Profoundly deaf, Furman’s Alana Epstein hopes to change lives

Alana Epstein, senior attacker on the Furman University Women’s Lacrosse team, was featured in a USA Lacrosse Magazine article. Epstein, who was born profoundly deaf, shares her thoughts about the life-changing decision her parents made for her when she was an infant – to have her undergo a procedure for cochlear implants. “My parents wanted me to live in the hearing world since everyone else in our family was hearing,” Epstein said. “I can’t imagine my life without it now. I’m able to have conversations with friends. I’m able to attend mainstream school and play sports. It helps a lot.”

Epstein, a psychology and health sciences major, is paying it forward. She has spent the last two summers volunteering at Atlanta Speech School where she assists 2- and 3-year-olds who are experiencing hearing loss.

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