Podcast

Heather Whitestone

Academy of Achievement

The 1995 Miss America, Heather Whitestone lost her hearing, at 18 months of age. Doctors told her mother that a normal life for Heather was impossible. As a child, she learned to read lips and use a hearing aid. She spent six months re-learning to pronounce her own name. Assisted by special education teachers, she excelled in school, but had few friends. She became involved in pageants to earn scholarship …