Friday Harbor High School alum and Arizona State University Junior, Izzy Graham was awarded the first Sam Banry Scholarship for $2,500. presented by Kiwanis and Dave and Nancy Honeywell. The ceremonty took place Aug. 15 at Brickworks.

“This scholarship will help with out of state college tuition,” Graham told the Journal later. “I wanted to help people with disabilities, to help others. is the reason why I am able to do what I am doing. Graham is majoring in the hearing and speech sciences. at ASU.

Sam Banry was a beloved islander who passed away in December 2022 at the young age of 31. The Honeywells wanted to honor his memory by creating a scholarship for those working to help others with disabilities.

Along with this special $2,500 scholarship, Kiwanis has awarded 14 traditional and eight trade school scholarships worth over $22,000 this year.

“Kiwanis is happy to partner with the Honeywell Foundation to be able to help so many young high school graduates continue their education,” scholarship chair Jack Rice said, adding that the Kiwanis hopes this Sam Banry Scholarship will be the first of many.

“I grew up with a speech impediments, and my dad was hard of hearing so I wanted to get into health. I realized this is a perfect major for me, and it is so much fun,” Graham said. Her plan is to get a masters in speech pathology, and her ultimate goal is to work with children.

A few statistics show how great the need is for work in speech and hearing; according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, over the last year, nearly one in 12 U.S. children between the ages of three to 17 has had a disorder related to voice, speech, language, or swallowing, and not quite half receive treatment. The prevalence of speech sound disorders (namely, articulation disorders or phonological disorders) in young children is approximately eight to nine percent. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association over three million Americans stutter, and approximately 9.4 million adults report having a problem using their voice that lasted one week or longer. Approximately two million Americans suffer from aphasia, which is a language disorder that affects a person’s ability to understand and express language, reading, and writing. In regards to hearing, around 37.5 million Americans report having some trouble hearing. More than 51% of all adults report having hearing problems, but only 11% have sought treatment. in young people, an estimated 12.5 of children in the U.S. ages six to 19 show evidence of noise-induced hearing loss. While approximately 26 million Americans, ages 20–69, have a hearing loss. The Speech-Language-Hearing Association also points out that the risk of dementia may be up to five times greater and the risk of falling three times greater among people with untreated hearing loss.

Currently Graham is doing a lot of research and working with her professors on a research paper about speech production.

“By the time I graduate, I may already have a paper published,” Graham said excitedly. “I feel so fortunate to have found something I like so much.”