Centennial, Colo — Cochlear Americas has announced the winners of its 10th annual Cochlear™ Graeme Clark Scholarship Award and has also announced a new award, the Anders Tjellstrom Baha® Scholarship.

Since 2002, Cochlear Americas has awarded more than $320,000 in scholarships to 50 college students, including the $80,000 awarded this year.

The Graeme Clark Scholarship is named after the inventor of the cochlear implant. This year, four students were presented the award, which provides $8,000 in college financial assistance to Nucleus Cochlear Implant recipients around the world. The scholarship honors implant recipients who are academically gifted and committed to leadership and humanity.

Each of the students selected receives $2,000 per year for up to 4 years at an accredited college or university. This year’s recipients include:

  • Sarah Ovresat (Eaton Rapids, Mich), a freshman at the University of Michigan where she has an inclination toward the sciences, including nanotechnology, computer science as well as art.
  • Christen Nelson (Manalapan, NJ), a freshman at Quinnipiac University studying occupational therapy with plans to become a pediatric occupational therapist.
  • Anna Davies (Roxbury, Conn), a freshman at Dartmouth College, with a strong interest in international relations, government, history and environmental studies who hopes to pursue a career where she can "meet new people, see new places and learn new ideas."
  • Peter Campbell Sode (Dallas, Tex), a freshman at Rutgers University pursuing a degree in labor studies and employment relations, hopes to attend law school.

Cochlear Americas also announced a new scholarship program, “The Anders Tjellstrom Baha Scholarship, which is open to recipients of its Baha® Implants. Three students were awarded the $8,000 scholarships, named after Anders Tjellstrom, MD, PhD, a research physician at the Department of Otolaryngology at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Sweden. In 1972, Tjellstrom collaborated with Per-Ingvar Branemark to treat the first patient with a Baha device.

The scholarship recognizes students who have proven academic achievement and a commitment to the Cochlear ideals of leadership and humanity. This year’s Anders Tjellstrom Baha Scholarship recipients are:

  • Spencer Parker (Skaneateles, NY), a freshman at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute studying his passions—mechanical engineering, art and design—with the ultimate career goal of creating "technological advances to better society."
  • Andrea McGhee (Strongsville, Ohio), a freshman at Kent State University studying art education with dreams of becoming an art museum educator.
  • Carly Swanson (Carol Stream, Ill), a junior at Illinois Institute of Technology studying information technology and management, hopes to obtain her master’s degree.

More information about these scholarships and the judges are available on the Cochlear Americas website.

SOURCE: Cochlear Americas