Student Profile: Hannah Hammack

Hannah Hammack, a junior, is pursuing a degree in Animal Science degree with an emphasis in nutrition. A Mead, Colo. native, Hannah enjoys her time at Panhandle especially “how nice and kind the people are. I have grown up in a small agricultural town, so going to school in one makes me feel at home. I like to be involved in organizations on campus as it allows me to interact with students all over campus, not just the Animal Science Department. I also like that it allows me to get to know professors and faculty around campus from different departments. I also want to show prospective students what an amazing University OPSU is and why I love it.”

Hannah is a Student Ambassador, an Alpha Zeta officer, and a Collegiate FFA Officer. She additionally is the head RA for Holter Hall, involved with shooting sports, and an active participant in the Panhandle State Equestrian team. This year, the team made it to semi finals, Hannah shared with us that she “had the pleasure of qualifying and attending the IHSA 2018 Semi Finals located in Galva, IL. I have worked so hard to get to where I am today with my riding. We received a new coach, Lisa Drumhiller, at the beginning of the semester in January and she has been nothing but helpful and supportive to all of us on the team. At Semi Finals there were two preliminary rounds and a final round. There were eight riders in each preliminary round and they then took the top eight out of the 16 to the final round. I did not make it past the preliminary round, but I had a wonderful experience and got to ride an awesome horse. I was amongst a group of very talented riders from all over the United States.”

She has been riding horses competitively since she was a sophomore in high school. Hannah relayed that she has “competed in Interscholastic Equestrian Association and when I graduated high school I knew I wanted to continue competing at the collegiate level. I look forward to next year’s show season and I am so thankful for all of the support I have been given by my coach Lisa Drumhiller, my Advisor Dr. Johnson, my family and friends, along with my awesome teammates.”

Hannah continues to keep her sights toward the future as she looks forward to graduation in the coming years. She plans on pursuing a master’s degree in Dairy Nutrition and grow her own dairy herd and start a career in her respective field.