ABOUT US

OUR HISTORY

Raise the Volume was founded in 2020 with a mission to inspire, encourage, and support Deaf students by providing information, mentoring, and tuition assistance for secondary educational programs.

Recognizing the challenges faced by Deaf individuals in accessing higher education, the organization aims to bridge this gap by offering scholarships, hosting community events to raise funds and awareness, and providing access to Deaf mentors who guide students on their educational journeys. Through these initiatives, Raise the Volume is committed to raising awareness of Deaf culture and empowering students to reach their full potential.

VALUES

Empower Deaf students through scholarships for higher education

Host community events to raise funds and awareness

Connect individuals with Deaf mentors for guidance and inspiration

Promote awareness and appreciation of Deaf culture

PAST SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS

  • Hannah Brown is a third-year audiology doctoral student at Kansas University Medical Center who was born with a severe to profound hearing loss and received Cochlear Implants as a child—an experience that inspired her passion for pediatric cochlear implant audiology. She is a Kansas LEND trainee, graduate research assistant for the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, and an active member of several professional organizations, including the Student Academy of Audiology and the American Cochlear Implant Alliance. Her interests include working with children, individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders, and addressing disparities in rural healthcare, and in her free time, she enjoys concerts, cooking, and video games.

  • My name is Yangdu Sherpa and I prefer to be called Yang. I am currently a student at NTID/RIT. I am hard of hearing. My hobbies includes reading novels and Manga. The motto of my life is “Everything happens for a reason.

  • Molly Headrick, 22 Gallaudet University future class of ‘25 MA ‘27 from Oceanside California

  • Sarah Hau is a second year student at DePaul University, in the College of Education, where she is pursuing her Bachelors in Secondary Education with a concentration in English, and a minor in ASL and Special Education. She is the president of the ASL Club. In her free time, she likes to hang out with friends, play music, and travel around.

  • Sarit Cahana (she/her pronouns) is a candidate for a Masters in Disability Studies at City University of New York (CUNY). Her lived experience as a hard of hearing person has led to her practicing disability advocacy since high school. During her undergraduate she founded and led the student advocacy group, Disabled Student Union. She now continues this work as the Accessibility Coordinator at Poster House, a poster museum in New York City.


  • Hello, my name is Lucas Riley, and I am a current first-year student at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C... I am studying Mathematics and Information Technology. I am expected to graduate in May of 2026. I came from a deaf family with a hearing brother. I was raised in a small town named Choctaw in Oklahoma. I currently live in Denver, Colorado. I enjoy playing video games during my free time. I attended a deaf residential school for a few years during my early childhood years. During middle school, I transferred to a mainstream school where I was the only deaf student until graduation. I graduated with a 3.8 GPA a year earlier than I should have.