Winner: Gravel Fellowship in Pediatric Audiology

Staefa, Switzerland, March 10, 2016

The Hear the World Foundation is very pleased to announce that the 2016-2017 Judith Gravel Fellowship in Pediatric Audiology has been awarded to Sarah Webster, a fourth-year AuD student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She will complete the Judith Gravel Fellowship at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in the Department of Otolaryngology at UNC Chapel Hill. The fellowship was created by the Hear the World Foundation in 2010 and is named in honor of the late Judy Gravel who passed away in 2008.

A native of Oakton, Virginia and a graduate of the University of Virginia, Sarah came to UNC in the fall of 2013 to begin her AuD program. She has been strongly committed to a career in pediatric audiology throughout her graduate program and has taken on additional coursework and leadership experiences through a federally funded training grant in pediatric audiology at UNC and as a graduate student funded by the North Carolina LEND Program (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities).

Sarah has a special interest in the delivery of pediatric audiology services to Spanish-speaking families and is focusing her LEND project on the development of a Resource Guide in Spanish for families with newly diagnosed infants and young children. She will begin her fourth year externship in June at UNC Hospitals where she will be the seventh Gravel Fellow. Contemplating the coming year, Sarah commented, “Dr. Gravel’s immense impact on the field of pediatric audiology is evident in the literature and when speaking with those who knew her. Her passion for research, teaching, and clinical service was unparalleled and I am truly honored to continue my training through a fellowship in her name. “I look forward to learning from the dedicated and experienced pediatric audiologists at UNC Hospital as I pursue my goal of making a difference in the lives of infants and children with hearing loss.”

About the Fellowship

The Gravel Fellowship is awarded each year to a fourth-year Doctor of Audiology (AuD) student whose externship is completed at UNC Hospitals with a focus on audiological management of infants and young children with hearing loss. “Dr. Gravel was internationally renowned for her expertise in pediatric audiology and for her many contributions to clinical research and professional service. She is also remembered for her dedication to the advancement of educational opportunities for students and clinicians,” said Professor Richard Seewald, a member of the Advisory Board for the Hear the World Foundation; “the Foundation carries on her mission with this fellowship.”