As a young child, Marty Finsterbusch of Morton, Pennsylvania, suffered a severe ear infection that caused him to develop serious speech problems early on. "They also found out that I had a learning disability before I even started school," said Marty. Never the less, after kindergarten, Marty was going to be passed to first grade simply because he was "a good kid" and tried hard.

Marty’s parents knew he needed help. They fought hard to get him into a special education school, the first in their region. He attended classes there for almost 12 years. Marty’s parents’ advice had always been to get a job at afast food restaurant when he grew up. But Marty wanted to go to college, even though it was "one of the impossible dreams ... the unthinkable." 

After high school graduation, Marty knew hedidn’t have the literacy skills he needed for college. His school helped him connect with the Delaware County Literacy Council, a ProLiteracy America affiliate in Chester, Pennsylvania.

Within a year, Marty’s reading level had increased four grade levels. "I got my associate’s degree in hotel restaurant management in 1996," says Marty."It took me eight years. I became the manager of the kitchen I cooked in for ten years. I had fifty people under me. Now I’m the director of VALUE, the national adult student organization." Marty Finsterbusch’s little girl may be the most special beneficiary of her dad’s accomplishments. Every night she sits on his lap as Marty reads her a bedtime story.