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| Hanna |
In recent weeks leading up to the March 7/14 deadline of the
2013 Pat McAndless Award of Excellence application process, we have been featuring the 2013 PMAE award winners here on the blog. The six winners were asked by EBIDS to answer the following questions, in order to share with us a bit more about "who they are and what made them stand out to the 2013 PMAE Selection Committee".
Here is the 6th and final 2013 PMAE winner profile. Good luck to all the 2014 applicants!
HANNA S
$2000 PMAE winner
Hanna is a longtime NPIDA dancer, as well as being a former assistant teacher and 14-year member of Eire Born. She is 22 years old and is an Open Championship dancer. Hanna is presently completing her final year at UBC, where she will graduate in May with a double major in History and Classical Archaeology. She has recently been accepted into a Masters of Museum Studies graduate program in Britain, which begins in September 2014. Congratulations Hanna!
1. What does winning the first annual PMAE mean to you?
I was incredibly honoured and thrilled to win the first annual PMAE. Pat has been an important person in my life for a long time, and it was very rewarding to have been judged by the committee as fulfilling his vision.
2. Can you tell us a bit about your love for Irish Dance and your passion, work ethic, dedication and persistence in working hard?
I’ve been dancing with NPIDA for 16 years. I can’t remember what it was like not to Irish dance, and it has been fundamental to my life in many ways. I was one of the original members of Eire Born when it began in November 1998 (before it had a name!), and I cannot adequately put into words the impact it has had on my life: in addition to teaching me leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving skills, the many performance opportunities bestowed in me an inner confidence which carried over to the rest of my life. Irish Dance also expanded my worldview by giving me incredible opportunities to travel: to Switzerland, New York, Ottawa, Nashville, and all over BC/Alberta/Washington/Oregon for shows and competitions.
Dance absolutely developed my work ethic and taught me the value of being dedicated to a goal. I was in Preliminary Championships for seven years before reaching Open at age 15; while challenging at the time, I wouldn’t trade the lessons in persistence and good sportsmanship that I learned from that for anything. Being in university has really highlighted how important dance is to me, as increasing pressures on my time have made me evaluate what my priorities are.
The opportunity to compete at Worlds in 2013 on NPIDA’s senior 8-Hand team was the chance of a lifetime for me, and I found the training process to be extremely rewarding. I am also so thankful for all the friendships formed through Irish dance, and how it gave me the opportunity to teach beginner dancers for several years. Many of my former students are now my classmates! It has been such a joy to watch them improve, succeed, and mature into wonderful role models for the younger dancers.
3. How did you initially get involved in volunteering and what was one of your first experiences and/or favourite early memories from volunteering?
I first got involved in volunteering when I was 10. My Grade 6 teacher set up a program where we could volunteer in another classroom a few afternoons each week, so for the whole year I got to volunteer in a K/1 class and I loved it! Mostly I worked one-on-one with the children on their reading skills. A favourite early memory from volunteering: when I was 12 I won the Vancouver Heritage Fair with a project about the Hastings Mill Store Museum, and afterwards the staff let me help out at the museum answering visitors’ questions, which I did for a few years.
4. What types of volunteer work did you do in the past few years that you included in your 2013 PMAE application?
Richmond Museum: I've been a volunteer intern since January 2013 (two days per week). I assisted with planning for Doors Open Richmond and the Richmond-Delta Heritage Fair, conducted research for upcoming exhibits, assisted with school programs, managed the education collection (touchable artifacts used for school programs), did artifact photography, wrote media releases, edited grant applications, etc.
Crane Library, UBC: For the past four years I have volunteered two hours per week recording narrations of textbooks for UBC students and faculty who can’t access regular text due to physical impairments or learning difficulties.
Classical, Near Eastern, and Religious Studies Student Association UBC: I've been a volunteer exam-help tutor since December 2012.
Bader International Study Centre, Herstmonceux Castle, England: While a student here in fall 2011 and summer 2012, I was a library volunteer in digital cataloguing. I also was a volunteer Irish dance instructor for BISC students. Since September 2012 I have been a BISC Alumni Ambassador; my role includes writing and editing application and orientation materials for prospective students.
Veterans Affairs Canada: In April 2012 I was one of ten Vimy Prize (history scholarship) alumni sponsored by the Vimy Foundation to assist with the 95th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge in France. I gave cemetery tours to hundreds of the 5000 visiting Canadian high school students, and assisted with the Silent March from Givenchy-en-Gohelle to Vimy.
Thompson Community Centre: From 2006-2009 I was the Chair and sole Teen Advisor to the Thompson Community Centre Youth Committee (an adult committee responsible for issues and programming concerning youth).
Prince of Wales Mini School (high school): I was on the executive of Student Council and the Global Issues Club; and the lead organizer of the June Picnic and Family Winter Supper (two events for 150 families each).
5. Can you describe what you have learned and how you have grown from doing volunteer work?
Volunteering has improved my communication, teamwork, confidence, and leadership skills, helped me learn to prioritize tasks and take initiative, and has given me experience managing teams of volunteers. It has brought me into contact with a wide range of people whom I otherwise would not have been fortunate enough to meet; they taught me that I can learn something from everyone, and that everyone has something valuable to contribute.
6. What would be your advice to other dancers as they are thinking about applying for the PMAE award in 2014?
Start your application early! Also, don’t hold yourself back from trying new volunteer experiences. No matter how old you are, there is some opportunity out there that could benefit from your help.
For high school dancers: I know in high school there starts to be much more pressure to figure out your interests and what you want to do with your life. Volunteering is a great way to work towards that, but don’t worry about making sure all your volunteering is ‘relevant to your future’: it will be, no matter what it is, because of the transferable skills you'll learn and the perspectives you'll gain from it. Also, some of my volunteer positions were created for me after I showed a committed desire to be involved; if you’re interested in something, speak up, and you never know what will happen!
