Archives for August 19, 2025

Wyatt Sclafani, Fall 2025 Ear Community college scholarship recipient.

Congratulations to Wyatt Sclafani for being one of our Ear Community college scholarship recipients this year!

Wyatt was born with unilateral microtia and atresia of his right ear and lives in Belmont, Massachusetts with his family. Wyatt grew up playing football and rugby during school and has become quite the start athlete at his high school. Being involved in athletics where he can be competitive with others who have sports in common has helped him fit in and make lots of friends. Wyatt says that “The last four years have been some of the best hears of my life.” Wyatt was able to win the Middlesex League Campionship alongside his football team, which he says hadn’t been done since the 1960’s. He also served as a team captain for his football team and even traveled to Italy to play for the Belmont Rugby Football Team this past April.

Wyatt also knows what it is like to be a part of community when it comes to microtia and

Wyatt Sclafani, Ear Community college scholarship recipient for Fall 2025.

atresia. He and his family have hosted (2) Ear Community picnics over the years in Boston where Wyatt has enjoyed being a role model for others in the same situation. Whether he is on the field or volunteering with the community helping someone realize that they are not alone with whatever challenge they have, Wyatt has learned to be a role model in many ways. At the Ear Community picnics that Wyatt and his family have hosted over the years, he has enjoyed speaking with others in our community and also being there for the younger kids. At our organization’s last picnic in Boston, a little boy traveled to our picnic just to take a picture with Wyatt so he could show all of his friends at school that he knows a cool kid because he was struggling with friends. Wyatt was happy to take a picture with this little boy and helped make his day in addition to helping him realize that he is not alone with microtia and atresia! Wyatt is attending Nichols College in Dudley, MA where he will be playing Division 3 football for Nichols College! Wyatt plans to earn his degree in business & marketing!

Wyatt, you have a bright future lying ahead for you in both school and in sports! We are excited to see where football takes you and we just know you will do amazing things with your degree in business and marketing!

Thank you and good luck from our Ear Community Board of Directors!
Melissa Tumblin
Founder – Executive Director
Ear Community

Mya DeAngelis, Ear Community college scholarship recipient for Fall 2025.

Congratulations to Mya DeAngelis for being one of our Ear Community college scholarship recipients this year!

Mya was born with unilateral microtia and atresia of her right ear and has Goldenhar Syndrome. She lives with her family in Lincoln, Rhode Island. Mya is an honors student who graduated with a rank of 30 out of 245 students. She played tennis for all four years of her high school career and was also part of the mock trial club and the club for change. While she enjoyed being competitive, one of her favorite things she was a part of during high school was being a member of the club for change because it is a group that gets together to foster positive change in the community.

Mya comes from a long history of family being involved with construction and skilled trades. Her great grandfather was a mason. Her grandfather was a master electrician and her dad has carried on the tradition as a master electrician as well. Mya remembers that during holiday breaks and summer vacation, she would go to work with her dad on various projects and has realized the satisfaction behind completing a project from start to finish. She also appreciates knowing how many people of various skill sets and backgrounds come together to complete a job.

Mya will be the first of her family to attend college & she is very excited to carry the torch from her family history of electricians, masonry experts & construction professionals! She is attending Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston & is looking forward to earning her degree in Construction & Project Management!

We are excited for you to build an incredible future for yourself and to build incredible places for so many others as you utilize your skills in construction and project management, Mya! Congratulations! Our Ear Community Organization and our community are proud of you! Do great things, Mya!

Thank you and good luck from our Ear Community Board of Directors!
Melissa Tumblin
Founder – Executive Director
Ear Community

Joshua Gorlin receives Ear Community college scholarship, Fall 2025.

Congratulations to Joshua Gorlin for being one of our Ear Community college scholarship recipients this year!

Joshua was born with unilateral microtia and atresia of his right ear and lives in New York. Ever since Joshua was a child, he has loved music! He had dreamed of being a music teacher for years! In elementary school, Joshua began noticing that he hears differently and would sit in the front of the class to ensure he could hear the teacher. He says looking back, he remembers that the other kids would laugh at him or make jokes, but there was always one place he felt like the other kids and that was in the music room!

When Joshua was a child, he attended one of our Ear Community picnics with his family so he wouldn’t feel so alone, which helped instill a newfound confidence in him that he wasn’t the only one missing an ear & there were others just like him! With his love of music and knowing he wasn’t alone now, he found a home with the band at school over the years, fitting in better. Over the years, Joshua became even more confident being cast in roles in drama and theater performances, discovering these and music as outlets to express himself. He began realizing that he enjoyed standing out not because of his he had a disability and was different, but because he was recognized for his strengths! Music has become an important part of Joshua’s life and he enjoys having the opportunity to bring joy to others whether it is performing through jazz combos at venues in restaurants or singing in the local church choir or just singing Beatles songs on his guitar or the piano with his grandmother. All of this has pointed Joshua in the direction of working toward a career in music!

Joshua is very involved with his community and at school including being the Vice President of the Tri-M Music Honor Society, Treasurer for the Monroe Woodbury Drama Club and playing string bass in the Chamber Orchestra. He was also selected for the State NYSSMA All-State Mixed Chorus in 2023 and 2024 and for NYSSMA All-State Vocal Jazz in 2025. So, for Joshua, his dream of becoming a music teacher is the perfect pairing of using the joy of music to encourage students to overcome their obstacles and differences and find what makes them unique! Joshua will be attending Fredonia State University in NY earning a degree in Music Education & Theater! He looks forward to becoming a music teacher!

We just know that Joshua will make an incredible music teacher and we bet he will definitely be a favorite teacher for so many of his students over the years! Congratulations, Joshua! Our Ear Community Organization and our community are proud of you! We know you will go on to do many great things!

Thank you and good luck from our Ear Community Board of Directors!
Melissa Tumblin
Founder – Executive Director
Ear Community