The Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery is pleased to announce the first recipient of the Richard D. Wyant Endowed Award in Audiology, Jasmine Ramirez!
Jasmine is a rising second year audiology student in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder. As an elected board member of the Student Academy of Audiology, Jasmine has demonstrated strong leadership skills and an unwavering commitment to enhancing diversity and inclusion within the field of Audiology. Part of her diversity initiative includes overseeing a clinical hearing screening project where screenings in minority neighborhoods will be offered. Jasmine will be able to guide patients who do not pass screenings and direct them to appropriate clinics.
Jasmine is working on this initiative under the guidance of Anu Sharma, PhD, Professor in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder. Jasmine has quickly become one of Dr. Sharma’s strongest research assistants in her laboratory at CU Boulder. Dr. Sharma wrote in her recommendation letter “Jasmine is an ideal candidate for this award who will work hard on her proposed diversity initiatives and will also be a long-term advocate for much-needed diversity and inclusion in our profession. In closing, I want to commend the Richard D. Wyant Endowed Award in Audiology which is helping to further and enhance the profession of Audiology.”
On hearing the news about this award, Jasmine says "I am so honored to have been awarded the Richard Wyant Endowment in Audiology! This is an extremely exciting moment in my early professional career, especially since I will be able to directly work with the Front Range community because of it. For my diversity initiative, I will be going to underrepresented communities to educate about hearing loss, partake in hearing screenings if desired, and provide those communities with the next steps including providing hearing aids. I will also be working with Dr. Anu Sharma and Dr. Vinay Manchaiah in a hearing aid research project, where I will be focusing data outcomes on underrepresented populations. This award will allow my work to directly help the world of audiology become more inclusive."
Jasmine’s commitment to working with underrepresented populations will have a great impact on our community and beyond. Congratulations, Jasmine!
The endowment was made possible by a generous gift from Mr. Richard Wyant with matching support from the Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery in the School of Medicine located on the Anschutz Medical Campus.