Cochlear™ Americas Brings Total Scholarships Awarded to $320,000, Adds New Program

CENTENNIAL, Colo., Feb. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- For the tenth year in a row, Cochlear Americas, the global leader in implantable hearing solutions, has announced winners of its prestigious Cochlear™ Graeme Clark Scholarship Award as well as 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.

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Five students were presented the Graeme Clark Scholarship, which provides $8,000 in college financial assistance to Nucleus® Cochlear Implant recipients around the world. The Graeme Clark Scholarship is named after the inventor and pioneer of the cochlear implant and the scholarship honors implant recipients who are academically gifted and committed to leadership and humanity. Each of the students selected will receive $2,000 per year for up to four years at an accredited college or university.

Cochlear Americas also made its first awards of the Anders Tjellstrom Baha Scholarship, which is open to recipients of Baha® Implants. Three students were awarded the $8,000 scholarships, named after Anders Tjellstrom, M.D., Ph.D, a research physician at the Department of Otolaryngology at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Sweden.  In 1972 Dr. Tjellstrom collaborated with Per-Ingvar Branemark, a pioneer in his field, to treat the first patient with a Baha device. Forty years later, Dr. Tjellstrom continues his groundbreaking work that restores hearing to people around the world. The scholarship recognizes students who have proven academic achievement and a commitment to the Cochlear ideals of leadership and humanity.

"It is our great honor to support these inspirational students who have overcome challenges and shown hard work and determination while benefiting from the use of Nucleus Cochlear Implant and Baha technology," said Chris Smith, President, Cochlear Americas.  "This year's addition of the Anders Tjellstrom Baha Scholarship allows us to assist even more students as they pursue their academic goals and dreams."

This year's Graeme Clark Scholarship recipients include:

• Sarah Ovresat (Eaton Rapids, MI), a freshman at the University of Michigan where she has an inclination towards 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, CT), a freshman at Dartmouth College, with a strong interest in international relations, government, history and environmental studies and hopes to pursue a career where she can "meet new people, see new places and learn new ideas."
• Peter Campbell (Dallas, TX), a freshman at Rutgers University pursuing a degree in Labor Studies and Employment Relations and hopes to attend law school. 

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, OH), a freshman at Kent State University studying art education with dreams of becoming an art museum educator. 
• Carly Swanson (Carol Stream, IL), a junior at Illinois Institute of Technology studying information technology and management and hopes to obtain her master's degree. 

More than 140 applications were received and reviewed by the panel of judges which included:

Graeme Clark Scholarship Judges:
Brian Perry, M.D., Ear Medical Group
Rene Gifford, Ph.D., Vanderbilt University
Diego Preciado, M.D., Ph.D., The George Washington University School of Medicine
Melissa Sweeney, M.S., CCC-SLP, University of Texas, Callier

Anders Tjellstrom Baha Scholarship Judges:
Anders Tjellstrom, M.D., Ph.D., D.Sc.hc, Sahlgenska University Hospital
Stephen Cass, M.D., MPH, University of Colorado Hospital, Denver
Colleen Ryan-Bane, M.S., CCC-A, Johns Hopkins

For more information about these scholarships, visit www.cochlearamericas.com/scholarship

About Cochlear Americas
Cochlear Americas is the world 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 250,000 people with hearing loss across the globe. For more information about Cochlear Americas products, please visit www.cochlearamericas.com.

Related Link:
Cochlear Amercias Scholarships

SOURCE Cochlear Americas