Evergreen Park student overcomes dyslexia, brings home state writing award

Chicago Tribune

5 days ago

When Brooklyn Reyna, of Evergreen Park, discovered she'd earned top honors in the writing competition Letters about Literature, her first thought wasn't the $200 prize or statewide recognition.
Rather, it was recognition of the obstacles she had overcome.
'I was super surprised and I was really excited,' said Reyna, a sophomore at Marist High School in Chicago. 'It means a lot to me winning it because I've struggled with dyslexia and reading my whole life.'
Reyna, who was diagnosed with dyslexia when she was in second grade, said reading is a challenge for her. 'Winning this competition showed me that if I really want something, I can put my mind to it and overcome my struggles.'
She collected her $200 cash prize and plaque from Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias for winning the Level III state competition May 21 at a ceremony in Springfield. English teacher John Gonczy and her parents, Tyrone and Katie Reyna, were there to cheer her on. Gonczy was awarded a certificate as well, and the Marist library received $100. Reyna and the state winners in the Level I and Level II were invited to read their letters aloud.
'My mom and my dad were really proud of me. My mom cried. She knew how much it meant to me,' Reyna shared. 'My siblings are super proud of me too – we had a dinner.'
Her teacher Gonczy is proud, too, saying he was 'absolutely floored' she took the state's top honor.
'I was so pleased when I got the phone call' from the contest representative in Springfield, he said. 'Never in a million years did I think she was calling me to tell us one of our students won. It was a marvelous, marvelous surprise.'
The award is a recognition of Reyna's hard work, he said.
'I think that this is going to go a long way to reminding her that she is an extremely capable person, and it will motivate her to continue to do excellently in the future,' Gonczy shared. 'And I'm happy with the rest of the school because they see that one of their own can do this.'
Reyna's submission was one of 503 essays entered by students in ninth to 12th grades in the Letters About Literature contest, which invites youths to write a letter to the author of a book that has changed their view of themselves of the world. It's sponsored by the Illinois secretary of state and the state librarian, as well as the Illinois Center for the Book.
She chose to reflect on the graphic memoir 'Numb to This' by Kendra Nelly, which took her four days to read.
'In my letter, I wrote about my own experiences with gun violence and how these connect to the main character, Kendra,' Reyna shared. 'It's inspiring how she overcame her struggles, the aftermath of the trauma she went through, even though she wasn't in danger anymore.'
The book's not an easy one, Gonczy said. 'This was an assignment that was a tough thing to read because it's about a school shooting, and she was able to connect it to personal experience, which breaks my heart,' he said. 'And my two finalists, they also did a really good job with connecting something they read with something personal. These are not easy things to write about.'
Other Marist students earning finalist recognition in the competition were sophomores Melanie Martinez and Kallen Spalliero. Honorable mentions went to sophomores Jaiden Burden, Elizabeth Casey, Briggs Corona, Michael Cushing, Moira Daly, Davy Gray, Caroline Gutrich, Mae Parisi, Fabian Peralta, Marqui Steel and Leah Treacy and juniors Ronan Carmody, Hannah Noonan and Mariano Angel.
Gonczy, who's been teaching for 30 years, has students in his classes write letters for the competition as an assignment, and he chooses which to submit to the contest. 'We've been doing this for years. We've fared very well but never had a (state) winner before.'
Receiving outside validation really helps students, he said.
'I can tell you that when these kids receive these certificates at any level, it says to them, to the world, that this student was able to read this and write intelligently about the literature and was recognized by the state government,' Gonczy shared. 'It's concrete evidence that they did a good job reading and internalizing. I can give them good grades, but when an outside entity recognizes them… It's just awesome. It's very gratifying.'
Marist librarian Kristy Rademacher also aids with the assignment, providing a list of books on the Abraham Lincoln book list for young people.
Gonczy includes the assignment every year as a way to combat the many screens that vie for students' attention.
'I think it's increasingly important that we present kids with opportunities to read longer works because the digital age is definitely affecting their attention spans. It's really vital, especially because we're a college prep school, and we know when they go to college they need to sustain their attention,' he said. 'I want students to have the stamina to read and reflect intelligently on what they read.'
The ability to read and comprehend is essential, he said. 'I hope that everyone … will take away just how important it is that we encourage younger people to find books that are interesting to them, that resonate with them and read them from start to finish. To hang in there and do it because it's a skill that they desperately need to enjoy greater success in all walks of life.'
The assignment has sparked something in Reyna. 'I want to continue to write and have a career that involves writing,' she shared.
'What initially sparked my interest in writing was when I joined journalism freshman year. What also made me very interested in reading and writing is my English teacher, Mr. Gonczy. He always makes his classes very enjoyable, and I look forward to going to his class every day.'
Melinda Moore is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.