Miss-Delectable
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The ChronicleHerald.ca
Being deaf since birth hasn’t held back Leanne White.
"Nothing will stop me," says the 24-year-old Antigonish native who has her sights set on law school.
Ms. White, who established the non-profit Deaf Youth Association of Nova Scotia, wants to send the message to other Nova Scotia youth that being deaf or hearing-impaired should not limit them from pursuing their goals and dreams.
"I proved them wrong," said Ms. White, speaking about some people who had expressed doubts that she could achieve her academic and extracurricular goals. She graduated at the top of her class from a legal administration program at CompuCollege and has also attended university.
An avid volunteer, Ms. White helped out Sunday at the Terry Fox Run in Halifax and also ran the 10-kilometre course.
"He is one of my heroes," she said of Terry Fox, who lost a leg to cancer and ran across Canada to raise money for cancer research.
"Fox never complained about having cancer, and I never complain about being deaf — I use it as a platform to reach out and help others in my situation."
Now on a one-year break from academics, Ms. White was recently named Miss Central Nova Scotia and in August attended the Miss Canada International Pageant where she received the title of Miss Congeniality.
"This experience told me to be ready for anything — take every day and cherish it," said Ms. White, who lip-reads and primarily uses sign language to communicate.
She is involved with helping deaf youth in the legal system and hopes to be a lawyer, working to prevent the victimization of deaf youth in the legal system.
Earlier this year, Ms. White was hired as a project co-ordinator for a law conference aimed at educating young deaf Nova Scotians about their legal rights and responsibilities, and also work-ed to educate those in the legal community about the experiences of deaf youth.
One of her goals is to educate the hearing community about the needs, skills and talents of those who are deaf, she said.
In 2002, she set up a program called Joyful Hands, which provides matches between deaf children and signing deaf adults.
Ms. White, who holds the title of Miss Central Nova Scotia until next August, said she is happy to volunteer at seniors’ homes, schools or community events.
She can be reached at misscentralnovascotia@hotmail.com.
Being deaf since birth hasn’t held back Leanne White.
"Nothing will stop me," says the 24-year-old Antigonish native who has her sights set on law school.
Ms. White, who established the non-profit Deaf Youth Association of Nova Scotia, wants to send the message to other Nova Scotia youth that being deaf or hearing-impaired should not limit them from pursuing their goals and dreams.
"I proved them wrong," said Ms. White, speaking about some people who had expressed doubts that she could achieve her academic and extracurricular goals. She graduated at the top of her class from a legal administration program at CompuCollege and has also attended university.
An avid volunteer, Ms. White helped out Sunday at the Terry Fox Run in Halifax and also ran the 10-kilometre course.
"He is one of my heroes," she said of Terry Fox, who lost a leg to cancer and ran across Canada to raise money for cancer research.
"Fox never complained about having cancer, and I never complain about being deaf — I use it as a platform to reach out and help others in my situation."
Now on a one-year break from academics, Ms. White was recently named Miss Central Nova Scotia and in August attended the Miss Canada International Pageant where she received the title of Miss Congeniality.
"This experience told me to be ready for anything — take every day and cherish it," said Ms. White, who lip-reads and primarily uses sign language to communicate.
She is involved with helping deaf youth in the legal system and hopes to be a lawyer, working to prevent the victimization of deaf youth in the legal system.
Earlier this year, Ms. White was hired as a project co-ordinator for a law conference aimed at educating young deaf Nova Scotians about their legal rights and responsibilities, and also work-ed to educate those in the legal community about the experiences of deaf youth.
One of her goals is to educate the hearing community about the needs, skills and talents of those who are deaf, she said.
In 2002, she set up a program called Joyful Hands, which provides matches between deaf children and signing deaf adults.
Ms. White, who holds the title of Miss Central Nova Scotia until next August, said she is happy to volunteer at seniors’ homes, schools or community events.
She can be reached at misscentralnovascotia@hotmail.com.
