By Jeff Lipton
What's remarkable about her talent is that she has 95 percent hearing loss, and her technique depends on her refined feel for the vibrations made by the instrument.
The Town of Hempstead Board honored Lew, 18, of Woodmere on June 21 with the Against All Odds Achievement Award, after which she played a musical composition for delighted board members.
"Chelsea did not allow this challenge to slow her academic and extracurricular pursuits," said Town Supervisor Kate Murray in presenting the award to Lew. "Instead, she worked tirelessly to realize her goals, and reached out to others around her through service projects. Chelsea's extensive list of accomplishments against all odds is remarkable, but her dedication to helping others recognize their own abilities is truly inspirational."
Lew's mother, Alli Berman, said her daughter began to lose her hearing at age 3. "That's when I noticed she had a problem hearing," Berman said. "It was a very steep decline from 3 years old to 9 years old."
Berman took Lew to audiologists, but never found out what caused the hearing loss, she said. Lew's older brother, Jesse, also suffered some hearing loss when he was a child. Both children were eventually given steroid treatments, and Jesse regained his hearing because he was given the treatments sooner. The family did not know about them when Chelsea lost her hearing, Berman said. Jesse, an accomplished trumpet player, is with the Classical Symphony Orchestra in Chicago.
Lew developed a love of music at an early age. "She was always humming and singing around the house," said Berman. "She's deaf, but that is not something that has stopped her."
Lew has played an instrument since the third grade, when she attended Hewlett Elementary School. Berman credited the District 14 music department and Kevin Bayen, director of music for the Hewlett-Woodmere School District, with encouraging her daughter's musical talents. "The music department has been just wonderful," Berman said.
Lew, who reads lips, chose the viola because she could easily feel the varying vibrations of different musical tones under her chin. She was a section lead in the Hewlett High School and Long Island Youth orchestras. She was also an alternate in the All-State group selected to play in Rochester, said Bayen.
Bayen called Lew's hearing loss "quite a handicap she has overcome, especially when you're trying to play music. She not only plays, but she plays at an incredible level. And she's such a nice kid, too."
And the accolades Lew has received don't stop with her musical talents. She graduated from Hewlett High with a grade-point average of 96, and throughout her high school career, she took honors, Advanced Placement and college courses. The school district has provided her with the necessary services, her mother said, including a stenographer to take down class notes for her.
She also held several leadership positions in volunteer, extracurricular and service projects. She is a Big Sister and a mentor for younger students with hearing loss, and has encouraged them to take greater roles in school activities.
Lew received about 10 scholarship awards. In the fall she will attend the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, where she plans to study international business and entrepreneurship and economics. She also plans to start a campus mentorship program for students who are faced with challenges like hers, and she is already working with the university's office of student disabilities services on the project.
Lew also volunteers at hospitals, and is vice president of the Future Business Leaders of America. Her plans are to work in international business and open a business of her own, coupling that with travel, since she is already a world traveler, her mother said. She also spends about 10 hours a week tutoring local children.
"She's just an incredible kid, and she's definitely an inspiration to me," Berman said.
Comments about this story? JLipton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 204.
