ON MISSION TO HELP HEARING-IMPAIRED

ASHLEIGH Lenac’s determination to boost more hearingimpaired women into executive positions is deeply personal.

The 18-year-old, who will pursue her ambition via a transformer scholarship at Bond University, has been deaf since shortly after birth.

She was fitted with her first hearing aid as a baby and received a cochlear implant at the age of 10.

Ms Lenac graduated from Somerset College last year and the transformer scholarship will allow her to study for a degree in sustainable environments and planning at Bond University, while also developing her advocacy plan. “I have been 100 per cent profoundly deaf since I was four months old but it hasn’t stopped me doing the things I want to do and it shouldn’t be a barrier to achieving what you want,” she said. “There are lower rates of women with significant hearing impairment participating in the workforce, especially in managerial and executive roles. It’s an important issue. It’s about equality and improving the lives of a segment of society.” Ms Lenac said she endured bullying in her early school years, which inspired her to help others with hearing loss. “I volunteer at Hear and Say Australia. Self esteem growing up was massive for me and is for most hearing-impaired kids. “A lot of kids dwell on it and wish they weren’t hearingimpaired, but you can’t change it, you have to embrace who you are and make it work.”