As a dynamic member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, Hannah is currently the Corresponding Secretary and President of the Greek Ivy. Her leadership contributions to campus have been sprinkled throughout a wide array of activities, including acting as a Resident’s Assistant in both Benzing and Whitley, participating in Cravats and Bluestockings, and volunteering with the Adopt-A-Charger program. Hillsdale Christian Fellowship has benefitted from Hannah’s leadership in Bible studies and membership on the Vision Team, which manifested itself off campus at a worldview camp in Colorado where she ministered as a staffer. The last few years have witnessed her working for career services, directing at the SAMs mentorship program on campus, and interning during the summers for a Senate campaign.
What is your reaction to your being nominated outstanding senior woman?
Wow. God is so good to pour out blessing upon blessing. It is so humbling, because there is nothing good in me but that which God has given to me. My friends will tell you, I am a poster-child for the idea of grace as “undeserved favor.”
Do you have a motto or key phrase that inspires you?
From my first week in Olds until now in Kappa, a verse has hung on my wall. It says, “Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act” (Prov 3:27). Time and time again, God has brought that verse to my mind when opportunities arise to do something for others. It is so easy in college to focus on the self, to think that we are independent islands. Well-meaning people will often say that we need to take care of ourselves first so that we can take care of others. While this is true in one sense, I have more often found that when I give to others without worrying about myself, God manages to care for me far better than I ever could have. Paradoxically, it is when I am least concerned for caring for myself that I receive the most.
Who do you seek to emulate?
There isn’t one person in particular, but more of a collage of people who display Christ in unique ways: my father’s courage, my mother’s boldness and joy, William Wilberforce’s winsomeness, my brother’s drive, Jonathan Edwards’ ability to see God in everything, Betsy (Peters) Howard’s zeal for God’s Word, Kelsey Shunk’s intentionality in relationships, Lizzie Shell and Mary Feeney’s gift for listening, my sister-in-law’s wisdom.
Looking back on your time at Hillsdale, what is something major it has given you?
The ability to read. Not, of course, that I had never learnt phonics, but that I have gained a whole new perspective on how to approach literature. This has not only transformed the way I read regular books, but also the way I read the Bible. I now see it, not only as the word of God to his creatures, but also as the greatest work of literature ever written. The second thing that Hillsdale has given me is an expanded perspective on the world. Homeschoolers discover that there are public schooled students who escaped a Marxist world-view; private schoolers find people who didn’t grow up with Latin as a second language can do well in rhetoric classes; public schoolers realize that there is an occasional homeschooler who is in possession of social skills. Silly examples, perhaps, but they illustrate one of the greatest aspects of college: when we live with others we learn to see from other perspectives, and our view of the world expands. From these two things, Hillsdale has given me confidence. Because I know how to learn from those who have come before me, and because I have learned to see from other people’s perspectives, I know that I am prepared for “the real world.”
What is your legacy?
Other than a deepening of the dirt path from Saga to Howard? I pray that I leave behind joy. There are so many ways that God reveals himself to us; if only we would take the time to look and wonder – what joy would be ours!
What are your plans for the future?
Long-term, I want to take part in the restoration of the American family. Of course, that could take many practical forms, but I would like to focus on education, especially through children’s literature. In the next few years, I want to get a job in the business world and begin writing and illustrating children’s books.