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"My Hearing Loss Does Not Define Me": UP Student Celebrates Graduation

Wednesday, May 12, 2021 at 12:13 PM by Naomi Kobbie

- A beautiful graduate from the University of Pretoria just bagged her BA Degree in audiology

- The young lady, Michèle Schoeman, suffers from hearing loss herself and hopes to help others just like her

- Schoeman is currently working towards her Master's degree in the field

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A stunning woman from the University of Pretoria has just celebrated bagging her BA degree in audiology. Michèle Schoeman suffered from hearing loss very early in life, so hopes her first-hand experience will only make her a better audiologist.

She definitely learnt to put up a good fight at a very tender age. Schoeman was born with a teratoma, a rare type of tumour, which surgeons removed safely five days after her birth.

'My Hearing Loss Does Not Define Me': UP Student Celebrates Her Graduation — This graduate is definitely proving our disabilities do not define us. Images: UGC
Source: UGC

Unfortunately, Schoeman's severe case of jaundice and difficulty breathing as a child ultimately led to other health complications which contributed to her hearing loss.

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The tenacious young woman did not let her disability prevent her from participating in life and enthusiastically applied to several universities. Schoeman says she had no idea what she really wanted to study but knew God would put her in the right place:

“I wasn’t sure what to do – what I did know was that my purpose was to serve other people. I shadowed a few professions and the topic of being an audiologist came up. I remember thinking that I would never be interested in audiology: it was hard enough having hearing loss – why would I want to tell others that they have hearing loss?"

"However, in the end, I applied for different courses at different universities and prayed that I would be accepted for the one that I was meant to do. I am very fortunate that I was accepted for audiology at UP. I just knew that it was, and is, the place that God wants me to be.”

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Today, Schoeman emphasises that she did not choose to be an audiologist simply because she is deaf. She only wants to give others the help she so dearly needed as a child.

“My hearing loss does not define me – it is only part of who I am. I am an audiologist because I want to give others the help that was given to me; if you cannot participate in a conversation or communicate, that is very lonely and frustrating.”

The inspiring young woman is currently completing her Master's in audiology at the University of Pretoria.

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Meanwhile, Briefly News previously reported that a young lady identified as Destinee Burrell has celebrated her academic achievement on social media after graduating from John Marshall Law School. Sharing adorable photos of herself on LinkedIn, she said she is blessed to have achieved a dream she has had since she was a little girl.