When I was born, my parents had no idea I was deaf. It was a long time before they could get a diagnosis, and my mother recounts that it was actually very difficult for the doctors to find out why I wasn’t responding to them. It was only until one of them referred me...
Category
2016 Scholarship Entries
Katherine’s Story
I remember vividly the day I first tried on my hearing aids – my entire world changed forever. I entered kindergarten with my newfound hearing and immediately fell even more in love with learning. However, despite the help the hearing aids offered, I often found...
Liberty’s Story
I was an outcast. I could never seem to find the right people to become friends with, what clubs to join, or what kind of classes I enjoyed taking. I was only learning more about who I was as a person. I stood out from my classmates due to being deaf and having two...
Paul’s Story
When I turned 8 years old, I had an ear infection that would ultimately change my life. This ear infection would also change the entire way I approach my own life. On a normal day before this infection, I could sit wherever I chose, whether that’s in the front, in the...
Melanie’s Story
I cannot say that school was and is easy for me. Because of my hearing impairment I question the information that is being delivered. My desire to attend school and push through my physical abilities is to obtain more knowledge in a desired area. I’m currently...
Valerie’s Story
I was ten years old when I was diagnosed with bi-lateral hearing loss. The hearing loss was picked up during routine screening of the eyes and ears at school. I dreaded those exams. Even as an adult, soundproof audiology rooms with all the weird beeps and buzzes...
Kent’s Story
Growing up as a young kid, I didn’t realize that I was hearing impaired. I thought that the way that everything sounded to me was normal and that I was just like every other kid in class. Being born deaf in one ear may not sound like a drastic hearing impairment, but...
Kaitlin’s Story
I was diagnosed with Mondini Syndrome, it’s a condition where the cochlea is incomplete, with only one and a half turns instead of the normal two and a half turns. Speech therapy helped with speaking the teachers were helpful and supportive. I was glad to be called...
Celine’s Story
“A deaf child will never be able to play an instrument as complex as the violin.” These words were not uncommon to my deaf ears. And there began my determination to defy the odds – I just did not know it yet. During the fall of my first yearin high school as I rushed...
Sarah’s Story
I had watched my brother go to school for five long years before it was finally my turn! Kindergarten was a brand new world and I couldn’t wait to be a part of all of that. We all lined up for yet another fun-filled activity; this time it was a hearing test. I...