19 September 2005
Achieving against the odds
Jenny Pevreal, a hearing impaired wife, mother, farmer and fulltime A+ student, has been awarded the Quest for
Excellence Scholarship for Deaf and hearing impaired New Zealanders to coincide with Deaf Awareness Week.
The $15,000 scholarship was established by the National Foundation for the Deaf and the Deaf Association of New Zealand
for post-graduate study. Its purpose is to reward and inspire people whose hearing disability has meant they have had to
overcome great odds.
Jenny Pevreal is currently studying for her Masters degree in clinical psychology with the aim of becoming a registered
clinical psychologist and being able to help people with mental illness.
“I am honoured and excited to be the winner of the Quest for Excellence Scholarship. It feels wonderful to be recognised
for my achievements. So often when people see you’re wearing two hearing aids, their attitude changes – you’re not
important, you’re not intelligent and sometimes, you’re not even there.
“Apart from giving me the much needed financial boost to complete my studies, the scholarship has also provided an
opportunity to raise awareness of the challenges faced by 450,000 Deaf and hearing impaired New Zealanders everyday. I
hope that I, together with future recipients, will inspire others to be optimistic and strive to achieve their goals.”
Jenny’s hearing loss was not detected until she was 20. She had struggled through school and university not always able
to hear the teacher – especially male teachers as their voices are just below her level of hearing – but was determined
to make the grade.
It wasn’t until work colleagues pointed out that perhaps she needed a hearing test, she found out she had a bilateral
moderate congenital neural hearing loss. Hearing aids have opened up the world for her, although she says it takes a lot
of energy and concentration to focus on ‘trying to hear’.
A distinguished mature student and high achiever Jenny has to her credit many accolades for her earlier work in
horticulture, in particular for her research in to eliminating viruses from wine grape varieties. Among her awards, she
received both the Winston Churchill Fellowship Award and the Royal Society Prince and Princess of Wales Science Award
for research into virus elimination in wine grapes.
When on the point of returning to the workforce after full time motherhood, she realised her own personal experiences
were a driving factor and turning point for moving out of sciences and into psychology.
Her empathy for people who are confronted with barriers together with a prolonged recovery period after a major car
accident made her realise there are so many people who have to depend on others to survive. Once her studies at the
University of Waikato are complete, Jenny is looking forward to contributing to improving the lives of others in the
same way that others have assisted and inspired her.
As part of her personal growth, Jenny has had a 20 year long fascination with studying sacred languages, exploring
Sanskrit, Hebrew, Latin, Greek, Arabic and Maori texts, scriptures, prayers and sayings. She attends weekly nightclasses
and weekend workshops regularly.
As well as juggling the multiple demands of family, farming and her challenging studies, Jenny makes time to fundraise
for her son’s school, is a senior teacher with the Foundation for Higher Learning Charitable Trust and a member of the
Hearing Association.
Marianne Schumacher, executive manager of the National Foundation for the Deaf said the aim of the scholarship was to
reward and inspire New Zealand’s Deaf and hearing impaired achievers whose hearing disability has meant they have had to
overcome great odds.
“Because hearing loss is an invisible disability, it goes without saying that all Deaf and hearing impaired people have
faced inevitable challenges over and above the average person to obtain their degree,” said Ms Schumacher. “The aim of
this scholarship is to reward excellence and encourage these people to pursue their dreams.
“Jenny is a highly intelligent, talented woman who has clearly demonstrated a determination to excel and an incredible
enthusiasm for living, learning and helping others.”
The scholarship will be awarded on an annual basis and is open to Deaf and hearing impaired citizens or permanent
residents of New Zealand who have an undergraduate degree and plan to embark on postgraduate study. This could be in any
field, including the arts, science, fine art, music or otherwise.
ENDS