Sifra Morrison

When Sifra Morrison opens a book, she sees words glowing, shifting and creating optical illusions - all which make her head hurt. Although highly intelligent, she couldn't read until the fourth grade and some doubted she would even graduate high school.

Through hard work and perseverance, she did that and more. Sifra is now a self-assured young woman majoring in government at Smith College. An openly gay Mexican-American, she hopes to assist people like herself by becoming an activist for social justice or a human rights lawyer.

"People aren't machines. We're individuals, and we determine our own realities," says Sifra, who still recalls the discouragement she felt when a resource room teacher bluntly told her she was "beyond help."

A self-described "fighter," Sifra found that such comments made her all the more determined to succeed. By day, she pushed and challenged her schools for extra accommodations. By night, she held back tears and listened intently as her mother patiently read her assignments to her.

It wasn't until Sifra was in her junior year of high school and "on the verge of a nervous breakdown," that a counselor introduced her to RFB&D. "Textbooks on tape saved my life," says Sifra, who became a trailblazer for future students with learning disabilities and graduated from high school with a 3.78 GPA. She continues to "fight for justice" in college as a member of many groups, including the Latina student union, the labor action group and the school diversity board.

"Even the impossible is attainable if you believe it can be reached," states Sifra. "As my parents taught me, each one of us has a spiritual gift. We simply have to find it."