A well-known adopted Fifer has walked off with a prestigious inaugural scholarship.
Student Lucy Ritchie, who spends her summers in Elie, describes herself as having lived her life beyond many people’s expectations.
Now the 19-year-old has collected £6,000 as part of the Cochlear UK Anders Tjellstrom scholarship award.
Lucy, who was born profoundly deaf due to Treacher Collins syndrome, beat contenders from across the UK to win.
But Lucy saw the award as more than a handsome cheque. For her it was recognition of the struggles she has overcome to win a place at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen.
The award, given by Cochlear, is open to Baha system recipients in the UK and enables them to receive financial help with university studies.
It was set up last year to honour Dr Tjellstrom for his lifelong pursuit of finding a solution for people with hearing loss and his pioneering work in the field of bone conduction hearing implants.
The Baha system, which he co-invented, has helped around 120,000 people.
It works by sending external sounds to the inner ear through the bone, bypassing the outer and middle ear, and improves the communication abilities of people who get little or no benefit from hearing aids.
“To have a scholarship named after me is, of course, a great honour and a sign of appreciation,” he said.
The professor added: “Lucy’s story is really amazing in spite of her many problems, especially during early childhood, she has already achieved so much in her life.
“Impossible is a word she does not understand.”
Lucy is saving the funding to pay rent in London in her third-year university placement.
She said: “Winning feels like saying ‘well done’. It makes everything worth it.
“Being profoundly deaf has in no way stopped me from taking the countless opportunities I have been given, thanks to my Baha,” said Lucy.
The teenager has been well-known around Elie for 10 years as she uses her family’s holiday home and has taken up work in the local deli.
She said she’d put herself forward for the scholarship to show that a hearing impairment doesn’t stop people from achieving their aspirations or dreams.
“With the right attitude and a pot of determination you can succeed or do anything you want,” she said.
Lisa Aubert, the Cochlear UK general manager, said the scholarship was established to help Baha recipients achieve more in further education and Lucy, as its first winner, had shown “perseverance and leadership”.