text: Heather Leigh Whitestone McCallum (born February 24, 1973) is a former beauty queen and conservative activist who was the first deaf Miss America title holder, having lost most of her hearing at 18 months.
  Early life and education
  Whitestone was born in Dothan, Alabama, to Bill Whitestone and Daphne Gray. When she was 18 months old, she lost her hearing due to a serious ear infection. In fourth grade, Heather learned about the story of a young woman from Alabama who would forever change her life, Helen Keller. Keller became her role model. Whitestone was unable to keep up with her classwork and began to fall behind her peers. She asked her family to send her to a special school that would enable her to catch up with other students in her class. While at the Central Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis, Missouri, she learned two grade levels per year. After three years, she caught up with her peers and returned to Alabama to graduate from public high school with a 3.6-grade point average (GPA).