Graeme Clark Scholarship in 2010

Hear it for New Zealand!

New Zealand health sciences student awarded prestigious Cochlear 2010 Graeme Clark Scholarship

Auckland University of Technology Bachelor of Health Sciences student, St John volunteer and aspiring paramedic Eva Bergler has been awarded the prestigious Australia and New Zealand Graeme Clark Scholarship 2010.

Named after eminent scientist and inventor of the cochlear implant, Professor Graeme Clark, the scholarship program was established in 2002 to help cochlear implant and now also bone conduction implant recipients excel academically.

Profoundly hearing impaired without her cochlear implant, 19-year-old Eva Bergler was awarded the tightly contested scholarship based on her outstanding academic achievements and her determination to make a real difference to other people’s lives.

Here’s her story.

Eva Bergler

Receiving the Graeme Clark Scholarship is an absolute honour for me as Professor Clark’s life-changing technology has made such a positive impact on my life. Having a cochlear implant three years ago has made an incredible difference to me, both personally and academically, and this scholarship will enable me to pursue my passion to become a paramedic.

I was born in Germany and my family moved to New Zealand when I was five years old. It was from this age that my hearing began to deteriorate for no known reason and I was fitted with my first set of hearing aids when I was just seven. Throughout intermediate and high school, my hearing deteriorated further. Finally in year 12, I was lucky enough to receive funding for a cochlear implant.  

I was amazed at how quickly I adjusted to the new sounds and within weeks I even was using a telephone again. The difference my cochlear implant made for me in my final year of school was incredible for my social life, my academic achievements and my future potential.

Best of all, the confidence my cochlear implant has given me has been amazing. It has literally enabled me to follow my dreams. I am now studying a Bachelor of Health Sciences at Auckland University of Technology, specialising as a paramedic, and am actively involved with St John as an events volunteer.

My immediate goal after graduation is to become a frontline ambulance officer, either in Auckland, or my hometown of Christchurch.  Before my cochlear implant, I highly doubted my ability to carry out the requirements of the job due to my hearing loss. I soon realised, however, that many of the challenges I foresaw for myself are now easily overcome.

For example, communication via radio was unimaginable for me prior to receiving my cochlear implant. Much to my surprise, I managed this with ease only a few weeks ago, despite the motor noise and chatter of fellow classmates in the back of an ambulance.  Needless to say, I was thrilled.

With the implant, I know that I will be able to communicate effectively with patients and cope with the demands of working in pre-hospital care.

Another challenge that my cochlear implant has helped me overcome is being able to work over the summer. For most students this is a given but it was always very hard for me.

Having a cochlear implant has opened so many doors and the social benefits have been amazing. I can now follow a group conversation more easily, call a friend on the phone and hold a conversation in a restaurant - situations that had been almost impossible before I had the implant. Communication has become so much easier, both in English and in German, and I’m now able to keep in touch with family in Germany via video call - just one of the many amazing things that a cochlear implant has enabled me to do.