Lauren Lesko was eight years old she had her first seizure. The 23-year-old saw doctors at Lehigh Valley Health Network, St. Luke’s University Health Network, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Cleveland Clinic, St. Barnabas Hospital, and NYU Langone.
Ultimately, Lesko was diagnosed with epilepsy.
“It was scary. It was confusing. I didn’t understand. Everything was a fog,” the Lehighton woman says, taking her time to collect her thoughts.
Her condition and the medication Lesko takes make it hard for her to comprehend complex subjects and communicate her thoughts.
Lesko and her doctors found medications that helped managed her symptoms, but during high school her epilepsy got worse.
“The stress made it worse,” she says. “I started having drop seizures, when you fall on the ground.”
Lesko worked with the school and her healthcare team to set up an individualized education program (IEP), and she graduated in 2014. She had plans to enroll in Northampton Community College, but she was experiencing 30 seizures a day, delaying her college plans until 2017 when a new medication helped manage her condition.
“I decided to enroll in NCC because it was close to home, had a smaller campus with dorms, and had shopping within walking distance,” Lesko wrote in an email before speaking with a reporter. Writing or typing responses makes it easier for Lesko to answer questions, she says.
“I can’t drive, so all of these (factors) were important to me,” she writes.
Lesko this spring graduated from NCC with an associate’s degree in communications and design after 3 1/2 years. That’s 1 1/2 years longer than it takes most students to complete their degree because Lesko took three classes a semester to focus on each class and work with the disabilities office for special accommodations.
“Lauren wasn’t dependent on me. She pretty much advocated for herself,” says Dan Radogna, disability services specialists for NCC. “That’s rare.”
Radogna says the word to describe Lesko is “pertinacity.”
“Each time we met I was in awe of how she would handle challenges, struggles and bumps. She kept on going without flinching or falling apart like other students would,” he says.
Outside of the classroom, Lesko found support from her friends — often other students with disabilities who could better understand her struggles.
“I made friends and talked to them when I felt frustrated,” Lesko writes.
Lesko has also taken advantage of NCC’s extracurricular activities. She can’t play sports because of her epilepsy — in high school she served as the volleyball team’s manager — so she participated in the anime club and practiced photography.
Perhaps the greatest challenge for Lesko as she pursued her degree was her final semester: Spring 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, classes were moved online, which posed unique obstacles for Lesko, who relies on face-to-face interaction in her education.
“I have to ask more questions and (the nature of online classes) didn’t let me do that,” she says.
Lesko found some help with virtual tutoring, which she says was better than nothing.
When she submitted her final assignments, Lesko felt a huge sense of relief. And now, she looks ahead to finding a job, ideally in marketing for a zoo or aquarium.
“I love nature and animals and it would be cool to be around them all day,” Lesko writes.
To others who struggle with disabilities or face challenges in education, Lesko tells them to never give up.
“Ask for help and believe in yourself.”
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