debs!
DeleteSuch a wonderful honor - big congratulations to you, alumnae Roo! And thanks for writing about your winding road to success. Life is not a straight line progression for many, and those who vary from the path for whatever reason often wind up living the most interesting and admirable lives.
ReplyDeleteBrenda, Bill Gates recently gave a commencement address where he said the same thing. It was certainly true for me. My goal was to be a wildlife biologist.
DeleteThis is such an important thing especially for parents who worry about their children who struggle in school. I used tell the parents of my middle school students that, and as a true example I told them about my eldest daughter who is very bright but she didn't want to do "stuff" that she didn't want to do (like turn in homework, etc). After barely graduating from HS she finally found her niche at Reed College in Portland and later went on to get a doctorate at SUNY Buffalo.
DeleteA second is my god-son who couldn't get into any 4 yr college but went to a jr college and did so well he transferred to UC Berkeley, then a masters at George Washington U, then a law degree from UCLA. Go figure!
My most important story is a former special ed student I had who hadn't even started school until age 8, spoke Spanish, had a learning disability, and was on court supervision for truancy. At age 13 she gave birth to her son and at 16 another son. She married their father, worked hard, and just graduated from college as a social worker and know works for county services. Her parents weren't there for her and didn't value education but I like to think our friendship and being a mentor to her was like having parental support.
Just to follow up, Bill Gates is so right! And I'm glad you mentioned him. I used to keep a list of famous, successful people who had learning disabilities and let my special ed students know they too would be successful and to find a teacher or someone at every step of their schooling who could help or give advice.
DeleteHere's the link to Bill Gate's terrific speech. https://www.gatesnotes.com/NAU-Commencement-Speech He got an honorary doctorate, too!
DeleteAnonymous, the mentor. Thank you. Mentoring is so important. Not long ago my mentee and friend (now 35) told me one of the things she remembers most from high school, are the days she sat in stubborn silence during our sessions and I just sat in silence with her. We don’t always realize that what we have done.Congratulations to you and your mentee. Elisabeth
DeleteThanks for that link, Debs!
DeleteOh! This is absolutely wonderful! Standing Ovation, again and again. What a poignant story, so emblematic of your perseverance and your talent, amazing one! You look so happy, and this is completely wonderful! Go,
ReplyDeleteRoos and Go Debs! Xxxxx
I still suffer a lot of "imposter syndrome", Hank! But I was so happy and so proud, especially to share the occasion with my girls.
DeleteCongratulations! What an honor to be a poster child for a liberal arts education. And what a journey you have had getting there.
ReplyDeleteMy path was pretty straight for decades. BS in Biology (SUNY ESF), PhD in microbiology (Med. College of Virginia), 5 years post doc research (Cornell), and ten years as a college professor (SUNY). Then I was in a minor car accident 23 years ago and it changed my life. Chronic daily headache. And I mean daily. That was the end of my career and most of my leisure as well.
So, the accomplishment I'm most proud of. In spite of all the years of pain, my husband and I adopted and raised two children from Russia -- 11 and 12 years old. They are in there late twenties now and pretty happy with life.
JC, I am in awe of your education. Cornell was my dream but I didn't score well enough on the quantitative half of the GRE to get in, so I took another path. Life is such an adventure, isn't it? And I don't think any academic achievement can equal what you did for your children.
DeleteThat is so cool, Deborah! Congratulations. Well done, well deserved.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kait!
DeleteCongratulations, Debs! What a terrific honor and rightly deserved after all you accomplished, in spite of the hurdles. You are a role model for us all!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Judi.
DeleteCongratulations Deb!! Thank you for sharing the moments of joy - and the story of how you got there. As the parent of a student who struggled and stepped in and out of traditional learning, I have a sense of how massive an accomplishment it is to succeed in university settings. So grateful to hear and celebrate stories of success. I'll second Hank's call for standing ovations!
ReplyDeleteI saw your cap and gown picture in Facebook earlier this week. Wonderful honor.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Deana!
DeleteJust for the record, Debs is one of the smartest people I know. Add in that she is kind, generous, and knowledgeable about a wide range of things, and you wind up with an all-around amazing person. Her honorary doctorate is highly appropriate and well-deserved.
ReplyDeleteAs for myself . . . well, I've always had things pretty easy. I was good in school, had interesting jobs, married the man of my dreams. Life was okay until it really, really wasn't. That man of my dreams died when I was 48, leaving me with no job (I'd quit to nurse him) and no real experience with living on my own. I'm proud of the fact that I was able to scramble together some sort of existence until I could figure out who I was as an adult, who I wanted to be, and what I wanted to do for the next 20 years or so. From that very shaky start I've managed to get the job I wanted, move to the town I wanted, build a community of friends, and even share some of what I have with the students I've mentored and the rescue animals I've fostered. It isn't the life I envisioned for myself when I was in college, but it's all good. As Debs so clearly demonstrates, perseverance is the key.
And, while we're at it, let's give a shout-out to the liberal arts. Even though arts education is often the first thing school districts cut when they're trying to pinch pennies, the arts give students a place to breathe, think, imagine, and work together. I have read heartbreaking essays from middle school band students who speak of abusive or disrupted families, and explain how participation in a band program gave them a home away from home, an alternative family, and a reason to keep going to school every day. The arts matter. Those, like Debs, who personify excellence in the arts make a huge difference.
You've made a big difference yourself, Gigi, mentoring highschool kids in the arts. I'm proud to be your friend!
DeleteGigi, I am so happy that my granddaughter's middle school has a strong drama department. Isabella will be in the 8th grade next year, and she loves being in the plays. She was Morticia this spring in The Addams Family Musical. She is also doing a summer play this year. The music department seems on solid footing, too, and she sing sings in chorus. She takes piano lessons outside of school, and she's thriving in that, too. I love seeing her perform, and I can see what an important part of her life it all is. I do lament the diminishing of the art program in many schools. And, as much as the music and drama means to my granddaughter, her cousin, who is in the same grade, has received an absolute life line from them. Jocelyn came to live with my daughter's family in October of 2021. Her mother died when she was a baby, her father is a drug addict, and her grandmother decided she just couldn't handle raising a teenager (plus grandmother wanted to travel, don't get me started). The grandmother spoke of putting Jocelyn in foster care. Well, my daughter spoke, too, and said that wasn't happening. She offered to take in Jocelyn as part of their family. Now, part of this beautiful girl's blossoming is I have to say due to my daughter being just who she needed, but part is also the opportunity to take part in music and drama. Jocelyn started playing the clarinet and has now moved to the bass clarinet. She still plays the clarinet in recitals. She and Isabella are both so talented in music, and Jocelyn was given the chance because of my daughter and because of the school to shine in a way she never dreamed of. She even decided to try out for the play this year, and she got the part of Pugsley. This was a brilliant move on the play's director, as she nailed that Pugsley part to the wall. He life is going to be wonderful one now that she has passions to pursue.
DeleteSo proud of you, Debs. I keep hoping that Dominican University will give me one as I taught there for 10 years! ( Rhys)
ReplyDeleteRhys, you totally deserve it! We will lobby for you!!! xx
DeleteWOW Deborah! You rock! And so does that college -- what an amazing place. You are the rock star for dyslexic kids everywhere who struggle through school. You should be rightfully proud of yourself.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lorraine, and Austin College really is terrific. They are very focused on service as well as the academics. They want AC grads to be good citizens.
DeleteCongratulations, Deborah…for the honorary doctorate, for your love of words strung together in amazing ways, for your persistence (and to your parents for theirs) in learning, and how you continue to study and to learn (the research for your books). Thank you. Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteThanks, Elizabeth! I've said for years that I've probably done a master's degree worth of research:-)
DeleteYour doctorate is a well-earned honor, Debs. And here's to students who struggle and to the parents, teachers, and others who do their best to help them. Bless them all!
ReplyDeleteHip hip hooray for all of them!
DeleteCongratulations, Debs! You’re a great role model for students who are struggling.
ReplyDeleteDebRo
Thanks, Deb. I love talking to highschool and college kids.
DeleteI'm delighted for you, Debs, and grateful to you for sharing this story of determination. You should be proud of being such a fighter, and it's extraordinary what you've accomplished. I can't wait to share your story with my sister Natasha. She's a pediatrician who specialized in diagnosing all kinds of developmental disorders in babies and children. When she retired, she decided to work on DOING SOMETHING about kids' problems rather than just identifying them, so she's tutoring children with dyslexia and dyscalculia ("math dyslexia") and helping their parents pressure the schools into providing the special assistance their children need. Even though public schools are obligated by law to offer programs for kids with learning disorders, it's so expensive that they often have to be forced into it by a combination of carrots and sticks. Anyway, your story will make my sister very happy!
ReplyDeleteKim, I am cheering for your sister!! You can probably hear it all the way in Bern!! What she's doing is wonderful. And sometimes, kids just need to hear that they're not stupid.
DeleteSo true! The comment earlier, about how kids were labeled 'slow learners'--in other words, too stupid to learn. It was a stigma that could make their school days horrible. Kids who could have thrived with care and attention were just left behind.
DeleteCongratulations, Debs. How wonderful to persevere - and be honored in such a way years later.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Liz! It was definitely something to treasure.
DeleteI love your story, Debs! I love that you knew you wanted more and went after it, that it was really hard, and that you persevered. You had then what they now call "grit" and we are all the better for
ReplyDeleteit as we enjoy the gift of your wonderful writing. Congratulations!!!
Thank you, Jenn. You can see why Summer Reading was such a powerful experience for me. The weird thing is that I always loved reading, even though when I was tested they said I was seeing every line double and they didn't know how I'd even learned. But I shared so many other challenges with Sam--too easily distracted, poor time management, trouble organizing. I loved her coping mechanisms (I'm a list maker, too.) I wish mine were half as successful!
DeleteThank you for sharing your story. I’ve just finished Jenn’s book and learned so much about coping mechanisms and dyslexia. You Jungle Reds are such wonderful writers. I read this blog every morning. Teri
ReplyDeleteThanks, Teri! Jenn did a great job in Summer Reading. Anyone who hasn't read it, should!
DeleteWow, what a great honor, Deborah! Congratulations and thank you for sharing your story! Sad to say, not every school district is as forward thinking as those many have described above. Six years ago my husband was on the local school board. The other board members and the superintendent would not even consider, let alone implement alternate methods to teaching dyslexic students. And for what it’s worth, this is an award-winning district (which is a cautionary tale in learning that districts give each other awards which merely benefit the superintendents’ salaries).
ReplyDeleteOh, that's very discouraging. Another reason why it's so important to get out and vote in those school board elections...
DeleteOur state has mandates for instruction of students with learning disabilities. If your state doesn't, it's well past time to address it with your legislature. Parents of children with these issues need to pound on doors to get changes made.
DeleteHuge congratulations, Deborah! What a wonderful accomplishment. Kudos for your perseverance.
ReplyDeleteDear Kathy! You absolutely should toot your own horn! That degree was a tremendous achievement, and were obviously an outstanding student!
DeleteAnd, thanks, Mary!
DeleteWhat's really interesting is that I only took two English courses in those three years! I always want to crawl under the table when I talk to English majors because I have so many gaps in my reading.
ReplyDeleteWhat a heart warming and inspiring story! Well done!!! I think of all those of a certain age for whom screening for learning disabilities was never done or its results accepted in public schools. And I bet even wonderful Austin College didn't have a "disabilities office"--an option that was open to my special needs son when he enrolled in college about 15 years ago. I love your books, adore your writing, and this insight makes me just admire you all the more. And, as you say, take that, Harvard (and Yale for that matter, where women undergrads weren't welcomed until 1968! Grrrrr!)!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Dr Deb! I’ll call you anything I like. And no one who reads your book would ever guess you were dyslexic. You are a wordsmith of the highest order. Much love. Xo
ReplyDeleteThank you, dear Ann!
DeleteCongratulations! I regret not going to Austin College.
ReplyDelete♥️ Deborah, that is a beautiful setting for learning! -Maureen
ReplyDelete