Wheaton College Alumni Magazine Winter 2015 | Page 41

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walking with others

In elementary school,

Jessica
Brown-McBroom ’02, M.A. ’06
sometimes felt she was running a
marathon while her peers sprinted
past with ease.

worked as a counselor at Centennial
Counseling Center in St. Charles,
Illinois. At Centennial, she counsels
some adults, but focuses on children
suffering from learning disabilities,
including ADHD.

Jessica credits her Wheaton professors
and her peers, saying, “The accountability and support they offered gave
me the tools I needed to thrive.”
“I can’t even begin to describe how
much I love my job,” she says. “It is
Jessica’s Wheaton experience is not
a profound privilege to be asked into
uncommon. So far this year, Jennie
people’s lives on this level.”
Nicodem, Wheaton’s director of academic and disability services, is assist- Jessica now views her challenges
ing 126 students with physical, learn- with eternal perspective.
ing, or mental health conditions. The
majority of these students have medi- “All of us are ‘disabled’ in some way
cally documented learning disabilities. or another simply because our fallen
nature constantly puts up barriers
“These students are just as capable of
between God and us,” she says. “My
excelling at kingdom work as their
ADHD has kept me more emotionpeers—they just need certain accomally aware of my weakness and vulto Wheaton, Jessica knew that her modations in place,” says Jennie,
nerability . . . which drives me into
cumulative GPA wasn’t up to the who also works to build awareness of
the arms of my Lord. This in turn
learning disabilities on campus.
College’s standards.
allows me to walk closely with others
So Jessica wrote a heartfelt admis- For the past five years, Jessica has on their own journeys.”
sions essay. She disclosed her disability, as well as the fact that she was
determined to work hard in order Jessica, left, with her bachelor’s degree, May 2002; right, Jessica and
to eventually help others struggling her husband, Matt, with her master’s degree, May 2006.
with similar challenges.

After struggling through her early school years,
Jessica Brown-McBroom ’02, M.A. ’06 now counsels
others on how to cope with learning disabilities.

by Dawn Kotapish ’92

master’s degree in clinical psychology from the Wheaton College
Graduate School.

At the age of eight, Jessica was
diagnosed with Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
By fourth grade, her spirit was broken, and she began to realize just To her elation, Jessica was accepted
how much she hated school. She had to Wheaton. Although freshman
been called “stupid” and “lazy” by year was a blur of struggle, every
teachers, and even had a ruler bro- year thi