Pop and Circumstances

VAN NUYS —  Frank Ogle spent so much time helping his daughter Brandy overcome dyslexia just so she could finish high school, it’s not surprising he will walk right along with her during junior college ceremonies--but as a graduate himself.

The father and daughter grads will receive associate of arts degrees in child development from Valley College today in one of three junior college commencements in the San Fernando Valley.

“We’re going to open our own school eventually,” said Frank, 50, of his plans to get a bachelor’s degree from CSUN along with his 23-year-old daughter and later work together professionally. “She wants to teach children with disabilities and I think I can be a pretty good administrator.”

The Valley College program will begin at 4 p.m. at Monarch Stadium. With about 834 students expected to participate in the ceremony, this year’s program has about 100 more participants than last year’s.

Also holding commencements today are Mission College at 5 p.m. outside the school’s Instructional Building and Pierce College at 6 p.m. near the school cafeteria.

College of the Canyons in Valencia holds its commencement Friday at the school’s Honor Grove.

For each of the Ogles--who once, for different reasons, did not see higher education in their futures--today’s graduation is an even greater accomplishment.

“It’s kind of scary because I never thought I’d get out of high school,” Brandy Ogle said. “Now I know I can do anything.”

Her father finished a year at Pierce College in 1967 before being drafted and sent to Vietnam.

When he came back, his interest in college had disappeared and he went to work for Burbank’s Water and Power Department. With his wife, Betty, Ogle raised four girls--another 23-year-old now at Arizona State University, a 24-year-old at Loma Linda University and a 25-year-old who works at a nursing center in Reseda.

Early on, Brandy did not do well in school, her father said, but at that time, testing for dyslexia was not widespread.

“The heartbreaking part was that a teacher actually called her stupid,” he said.

Eventually, he had the condition diagnosed, and by junior high school she was in special classes. Ogle made his daughter do homework over to correct mistakes, even if he had to sit there and read the texts to her.

“If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t have finished high school,” his daughter said.

Brandy’s decision to attend Valley College reawakened in Frank Ogle a desire to complete his college education. He enrolled in the same program as Brandy--child development, an interest kindled by his experiences helping his daughter.

In the past three years attending Valley College--sitting side by side with her father in various classes--Brandy still found reading difficult, but she chose to tough it out with the rest of the students during tests instead of having someone read her the materials, Ogle said.

“She’s real stubborn and won’t [get help],” he said. “I’m proud of her for that.”

Her desire to help severely disabled children after college grew out of her personal experiences but also after noticing that other children had even worse handicaps, Brandy Ogle said. She already works with disabled children in the Burbank school system.

Frank’s inspiration came, not only from watching Brandy struggle, but also from visiting his oldest daughter’s nursing center a few years ago.

“I started playing with the kids and I realized how much I had missed out on with my children,” he said. “I still have a lot of hugs left in me.”