The Studying With Dyslexia Blog is proud to introduce university student and journalist Iga Kozakiewicz-Schlegal. Polish by birth and having spent some time in the US, Iga found herself studying Journalism and Feature Writing at Southampton Solent University where she has already received awards for projects that she has been involved in as well as being featured in a recent Guardian article about students with dyslexia.
Today Iga shares her story about what it has been like to go through school and university with dyslexia and how this has shaped her career in journalism.
A journalist who daily
gets inspired by people, places and things.
When I was 9 years old
I moved to America from Poland and I was always slower in reading and writing
than everyone. This was of course because English is my second language.
However, I never really had problems in school because the school system in the
USA is a lot different than in the UK. Tests and quizzes are usually based on
multiple choice rather than writing long academic essays.
At the age of 16 I
moved to England to continue my studies. When I started sixth form my teacher
noticed that I was a lot slower than average in reading and writing. It always
made me feel uncomfortable to read out loud in class. I always hoped that the text
would finish before it was my turn to read. My concerned teacher got me tested
revealing that I had got dyslexia.
It was a really tough time in
sixth form. I barely passed due to timed exams (which were long essays). I
always kept telling myself that “I can do it,” and I did.
I was accepted to
Southampton Solent University to study Magazine
Journalism & Feature Writing – it’s ironic right? Dyslexic student who
wants to become a journalist. I felt positive though. I knew if I worked hard I
was able to achieve anything. Even though starting journalism was very hard. I
had to work a lot harder than other students. It didn’t bother me though,
because the moment when I started studying journalism it became my life. I would
easily get frustrated when I tried to write something but it didn’t make sense or
it sounded awkward. In the last 2 ½ years of studies, step-by-step I became
better and stronger. Most importantly it was due to the incredible help I
received from my tutors and the DSA (Disable Student Allowance). They would
re-read my work to make sure the structure was right and that there are no grammar or
spelling mistakes.
Now looking back the
last couple of years of university, at the end of the day it doesn’t matter if
you have dyslexia or any other disability. If you have the passion and work hard, anything is achievable. In June 2015, Alice Freeman and myself
created a magazine called Soton, which was a huge success.
 |
| The successful SOTON Magazine by Iga and Alice Freeman |
The
free print magazine about Southampton’s creative culture was distributed to
hundreds of local companies and future students (even in China).
In October
2015, at the Redwood Magazine Academy, myself and three other students
won the Best Magazine Original Concept. (read more here and also read more here.)
Now I am working on my
final major project The Diary of… a
magazine about inspirational people, life itself and the world around us. This
is the biggest project I am working on because I will be taking it further and
making it a worldwide independent magazine.
So even though I deal with dyslexia
on a daily basis, it doesn’t mean that I can’t follow my dreams.
Iga Kozakiewicz-Schlegal