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Cochlear Americas Provides Support for Cochlear Implant Recipients to Pursue Higher Education
Company Announces 2009 Graeme Clark Scholarship Winners
DENVER, March 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Cochlear Americas, the world's leader
in advanced hearing technologies, today announced the winners of the 2009
Graeme Clark Scholarship awards. Since 2002, the Graeme Clark Cochlear
Scholarship Foundation has recognized the remarkable achievements of
individuals who have received a Nucleus(R) cochlear implant - a small
electronic device that can provide a sense of hearing to someone who has
severe to profound hearing loss. This year, five outstanding students have
been selected to receive a total of $40,000 in financial assistance toward
an accredited university.
"Cochlear Americas is dedicated to empowering our Nucleus recipients
with an opportunity to pursue higher goals and achieve their greatest
dreams," said Chris Smith, President, Cochlear Americas. "We are proud to
provide assistance to such intelligent and engaged young adults who
demonstrate superior academic achievement, leadership and community
involvement."
The five scholarship winners are:
-- Emily Fustos (Allison Park, PA), a freshman at Pennsylvania State
University, was born profoundly deaf and received a Nucleus cochlear
implant at age 2. Emily is enrolled in the Schreyer Honors College
where she is considering using her unique perspective of both the deaf
and hearing worlds to specialize in speech pathology and communication
disorders.
-- Alison Marinelli (South Windsor, CT), a freshman at Assumption College,
was diagnosed with profound hearing loss at the age of 9 months, and at
age 4 received her first Nucleus cochlear implant. She received a
second cochlear implant in her other ear as a teenager. She is pursuing
a degree in speech and language pathology, with the ultimate goal of
attaining both her master's and doctorate degrees to better assist
others in developing skills in hearing and oral communication.
-- Heather Page (Fairfield, OH), a sophomore at the University of North
Carolina at Wilmington, was diagnosed with severe-to-profound hearing
loss at age 3 and received a Nucleus cochlear implant when she was 16.
Heather is working toward a degree in marine biology and environmental
studies within the nationally-recognized marine biology program at UNCW,
and pursuing her passion for music as concert master of the clarinet
section in the UNCW Wind Symphony.
-- Grayson Swaim (Camby, IN), a freshman at Wabash College, became deaf
from bacterial meningitis when he was 10 months old and received a
Nucleus cochlear implant at age 5. Grayson believes his cochlear
implant helped him to achieve his goals of graduating from high school
with honors and getting accepted into a four-year university. Grayson
hopes to pursue a career in law and make a difference in people's
lives by creating more opportunities for those in need.
-- Tyler Wagner (Ackley, IA), a sophomore at University of Northern Iowa,
lost his hearing after a tragic trampoline accident in 1998. Shortly
after the accident, he received a Nucleus cochlear implant. Tyler
excelled in athletics in high school, placing sixth in the Iowa State
Wrestling Tournament his senior year. Tyler is currently pursuing a
degree in exercise science and looks forward to having a positive impact
on the health of others.
The winners were announced at an award ceremony held March 29 as part
of Cochlear Americas' Celebration 2009. This inspirational four-day event
offers educational sessions and a variety of activities designed to unite
the Cochlear community of recipients, volunteers and their families to
share experiences and successes. Celebration is the largest gathering of
cochlear implant recipients in the world, bringing together more than 600
recipients and their families.
For 2009, Cochlear Americas received 80 scholarship applications from
students in 27 states across the U.S. and five provinces in Canada.
Eligible students must have a Nucleus cochlear implant and must be entering
their first year of college or enrolled in an accredited university.
Selection criteria include academic performance, letters of recommendation,
awards and activities, and a short personal essay describing academic
inspiration and other interests. Past winners of the scholarship have gone
on to achieve great success, including graduating college with honors,
playing collegiate-level sports and pursuing graduate degrees in medicine
and law. Brief biographies of the 2009 scholarship winners are available
online at http://www.cochlearamericas.com.
About Cochlear Americas
Cochlear Americas is the world's leader in advanced hearing
technologies. Since launching the first multichannel cochlear implant
system more than 25 years ago, Cochlear Limited and its U.S. headquarters
have brought the miracle of sound to more than 150,000 hearing-impaired
individuals across the globe. Cochlear Americas' state-of-the-art cochlear
implant technology, based on extensive research and development at
preeminent academic institutions, provides the ability to hear sound and
better understand speech, enhancing both learning capabilities and quality
of life for those with severe-to-profound hearing loss. Cochlear Americas
also markets an implantable bone-anchored hearing device for treatment of
conductive and mixed hearing loss, as well as single-sided deafness. For
more information about Cochlear Americas' products, call the Cochlear
Hotline at 800/458-4999 (Voice) or 800/483-3123 (TTY) or visit
http://www.cochlearamericas.com
About the Graeme Clark Cochlear Scholarship Foundation
The Graeme Clark Cochlear Scholarship Foundation was established in
2002 in honor of Professor Graeme Clark, Department of Otolaryngology at
the University of Melbourne, for his lifelong commitment to finding a
solution for the hearing impaired and his pioneering work in the field of
cochlear implant technology. Awarded by Cochlear Americas, this scholarship
consists of financial assistance towards a college degree at an accredited
university. The award is paid in yearly installments upon the completion of
each year of study. Each award is in the amount of $2,000 per year for up
to a total of four years. For more information about the Graeme Clark
Cochlear Scholarship Foundation, call 800/458-4999 (Voice) or 800/483-3123
(TTY), or visit http://www.cochlearamericas.com.
About Cochlear Implants
A cochlear implant is an electronic device that is surgically implanted
and works by directly stimulating functioning auditory nerve fibers in the
inner ear. Unlike hearing aids, cochlear implants do not amplify sound, but
instead are designed to mirror natural hearing. Cochlear implants convert
sound waves to electrical impulses and transmit them to the inner ear,
providing people with severe-to-profound hearing loss the ability to
identify sounds in their environment and often to understand speech without
reading lips. The cochlear implant is recognized as a standard treatment
for profound deafness by the American Medical Association and the American
Academy of Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery. For more information
about cochlear implants, visit http://www.cochlearamericas.com.
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