Holly Taylor (nee McDonell)
In 1987, at the age of four, Holly Taylor (nee McDonell) became one of the first children in the world to receive a cochlear implant. Holly had become profoundly deaf after contracting meningitis.
At this time, the cochlear implant was a new technology, and it was unclear whether it was safe or whether would be successful. It was a difficult decision for her parents, but they chose to go ahead with the implant. As far as Holly is concerned, this is one of the best decisions they ever made.
Less than a year after her cochlear implant was switched on, Holly started school. She attended the mainstream schools throughout her schooling, including an academic selective high school. Holly feels that with the cochlear implant, she was able to enjoy all opportunities available to other children, and she made the most of this, joining sports teams, drama groups, the student council and the debating team.
After completing her HSC, Holly took a year off and travelled to Nepal, where she went hiking in the Himalayas and India and travelled around the country speaking to parents of deaf children on behalf of Cochlear. She also visited Thailand, Europe and the United States. In 2002, Holly commenced studying law and economics at the University of Sydney, with the support of Cochlear's Graeme Clark Scholarship. During her time at university, Holly went on exchange to Cornell University in the United States, where she studied agricultural economics.
Holly graduated in 2007 and now works as a lawyer.
Holly believes that deafness should be no barrier to achieving what you want in your life and encourages young people with hearing loss to work towards achieving their goals, no matter how difficult they may seem. Holly supports the work of Hear For You which helps prepare young people to face the challenges of growing up with a hearing impairment.
