Michael, who goes by Mikey, is a 9th grader at HRHS who was born deaf in Colorado. He wears a cochlear implant and has good speech. When he first started high school, he was scared and felt lost having to navigate new classrooms and schedules. However, he was happy to find a program for deaf and hard of hearing students, feeling less alone. In high school, Mikey has made many new friends and has improved his reading and learning, overcoming his initial reluctance to engage in schoolwork.