Louisville student who battled dyslexia will graduate as valedictorian

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Kentucky student was diagnosed with dyslexia and held back in second grade, but in two weeks she will graduate as one of her high school’s 10 valedictorians.

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Kendahl Broyles, a senior at J. Graham Brown School in Louisville, will attend Western Kentucky University's Honors College in the fall, WAVE reported.

“I’m looking into maybe nursing or education,” Broyles told the television station.

Broyles said she had trouble adjusting at Brown when she was in kindergarten.

"In kindergarten, in first grade, school was supposed to be something fun for you to learn, but it was really hard for me and it really wasn't enjoyable," she told WAVE.

Broyles’ fortunes changed after she was diagnosed with dyslexia. She was left back in the second grade and transferred to a private school. Then, she returned to Brown because “It’s always been like a home to me.”

Brown began excelling in her work, learning a second language. In middle school she began tutoring younger students, WAVE reported.

“Sometimes I think ‘Kendahl, I want to be like you when I grow up,'" Spanish teacher Heather Anderson told the television station. “She’s amazing.”

"I enjoy school now because I've taught myself, I can do anything I put my mind to -- it just might take me a little longer," Broyles told WAVE. "The thing I'm most proud of isn't even really school related. It's being able to show people like you can do anything and even if it is harder for you, you can still do it."

Cox Media Group