Cochlear Americas Announces 2013 Graeme Clark and Anders Tjellstrom Scholarship Winners

$64,000 awarded to eight gifted students who hear with Cochlear™ implantable hearing devices

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Jan 21, 2013, 12:35 ET

CENTENNIAL, Colo., Jan. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Cochlear Americas, the global leader in implantable hearing solutions, announced today the winners of the 11^th annual Graeme Clark and the second annual Anders Tjellstrom Scholarships. Named after two pioneers of the hearing implant industry, the 2013 scholarships recognize Cochlear™ Nucleus® Cochlear Implant and Baha® System recipients who are not only academically gifted, but have demonstrated a commitment to leadership and humanity.

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"We are proud to honor eight deserving individuals who have shown perseverance, hard work and leadership, while benefiting from Cochlear's technology," said Chris Smith, President of Cochlear Americas. "We congratulate these outstanding scholars and look forward to seeing what the future has in store for them."

Five students were selected as Graeme Clark Scholarship winners and three were selected for the Anders Tjellstrom Scholarship. Each of the eight students will receive $2,000 per year for up to four years at an accredited college or university, for a total of $64,000 in scholarship funds. Since 2002, Cochlear Americas has awarded more than $380,000 in scholarships to 58 college students.

"My cochlear implant has completely changed my life," said scholarship winner Lexi Grafe. "Without this amazing piece of technology I would have never heard a single sound. I would not be able to play sports, listen to music and be the outgoing person I am today. My life would be much more limited and I would not be able to achieve the things I have done."

The winners will be formally recognized during Cochlear Celebration in San Diego on February 17, 2013. Attended by more than 1,200 people, Celebration is a three day event hosted by Cochlear Americas to provide Nucleus and Baha System recipients and their families the opportunity to learn and network with others who have had similar experiences in a fun and relaxing environment.

About the Scholarships

The Graeme Clark Scholarship is named after the inventor and pioneer of the cochlear implant. The Anders Tjellstrom Scholarship is named after the research physician at the Department of Otolaryngology at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Sweden who collaborated with Per-Ingvar Branemark, a pioneer in his field, to treat the first patient with a Baha device.

The 2013 Graeme Clark Scholarship winners include: Lexi Grafe (Rochester, MN), a freshman at the University of Denver; Emily Hewlings (Hatfield, MA), a freshman at Goucher College; Mykella Jones (Mesa, AZ), a freshman at the University of Arizona; Stephanie McCoy (Shrewsbury, MA), a freshman at Georgetown University; and Julia Selezneva (Berkley, CA), a medical student in the UCSF and UC Berkley Joint Medical Program.

The 2013 Anders Tjellstrom Baha Scholarship winners include: Madeline Betterly (Okemos, MI), a freshman at Wayne State University; Sydny Bohuk (Tipton, IN), a freshman at the University of Indiana; and Hannah Shule Katz (Boston, MA), a vocal performance major at Boston University.

More than 150 applications were received and reviewed by an esteemed panel of judges, which include: Donald Goldberg, Ph.D., CCC-SLP/A. LSLS Cert. AVT, Cleveland Clinic; William Luxford, M.D., House Research Institute; Blake Papsin, MD, MSc, FRCS, FACS, FAAP, The Hospital for Sick Children; J. Thomas Roland, Jr., MD, NYU; William Shapiro, Au.D., CCC-A, NYU Cochlear Implant Center; and Teresa A. Zwolan, Ph.D., CCC-A, University of Michigan.

For more information about the scholarships, visit CochlearAmericas.com/Scholarship.

About Cochlear

Cochlear is the world leader in advanced hearing technologies. Since launching the first multichannel cochlear implant system 30 years ago, Cochlear has brought the miracle of sound to more than 250,000 people with hearing loss across the globe. For more information about Cochlear and its products, please visit Cochlear.com.

SOURCE Cochlear Americas