Each year, the Southern Hearing Charitable Trust (SHCT), in partnership with Forsyth Barr, awards a $5,000 scholarship to support a Cochlear Implant (CI) recipient in tertiary study.
A big congratulations to the 2025 recipient, Sam Dannenberg, who was presented with his award last month. 21-year-old Sam is in his final year completing a Bachelor of Health Science in Paramedicine.
In his application, Sam said “My cochlear Implant is part of my story, but it’s not the headline. It’s a tool that helps me live life fully, but the real story is the way I’ve chosen to live – with humour, resilience, determination and a refusal to be boxed in by anyone’s assumptions. So, I don’t focus on my hearing loss. Life is made possible because of my CI, but it’s not the central part of who I am. I am 10-fold more than my CI – I’m just Sam; resilient, still sarcastic and more than enough.”
Pictured: L – R, Dave & Clare, Sam’s parents, Sam, Sams partner Sophie, David Kent (Southern Hearing Charitable Trust Board Chair) and Jonathan Davidson (Forsyth Barr)