Eleven-year-old
Hannah Braunseis of Waterloo, IL, plans to be a large-animal
veterinarian when she grows up. She's using excellent grades
in school and 4-H projects at home to prepare for that career.
Hannah is now a 6th grader at Smithton (IL) Elementary
School this fall.
Last spring, she was named a 2009 Gateway Young Achiever
in recognition of her outstanding academic, extra-curricular
and community service activities.
(This is the final one of seven personal profiles of
the 2009 elementary and middle school winners who were named
last spring. Young Saint Louis.com has covered the
YA program for several years.
(For a story naming all 2009 YA winners, visit the
May,
2009, issue of YSL.com. The individual profiles
started in June and continued through this edition.)
Hannah
Braunseis |
Hannah lives with her family on a farm owned by her grandfather.
That makes it possible for her to participate in farm-related
4-H projects. In her case, she likes to work with her horses.
She started competing in riding events when she was 7.
At first, she used a smaller pony. But, as she's gotten
bigger, she has moved to a 10-year-old quarter-horse with
the name of Paris. (That's as in Paris, TX; not Paris,
France.)
She competes in riding events at regional horse shows.
Most events involve timed riding through obstacle courses.
But, last spring, she also competed in a costume event
at the Illinois State fairgrounds in Springfield. "I finished
7th in the costume class," Hannah said.
Hannah
and her horse in costume |
For that event, both Hannah and her horse wore bib-overalls
and other farm clothing.
Of course, Paris' bib overalls needed some rather radical
alterations. Not only does the horse have four legs instead
of two, it's also considerably bigger than humans.
"My grandmother helped me slit the legs of the overalls
apart. The front hung down in front and the back half was
pinned to the horse's back," Hannah said.
During 5th grade in the last school year, Hannah received
straight A grades. It was the first grade that the school
compiled an honor roll, she said.
Ms. Stephanie Schaefer, her 5th grade teacher, said fellow
students elected her to the Student Council.
Ms. Schaefer said, "She was an excellent representative.
The day after every council meeting, she asks me to present
the minutes to the class. She takes great notes and is very
informative."
Council members are responsible for doing a variety of
projects to improve the school and the surrounding groups.
One project involve cleanup of a nearby park.
Ms. Schaefer said Hannah was always quick to volunteer
to help in the classroom. The teacher told of one instance
when another student didn't clear the "lunch clip" board.
That board contains the kids' lunch choices for each day.
The notes have to be cleared each day so the kids can post
their lunch choices for the following day. "Hannah finished
the job for me," she said.
"Hannah is always there to help a classmate that is struggling
with class work or feeling down. Her classmates know that
they can depend on her to help out," she said.
Hannah also helped teachers who were supervising younger
kids during recess periods. That also involved preparing
things that will be used in upcoming classes.
Hannah also volunteered to serve at the snack bar which
is open before and during basketball games at the nearby
middle school.
This year, she is playing on both the 6th and 7th grade
basketball teams. At the start of November, her 6th grade
team was 6-0 while the 7th grade team was only 2-3.
Although her 7th grade had a worse record, Hannah said
that playing with the older girls helps her when she plays
with girls who are her own age on the 6th grade team.
Hannah said she'd like to play professional basketball
when she grows up.
Although only 5-foot-2, Hannah plays the center position.
She admits that her height might become an obstacle as she
gets older because her parents and her older brother, 13-year-old
Sam, aren't very tall either.
Last year, she was a member of the school band, playing
trumpet.
"But, after I got braces on my teeth, blowing the trumpet
got to be too hard," she said.
Hannah
on the track |
However, she is running track at school.
When she was entered in the Gateway Young Achiever competition,
Hannah filled out a questionnaire and underwent a personal
interview by contest judges.
Asked about the judges' questions, Hannah said one dealt
with what she thought were the biggest problems that needed
to be solved in the world today.
"I said one was that people shouldn't go hungry and another
is that all people should have an education," Hannah said.
Hannah said that her being selected as a Gateway Young
Achiever was the best experience she's had so far in her
life. She said she's probably going to use her $1,000 prize
for being named a Young Achiever to help pay for her vet
education.
