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Journal Newspapers Online: Center hands out first scholarship
Before she was diagnosed with a hearing problem, Pam Groth said that her life was a lot like living in an old photograph- flat and colorless.
The first-time recipient of the Northville Hearing Center Educational Scholarship, Groth’s winning essay explained how being fitted with a hearing aid changed her life, and opened her up to the type of everyday sensory experiences that most people take for granted.
“I always tell people that is was like everything was in black and white,” Groth said. “Then when I got my hearing aid, my world became color. I could hear music for the first time. Your world changes when you can hear sound.”
Lin McNair, hearing instrument specialist and scholarship organizer, said that the center established the $500 scholarship to help fund costly educational expenses. She said that Groth’s moving essay about battling hearing loss was the unanimous choice among an anonymous panel of judges.
“We decided that we really wanted to help education,” McNair said. “Books alone today are very expensive. Those who wanted to be considered had to submit a one-page essay on how hearing aids had affected their lives. It could’ve been about how they had affected you or someone close to you, like a grandparent. We didn’t want to make this hard.
“We had a lot of nice essays and some great stories. But Pam was just the unanimous choice. Pam has gone through a lot, and it was more about her life and how poorly she was treated in school until they realized she had a hearing loss,” she added. “It was amazing how all three judges went the same way.”
Groth, who is the child of two deaf parents, said that her own hearing loss was overlooked until middle school, when she was fitted with her first hearing aid. Afterward, Groth said that her grades improved, but that it was difficult to make up for those lost years of learning.
Now in her second year of college, Groth credits her 3.86 college grade point average with recognizing the challenges of her disability, and finding ways to work around them before they impact her grades or long term goals.
“My grades are phenomenal in college now,” Groth said. “I think it’s because the classes are all visual, and I respond better to online courses. I never expected to win the $500 scholarship. At the center, they were able to convert it to a gift card because I do a lot of printing with online courses, and ink is very expensive. Plus I needed to buy a scientific calculator, so I was very grateful to get that.”
Groth, who also suffers from multiple sclerosis, lost total hearing in her left year several years ago. This hasn’t deterred her from her goal of college completion, however, or slowed her desire to turn that degree into a clinic designed to help other students like her.
“I earn my associates from the University of Phoenix in December,” Groth said. “And then I’ll probably go on to Davenport University for my bachelor of science. That’s my goal. I’m going into health care administration and one day I’d like to start my own business to help deaf and hard of hearing people. I honestly never expected to do so well. It’s amazing.”
Before she was diagnosed with a hearing problem, Pam Groth said that her life was a lot like living in an old photograph- flat and colorless.
The first-time recipient of the Northville Hearing Center Educational Scholarship, Groth’s winning essay explained how being fitted with a hearing aid changed her life, and opened her up to the type of everyday sensory experiences that most people take for granted.
“I always tell people that is was like everything was in black and white,” Groth said. “Then when I got my hearing aid, my world became color. I could hear music for the first time. Your world changes when you can hear sound.”
Lin McNair, hearing instrument specialist and scholarship organizer, said that the center established the $500 scholarship to help fund costly educational expenses. She said that Groth’s moving essay about battling hearing loss was the unanimous choice among an anonymous panel of judges.
“We decided that we really wanted to help education,” McNair said. “Books alone today are very expensive. Those who wanted to be considered had to submit a one-page essay on how hearing aids had affected their lives. It could’ve been about how they had affected you or someone close to you, like a grandparent. We didn’t want to make this hard.
“We had a lot of nice essays and some great stories. But Pam was just the unanimous choice. Pam has gone through a lot, and it was more about her life and how poorly she was treated in school until they realized she had a hearing loss,” she added. “It was amazing how all three judges went the same way.”
Groth, who is the child of two deaf parents, said that her own hearing loss was overlooked until middle school, when she was fitted with her first hearing aid. Afterward, Groth said that her grades improved, but that it was difficult to make up for those lost years of learning.
Now in her second year of college, Groth credits her 3.86 college grade point average with recognizing the challenges of her disability, and finding ways to work around them before they impact her grades or long term goals.
“My grades are phenomenal in college now,” Groth said. “I think it’s because the classes are all visual, and I respond better to online courses. I never expected to win the $500 scholarship. At the center, they were able to convert it to a gift card because I do a lot of printing with online courses, and ink is very expensive. Plus I needed to buy a scientific calculator, so I was very grateful to get that.”
Groth, who also suffers from multiple sclerosis, lost total hearing in her left year several years ago. This hasn’t deterred her from her goal of college completion, however, or slowed her desire to turn that degree into a clinic designed to help other students like her.
“I earn my associates from the University of Phoenix in December,” Groth said. “And then I’ll probably go on to Davenport University for my bachelor of science. That’s my goal. I’m going into health care administration and one day I’d like to start my own business to help deaf and hard of hearing people. I honestly never expected to do so well. It’s amazing.”