Dear John, “Your program really helped me to realize that I was still able to do the same quality of work as I did before the aneurysm and brain surgery.” – Anita Moreno
We know people come to OCW for a variety of reasons. For Anita Moreno, OCW reaffirmed her understanding of foundational math and physics courses while she was managing recovery from a brain aneurysm.
Back in 2008, Anita Moreno was majoring in mechanical engineering at San Francisco State University (SFSU). In her junior year, when Moreno had a 3.9 Grade Point Average and was contemplating a career in prosthetic design and robotics, she had a brain aneurysm. Fortunately, brain surgery treated her condition, so she returned to classes only 90 days after the operation. Despite the surgery’s success, Moreno was able to sleep only two or three hours per night after the aneurysm. On occasion, she would stay awake for two, or even three, days without any sleep at all. Because this lack of sleep started affecting Moreno’s grades, she decided “to take a step back and get my life back in order and solve my sleep issues.” Due to budget cuts at SFSU, Moreno also lost her scholarship at this time, and moved to Nevada to live with her parents.
While trying to ameliorate her sleep deprivation, Moreno wanted “to keep my calculus, physics, thermodynamics, etc., fresh in my mind, and to be quite frank, make sure it was just the lack of sleep that was making these subjects difficult that first semester (after the operation) that I went back to school.”
Moreno found OCW by surfing the Internet, and studied Single Variable Calculus, Multivariable Calculus, Differential Equations, Fluid Dynamics, and Physics. She says, “I found that retaking classes I had already taken, such as calculus, only sharpened my skills and left me [with] a much deeper grasp on the subject. I have really loved just listening to the lectures late at night when I am having trouble sleeping.”
OCW is here for learners of all types, students struggling with their academic programs, educators who have few educational resources at their disposal, and independent learners unable to continue formal study.
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Sincerely,
Cecilia d'Oliveira Associate Dean of Digital Learning MIT OpenCourseWare
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