Dyslexia won’t hold Brandon Wilson back from dreams

Church, baseball and service round out Sacred Heart senior’s active life

Published: June 5, 2017

By Aprille Hanson
Associate Editor

Aprille Hanson

Brandon Wilson, 19, said one of his favorite activities is singing in the choir with his family at Sacred Heart Church in Morrilton. He said he enjoyed the smallness of the school and will miss his friends and teachers.

Aprille Hanson

MORRILTON — Every corner of Brandon Wilson’s life is filled with faith. At Sacred Heart Church in Morrilton, he enjoys serving as a eucharistic minister, an altar server and singing alongside his mother and the whole Kordsmeier family when they occasionally gather as a choir for Mass.

At Sacred Heart School, there’s dedication to prayer, lessons in sportsmanship, friendship with the 22 other graduating seniors and perseverance to be academically successful working with dyslexia.

“All around there’s always that presence of religion around you — praying before class, going to Mass, praying before we eat. That honestly just carried on from my normal life,” Wilson, 19, said. “My mom is very religious and (my family) has been very influential in my life. I’ve got to be nice to everyone even if they annoy you. I try to keep on those lines and it’s led me to be a better person all around.”

With a sweet smile and even kinder words behind it, Wilson, one of three children to parents Roger and Brenda Kordsmeier Wilson, said he’ll miss “so many things” about Sacred Heart after his May 21 graduation.

“I learned how to take notes and how to study by using that pen. ... Whenever I finally figured it out I kind of worked twice as hard.” Brandon Wilson

“I love that we’re such a small school. I’ve got my nieces here; I’m going to miss seeing them every single day,” he said, adding he liked when he was picked to deliver food in a wagon to the preschool students. “They’re yelling, ‘Hey, what’s up?’ It just makes my day every time.”

But the memories he’s made participating in groups like Key Club and being a right fielder for the Rebels, the 2A state finalist, is something he’ll cherish.

“Probably this year in baseball, I made a diving catch,” Wilson said, recalling his favorite sports memory. “It was so fun. I was just running, dove, caught it, flipped around and realized I still had the ball in my hand. It was the last out of the game, and we shut them down.”

Today he has a cumulative GPA over 3.0, an achievement he’s proud of since being diagnosed with dyslexia.

“In all honestly, that’s probably been one of the weirdest things in my life. My mom actually works with disabled kids. She knew I wasn’t delayed,” something doctors misdiagnosed, he said. His mother heard a speaker talk about dyslexia and during the summer heading into his sophomore year, he was tested and it was confirmed.

“I never understood what was holding me back,” adding that though he tried academically, he was “sticking out like a sore thumb,” when he didn’t achieve grades similar to classmates.

After his diagnosis, his family bought him a Smartpen that records what’s spoken and provides audio with what is written.

“It actually helped me tremendously. I learned how to take notes and how to study by using that pen. ... Whenever I finally figured it out I kind of worked twice as hard,” Wilson said.

Coursework was no longer a burden, but a challenge. “I really enjoy physics right now. I had a hard teacher, Mrs. (Kathleen) Smith. Let me tell you she does not let you pass that class easily. I loved her pushing us so hard.”

Wilson will attend the University of Arkansas Community College in Morrilton for two years and hopes to transfer to Arkansas Tech University in Russellville to study engineering.

“It could be anything from designing vehicles to buildings. I always love picking things apart and seeing how they work.”

But his faith, family and friends at Sacred Heart will always remain close.

“I just love participating in church,” he said. “I know I’ll stay a Catholic.”

Click for the Catholic Graduates 2017 index