Hannah Donovan is our latest Michael Kennedy Scholarship student. She is from Sioux City, Iowa. So she lives close right? On the contrary, actually! She is currently living in Germany.
Donovan has lived on military bases overseas since she was 7-years-old when her family moved from Iowa to Japan. Living in Japan was a unique experience, Donovan said, but a bonus is that now she's fluent in Japanese. She was even there in 2011 when the Fukushima earthquake/tsunami occurred.
"During the disaster," she said, "my mom was declared 'mission essential,' so instead of evacuating Japan like many of my friends, my family had to stay."
After the immediate disaster was over, she helped collect and pack bags to send to children in the Fukushima area who had lost everything. In 2011, Donovan, her sister, and her mom moved to Germany.
It was a tough move, Donovan recalls, because so much was different: moving from a southeast Asian city to a European country; adapting to a very different culture; and living in a country where people spoke a language she didn't know. Despite the obvious challenges, she remained active in volunteering and kept up her grades.
"I chose St. Ambrose because it's a smaller college and has a good family environment," Donovan said. "Family support that's not across the ocean will be important as I transition not only into college life, but into the culture of stateside living. I can't wait to begin this new adventure!"
Donovan is going to be a theatre major, which is a requirement of the scholarship. Visual and performing arts have always been a part of her life, but Donovan likes theatre the most. Her first theatre experience was when she played an orphan boy in Annie at age seven.
But Hannah said theatre really "clicked" for her in high school.
"Having just moved to Germany from my home in Japan, I was looking for ways to meet new friends. Being artistic in nature, I thought painting sets would be a fun way to meet new people."
That led to working on the production of Mamma Mia. They didn't have a lot of people, so she ended up being the set designer, head of props, and stage manager. She said it was the best experience she could have had because "it showed me that theatre is the meeting ground for my artistic tendencies and organizational necessities."
She is the president of her high school's International Thespian Society and in fact, had a leading role in bringing membership back to her high school.
We are so excited to have you next year Hannah! I'm sure we can provide the family atmosphere you are looking for. Congratulations on your scholarship!
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