Heather Whitestone Essay Example for Free

Heather Whitestone Essay Introduction: Heather Whitestone is one of the most inspiring female figures of our time. She posses an excessive amount of dedication and devotion. She went deaf around 18 months and from then on was faced with a series of difficulties socially and educationally. She pummeled through all the angst and frustration and became very successful for she went to a regular school and passed in the high portion of her class and then further became Miss. America of 1995. She inspires people that they can accomplish so much because within her lifetime she has done so much more than and ordinary person who can hear. 1.Heather Whitestone is the first woman with a physical disability ever to win the coveted Miss America title. During her finale performance she memorized the musical beats to perform a ballet routine 2.As the naming of the new Miss America was only moments away, and the final two contestants- Heather and Miss Virginia, Culen Johnson awaited the announcement of which women will wear the crown, doubt shadowed Heather’s face, making it clear she was uncertain of whether she would be able to lip-read the announcement. Once they had shouted that Culen Johnson Miss Virginia is the first runner-up and Heather was the winner, Miss Virginia pointed her fingers at Heather and mouthed, â€Å"It’s you!† 3.Heather successfully promoted her platform, S.T.A.R.S (Success through Action and realization of your dreams) throughout her reign. 4.She was the first Miss America to be featured on a Barbara Walters’ television special 5.When her first son turned 2 and began to ask questions such as â€Å"What is this sound?† and â€Å"What does this mean?† she decided to get a cochlear implant to teach herself and her son 6.She had a cochlear implant in when she was 29 throughout the Miss America pageant, then got one when she was 32 and now relies mostly on lip-reading, which she claims is tiring. 7.Although she can’t hear herself currently speaking she still has a southern accent 8.All three of her children and hearing and are very supportive of her disability 9.Doctors told Heather’s parents that she would never read beyond the third grade level, nor learn to speak 10.She said she would like to assist children from all backgrounds to reach their fullest potential in life, to set high goals, and achieve them, as she has been doing for many years