Since the first grade, Aliza Legg was told to expect to fail. From the moment she was diagnosed with dyslexia, she was told that her goal in life should not be college or a career, but to hope to be able to shop on her own one day.
When she reached middle school and her classmates started learning foreign languages, Legg was told she wasn鈥檛 allowed to 鈥� because learning a different language would make her English worse. After her mother disputed the matter for three years with the school, Legg was finally allowed to take a Spanish class.
鈥淎nd they told [my mother] that this would be her fault when I failed, it鈥檚 going to be on you, it鈥檚 going to make the rest of my classes worse, and bring my GPA down. All of these things,鈥� says Legg. 鈥淏ut my mom said, 鈥楲et鈥檚 just try.鈥欌��
Spanish turned out to be her strength 鈥� Legg has earned an A in every Spanish class she鈥檚 taken.
鈥淭he interesting thing was that the work I had to put into Spanish was way less than any of my other classes,鈥� says Legg. 鈥淚 kept wondering, 鈥榳hy was it taking so much less work and effort, why was it coming so easily to me?鈥� It was almost like it was giving my brain a break to switch from something else.鈥�
When Legg started her first year at Allegheny, she expected to graduate as a chemistry major. All that changed when she took a neuroscience class on a whim and found her curiosities ignited. Neuroscience fit everything she was looking for: studying up-close how people process and react to incoming information.
Now a neuroscience major, Legg is diving back into her past through her senior comprehensive project by researching protocols in place for students with dyslexia learning a foreign language.
鈥淚 started to look into the research, and it supports that there鈥檚 no deficit with a student or person with dyslexia learning a foreign language,鈥� says Legg. 鈥淪o I thought where鈥檚 the disconnect here? I went to Dr. Aimee Knupsky in the Psychology Department, who specializes in human cognitive processes, and she was so excited that I was so passionate and so excited about doing something that鈥檚 so personal to me. She was 100 percent so supportive and is the reason why it was able to happen here.鈥�
Legg鈥檚 comp isn鈥檛 the only way she鈥檚 working to make things better for others with dyslexia. Every summer she works with the Provident Charter School of Pittsburgh and meets with new teachers at orientation to talk about what learning is like as a person with dyslexia, and Legg suggests ways they can support students like her. These efforts and Legg鈥檚 scholarly persistence led the Provident Charter School to present her with the Champion Award in October 2019. The award is given to individuals with dyslexia who have been very successful.
鈥淭his was the biggest surprise,鈥� says Legg. 鈥淚 just hope this shows all of those little kids out there that are sitting in tutoring after school, when they鈥檙e exhausted and have to do all this extra work and aren鈥檛 understanding why they can鈥檛 do it like their brother or sister or best friend, that it鈥檚 OK.鈥�
Legg is just the third recipient of the Champion Award. Past recipients of the award include Taylor Washington of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds and Kevin McClatchy, former owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
鈥淎liza has not let her dyslexia stop her from doing the work she’s always wanted to do,鈥� says Knupsky. 鈥淣ow, she is working to make foreign language learning equitable and attainable for all students. Her work is not only an individual journey; it is a journey she has undertaken to help others. That’s inspiring.鈥�
After graduating this spring from Allegheny, Legg plans to pursue a career in clinical psychology. She feels her unique perspective will enable her to support those who see things differently and process information in unconventional ways.
鈥淚n so many areas of my life that I鈥檝e now learned, thinking differently is what sets me apart and what makes me so advanced,鈥� says Legg. 鈥淚 was always labeled as a disability, and I think showing people that it鈥檚 not a bad thing and they鈥檙e special and they have things that other people don鈥檛, focusing on strengths and working on weaknesses, is something I could really help with. Dyslexia is not a life sentence; it鈥檚 actually a gift.鈥�