Seth Goldstein, Class of 2000

Seth Goldstein graduated from DVFriends in 2000. He attended the University of Delaware where he majored in History and Journalism and minored in Anthropology and Political Science. After graduating from UD in 2004, Seth worked as a journalist until he founded Goldstein Media, a digital marketing firm that helps businesses get online and develop creative campaigns to grow their businesses. Seth says that at DV he learned to be resourceful and to figure out his strengths.

 

I came to DV in 7th grade from another Quaker school for younger students with learning differences.

 

Can you tell me about your learning difference(s)? What specific challenges did you have in school? I have ADHD and a math disability.

 

The Quaker school I attended before DVFriends was great for me. The small classes and individualized attention helped and the teachers cared. Before that, I went to a private prep school in New Jersey. I was not learning there. I was distracted and the teachers didn’t know how to help.

 

The school I was attending ended at 6th grade, so I needed to transition somewhere, and DVFriends made sense. It had small classes and individualized attention and it was also a Quaker school. I took the train from Yardley to Paoli every day starting in 7th grade – a 2-hour commute each way. I changed trains in Center City. I had to grow up and learn to advocate for myself and deal with the public at a young age, and DV helped me with that. I wouldn’t have survived University of Delaware without those skills. I graduated in four years, even with a reduced course load, because DVFriends got me where I needed to be to take on a large university. I knew how to advocate for myself and even in the large lecture classes, like Psych 101 with 600 students, the professor knew me. I sat in the front row and made sure that I got to know her and she got to know me. I learned how to be resourceful and to find my strengths.

 

Are there specific ways that the teachers at DVFriends helped you with your learning difference? Any strategies, tools, techniques that you took with you to college or into your work life?

Staying organized is really important for me. I used and still use to-do lists and calendars. Writing things down really helps me process and remember things. At DVFriends, I had a palm pilot that I used to stay organized and a laptop to use as a learning tool. I had a laptop with me at college, which wasn’t as typical as it is now, and I would take notes on it during classes – people would ask me for my notes because I would basically transcribe the lectures. It helped keep me focused and engaged. At DVFriends I took tests in isolation and had extra time – I didn’t always need it but it took pressure off me because anxiety would have slowed me down. It was great to type tests and papers on the computer and submit them to teachers.

 

Do you have any special memories of your time at DVFriends? Did you participate in sports, activities?

I started a school paper at DVFriends -- the DVFriends Voice – and kept it going while I was there. I was the only kid allowed in the copy room by myself. The administration let me use as much paper as I needed. David Calamaro was a very young teacher when I was at DVFriends and it was fun being taught by him. Riding the train to DVFriends was a big part of my experience. The train conductor would quiz me on my rides to school if I had a test -- he even spoke at my graduation!

 

What do you think is the lasting value of a DVFriends education? I think it’s less about what you learn and more about the experience -- knowing you’re not as different as you thought you were and learning tolerance for people’s differences. We’re all quirky. We have to learn that everyone is different and that’s a beautiful thing.