Grande Prairie student earns national scholarship from Canadian Hearing Services

Sep 25, 2026 | 12:35 PM

Canadian Hearing Services has awarded 28 scholarships to deaf and hard-of-hearing students across the country, including one from Grande Prairie.

Reeghan Funk is a third-year kinesiology student at Northwestern Polytechnic.

Besides being deaf, Funk was also born with cerebral palsy and a paralyzed vocal cord.

She says in an email to EverythingGP, sent via Canadian Hearing Services, that in high school, she was interested in “how people move and continue to learn new skills and do things that benefit their health and future.”

Funk also says this will help pay for books, tuition, and other expenses.

She adds she hopes to work in health care, in something like audiology and speech pathology.

“I hope to work with people of many different disabilities and backgrounds. I love seeing the joy on people’s faces when they realize I understand their world,” adds Funk.

Funk is also an athlete. She has represented Canada in Power Wheelchair Football and played on Alberta’s VOLT hockey team, a sport also played in a specially designed wheelchair.

Reeghan talks about winning the scholarship in this video.

by Curtis Galbraith