Name: Hannah Guard, valedictorian, ORR Class of 2017
Age: 18
How she came to Tri-Town: Lifelong resident of Marion
Favorite place: “I like going to Silvershell Beach, we keep our boat at Barden’s Boat Yard – and I love Captain Barney’s in Marion.”
Ever seen a celebrity locally? “Not in Tri-Town, but a few weekends ago, I was in a store and I saw (actors) John Krasinski and Emily Blunt. I let them do their thing, I didn’t bother them.”
By Jonathan Comey
When Hannah Guard found out she was valedictorian of Old Rochester Regional High School this past spring, it was only a few days before graduation.
She was thrilled, because hey, everyone loves being No. 1, right?
“I wouldn’t say freshman year I went in with that goal, but after my junior year, I found out I was top in the class, so it was in the back of my mind to reach,” she said.
But she also had to come up with a speech – the speech every valedictorian gives, the words that are supposed to inspire her classmates and sum up the experience.
No pressure.
With public speaking not exactly in her comfort zone, she did just what she did to become valedictorian in the first place: she worked at it.
“Well I never considered myself the smartest person at ORR. There were so many people that were so intelligent,” she said. “But I guess my work ethic was what got me there.”
At ORR, she was a two-sport athlete and high academic achiever whose life was full, to say the least. Up at the crack of dawn for a full day of the school’s most difficult courses, and then sports after school (field hockey and softball). Then home, dinner, shower, and homework from 6:30 to “Ten, eleven, sometimes twelve.” Then do it again.
“My parents never really pushed me toward, ‘Hey, you have to get to work.’ I think it was just in me,” Hannah said. “I always have worked hard.”
The majority of her speech, which she worked closely on with National Honor Society advisor Sarabeth Morrell, centered on the challenges and triumphs of the fictional Disney heroine Mulan. The conclusion was that, like Mulan discovered, it was all about finding a path and taking it with your full heart – but if that path became blocked, to find a way to make success on whatever new path you landed on.
And, of course, she made her parents Tom and Michelle (who didn’t get an advance copy) a little teary-eyed, watching their daughter conclude with a Dr. Seuss quote that they introduced her to as a little girl: “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go.”
When deciding where to go next in life, Guard certainly had many options at her disposal. With an impeccable academic record, she was left with a simpler question than some: What do I want?
And in the end, she decided that what she wanted was to be in an atmosphere similar to the one that nurtured her and inspired her living here.
“I think the community and the people around, having grown up here, everyone helps each other,” she said. “It’s not too busy – I like that. When I was looking at schools in the city, there was a lot going on – a little too much.”
And so she chose UMass Amherst where she plans on majoring in biochemical engineering, with the goal of becoming a medical researcher.
Her experiences in the biology and chemistry tracks at ORR inspired her (shout out to Mrs. Graser), and she’s ready to get deeper at the college level.
She leaves in around three weeks to live in the school’s new dorms for honors program students. She’s already been texting and Snapchatting with her new roommate, and she is confident that she’ll be able to find there what she has now: a great sense of being part of a team.
“UMass is a big school, but it’s not in a city. You know when you’re on campus that you’re there,” she said.
Is she nervous? “If I’m honest, yes. Not about the school work, maybe, but about moving there, being in a new atmosphere.”
Guard is not exactly sure what the challenges will be, but she is confident she’ll solve them.
“I like to be challenged, although it’s not always easy. In my junior year, my AP History teacher, Mr. Carroll was very challenging,” she said. “Over the weekend, it was always a 40-page chapter, then a pop quiz on Monday. We knew it was coming, but he always changed the format. It was hard, there were a lot of things to remember, but I like that he challenged us.
“I always felt well prepared.”
