Celebrating Our 2025 EMPOWER U Scholarship Winner: Katja Solter
We are proud to recognize Katja Solter as one of the recipients of the 2025 Right to Read EMPOWER U Scholarship! Katja graduated from Niwot High School in Colorado and is now attending Occidental College in Los Angeles, California, where she plans to study Psychology.
Katja’s essay stood out for its honesty, resilience, and insight into her journey with dyslexia. From the struggles she faced in her earliest school years to the self-advocacy skills she has developed, Katja has demonstrated the determination and perseverance that we celebrate through this scholarship.
We are honored to share her essay below.
Katja Solter’s Scholarship Essay
“Stop! Stop!” yelled my first-grade teacher as she yanked The Green Dog picture book out of my hands. As a child, I struggled greatly with reading, but enjoyed the stories, so I volunteered to read aloud to my class. However, I struggled so much while reading it to my class that my teacher wouldn’t let me continue. I wouldn’t know for another three years that the reason reading, spelling, and writing were so challenging for me was because I am dyslexic.
Ironically, the person who has most empowered me on my journey towards self-advocacy was also a teacher: my middle school science teacher. He had a very flexible teaching style, which incorporated many types of learning, including hands-on and individualized. This helped me realize that the type of learning that I struggled so much with in elementary school wasn’t the only method available and that I just needed to figure out what works best for me. Since then, I have discovered many aspects of my own learning style, which has enabled me to succeed, even in advanced classes. With regard to managing accommodations, he was supportive and really believed that everyone who needed accommodations deserved them. He was the first person to introduce me to Cornell notes, which is a form of guided notes that allow me to focus my attention on the learning, even as I take some notes. His approach and guidance was pivotal in my academic journey.
Now, I advocate for myself all the time and in many different contexts. I typically use many accommodations such as extended time on exams, ability to type, and exemption from reading aloud. My 504 plan gives my teachers access to my accommodations but, at the beginning of every school year, I talk to my teachers and explain which accommodations apply to their class, and how I would like to use them. My teachers have, for the most part, been supportive and have worked with me as a team to figure out how I can be successful in their class. Additionally, I approach problems from a different perspective. For example, in physics, I often explained to my teacher, “You taught it this way. I got the correct answer a different way.” My teacher was supportive of my explorations and alternative approaches, but it was important for me to take the initiative to explain how my dyslexic mind comes up with outside-the-box solutions.
Unfortunately, many people are uninformed about dyslexia, including teachers, so sometimes I’ve had to take time to explain to them the details around why I need my accommodations and how they help me to learn better and demonstrate what I know. All in all, although dyslexia is considered a learning disability, I feel that the work ethic and advocacy skills that go along with that journey have prepared me well for college and life beyond college.
Looking Ahead
Katja’s story is a powerful reminder of how the right support, paired with strong self-advocacy, can empower students with dyslexia to thrive academically and personally. Her journey exemplifies the resilience, creativity, and leadership that the EMPOWER U Scholarship seeks to uplift.
Congratulations, Katja! We can’t wait to see all that you accomplish at Occidental and beyond. 💜