Bryan Rosica grew up in Bucks County, PA, and was a teacher and guidance counselor at Buckingham Elementary School in the Central Bucks School District before he was diagnosed with ALS in December 2020.
This past March, Bryan was honored to be in front of students again as a special reader for the second-grade class at Buckingham Elementary School in Doylestown, PA.
Bryan and his wife Lisa could not have been more thrilled with the reaction from the young students. Their teacher, Bridget McDonald, had been having conversations with them about ALS to get them ready and they were excited to welcome them into their classroom.
To prepare, Lisa had typed words from the book ahead of time onto text files for Bryan’s Tobii communication device. She held the book and turned the pages while Bryan read along with his eyes and the children listened to him through his speech device.
The kids were full of energy and excitement as they interacted with Bryan and listened to his reading. They told him that his computer was very cool and they watched as he demonstrated his wheelchair and the Ability Drive program. Bryan showed off the different voices that are embedded in his speech program, which the kids all loved.
Bryan always loved teaching, so being back in front of students and seeing their enthusiasm made the whole day extra special.
Following the reading, Bryan and Lisa met with parents and students who presented a check covering recent fundraisers they held on his behalf. One of Bryan’s favorite pictures of the day is in front of a tile mural wall that the school had constructed in his honor to show that the Buckingham school was “U-Knighted” behind him. Bryan and Lisa want to offer their extra thanks to the Huang family, owners of the Doylestown Ooka, who helped make the mural a reality.
The second grade students at Buckingham Elementary School may not remember all of the words from Bryan’s reading, but they’ll never forget sharing their day with him. Thank you, Bryan and Lisa, for sharing your experience with all of us. Together, we truly are “U-Knighted.”