Dodie Dunson

Classroom

In 2006, Dunson was diagnosed with a severe form of dyslexia and an auditory processing disorder, which affects his ability to comprehend both written and verbally communicated words effectively.  He has significant difficulties in word reading, reading comprehension and word decoding.  After struggling his first summer at Bradley, the academic support staff suggested that Dunson meet with a learning specialist.  Dunson meets with the learning specialist an average of 20 hours per week to improve his word recognition and reading comprehension skills.  He also spends countless hours reviewing note cards, taking homemade practice exams and re-writing essays.  In addition, Dunson even voluntarily comes in to study on weekends and sometimes two to three different times throughout the day.  The hard work has paid off as he earned a 3.5 semester grade point average in the fall of 2008 and a perfect 4.0 grade point average in the spring of 2009, which raised his cumulative grade point average at Bradley to 3.33.

Character

Dunson is a social work major at Bradley and indicates that his best non-athletic talent is working with kids.  He also has expressed a desire to give back to those people who suffer from similar learning disabilities.  Dunson strives to be a model for others to follow and is known to always have a smile on his face and show respect to everyone around him.  Dunson possesses an infectious personality that makes him a fan favorite among Bradley followers.  In addition, Dunson’s character was showcased when he was named a team captain last year before ever putting on a Bradley uniform.

Community

Dunson is a regular participant in several social service projects at Bradley and in his hometown of Bloomington, Ill.  Among those, he speaks to school children of all age ranges about maintaining a positive attitude and keeping their attention on activities that will make them successful in life.

Competition

Dunson began his college career at Iowa State in 2006-07 and averaged 5.2 points per game, but elected to transfer after his freshman season.  Following a standout sophomore season at Vincennes University, where he earned his associates degree, Dunson transferred to Bradley in the summer of 2008.  During his junior campaign, he led the Braves to 21 wins and the championship game of the inaugural CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament by averaging 10.1 points per game, despite playing the final seven games with a broken bone in his right (shooting) hand.  He was the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week after scoring a career-best 21 points in the season opener at UIC on November 17, 2008.  Dunson was the team’s leading scorer in 10 games and he was Bradley’s most accurate three-point shooter at 36.8 percent.