Margaret Ferris Scholarship for Hard of Hearing Students

Background:

Margaret Ferris was a teacher of deaf and hard of hearing children in the special education program at Oshkosh Public Schools. She retired in the early 1980’s after a long career that touched the lives of many deaf and hard of hearing children from the Fox Valley region. She often stated she taught 27 years without ever being heard. During the years Margaret taught, Oshkosh was the hub of education for children from the region who were deaf or hard of hearing. The program she developed was focused on aural/oral training, rather than on American Sign Language. Margaret’s father was severely hard of hearing, and Margaret became hard of hearing herself when she was in her 50’s. She became involved in the Hearing Loss Association of America in mid-1980 when Wisconsin’s first chapter was formed in Appleton and remained involved until she was physically unable to attend meetings when she was in her late 80’s. Margaret served as chapter president and mentor to people of all ages who became involved in the regional chapter of the organization. She worked tirelessly to get banks, churches, and public buildings to acquire hearing loops to aid the deaf and hard of hearing. In 1994 Margaret wrote a book for parents of hearing-impaired children called “Bright Silence”. This scholarship was established by Margaret Ferris as a tribute to her years of involvement in the Fox Valley Chapter of Hearing Loss Association of America. Margaret wanted to be sure this scholarship would carry forth into perpetuity.

Eligibility: (taken into consideration to determine recipients)

• Hard of hearing students who have a significant hearing loss and use technology to participate in the hearing world • Graduating high school seniors from a public or parochial high school in Calumet, Outagamie, or Winnebago counties • Planning to pursue post-secondary education at an accredited college, university, or technical college as a full-time student

Award Amount:

One non-renewable $1,500 scholarship award for cost of attendance, payable for the first semester of college.

Selection:

Recipients are recommended each spring by the Fox Valley Chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America Selection Committee and the Community Foundation Scholarship Selection Committee.

Collecting the Award & Payment Procedure:

Recipients must fill out and submit Scholarship Acceptance Form and Scholarship Verification Form through the Scholarship Portal (https://www.grantinterface.com/Home/Logon?urlkey=cffvrscholar). Recipients are required to provide supporting documents as instructed in the Scholarship Verification Form, such as class registration/list with credits listed, proof of major, grade transcript, etc. After approval of online Scholarship Verification Form, the scholarship check will be paid directly to the school the recipient will be attending. The Community Foundation communicates with students via email; it is the student’s responsibility to keep their Scholarship Portal account updated with their current email address.

Loss of Eligibility:

Failure to register as a full-time student for the first semester of freshman year of college.

Further Information: • Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region o Website www.cffoxvalley.org/scholarships/ o Email scholarships@cffoxvalley.org o Phone 920.702.7629