Taranaki deaf student awarded $5000 scholarship towards her studies

Setting up a deaf support group in her community is just one of the achievements that put Madison Davy ahead of the line for a $5000 scholarship to fund her studies.

The 18-year-old Taranaki student was born deaf and has relied on lip-reading and cochlear implants since the age of two.

Becoming the winner of this year's Southern Hearing Charitable Trust (SHCT) scholarship last week proved Madison has strived against all odds.

The SHCT scholarship was set up three years ago to encourage deaf students to pursue tertiary education and Madison was the first in the lower North Island to receive the award.

Madison's mum Kelly said Madison faced challenges every day.

"Communication is always tricky and people often struggle to understand the subtle things ... Maddy relies on lip reading and sometimes people forget and cover their mouth or turn away when they speak to her.

"Environment noise makes it tough, she really struggles to hear in a crowded groups of people," Kelly said.

But Madison refuses to let it rule her life.

Southern Hearing Charitable Trust (SHCT)'s board chair David Kent, who presented the award to Madison, said it was inspiring to see so many more deaf students transitioning from high school into university despite the struggles they faced.

"Madison has achieved a lot both at school and outside of school ... she was a member of the Deaf Aotearoa Youth Board and set up a support group in her community for parents and children with cochlear Implants."

She was also a finalist in the 2016 Attitude Awards.

This year Madison started a course in digital media at Western Institute of Technology in New Plymouth in a bid to start a career in web design.

"I became interested in digital media during high school, I enjoy it and I'm good at it. I also really enjoy photography," Madison said.

Despite her difficulty to hear, Madison has worked out ways to overcome it.

"Before class, Maddy will explain her situation to the tutor or lecturer and tell them what makes it easier for her to learn," Kelly said.

Sitting at the front of the class, getting the teacher to break down explanations and speak as simple and clear as possible, and providing written notes or online links were just a few techniques that helped.

Kelly said helping other was just apart of Madison's nature and supporting others who were struggle was really important to her.

"I've been pretty active in parents' support groups over the years and Madison always came along, so she learnt young how important helping others was."