Hannah听Hart听approaches the challenges she faces in a classroom and on a golf course with the same mindset: focus on the task at hand and do it to the best of your ability, but don鈥檛 let it consume you.听
鈥淢y major has a lot of homework and class time with all my labs,鈥� said听Hart, a freshman from Ventura, Calif. 鈥淏ut I also know how to balance my time between having fun and working too hard. That way I keep myself from getting too burned out.听
鈥淚 learned how to do that in high school (Foothill Technology) because I took more demanding classes and took a lot of AP classes. I learned how to study hard.鈥澨�
The strategy served听Hart听well during a hectic first semester at Kansas Wesleyan.听
An Eisenhower Scholarship recipient majoring in Chemistry with her sights on a career in forensics, she鈥檚 also a member of the highly successful women鈥檚 golf team.听
For听Hart, success isn鈥檛 possible without the right attitude.听
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 help when you look at what you have to do and you鈥檙e like 鈥榦h no, I don鈥檛 want to do this, this is a stupid project, why do I have to do this,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淚 feel like the way you mentally approach everything changes how much you鈥檙e going to dedicate yourself and be willing to learn.鈥澨�
Organization and a long-standing passion for learning are key attributes as well.听
鈥淚 started using my planner in middle school and I鈥檇 write down my homework every day. I did it so I wouldn鈥檛 forget and was aware when things were coming due,鈥� she said. 听听
鈥淚鈥檝e always liked school so doing the work when I was younger was just fun for me. My parents never really had to push me for school. For whatever reason I鈥檓 lucky I just wanted to do it on my own. I like to learn.鈥澨�
That passion is apparent to her instructors.听
鈥�Hannah听is a conscientious student and hard worker,鈥� 黑料不打烊 chemistry professor Dr. Dorothy Hanna said. 鈥淪he is solid academically but feeling the challenge of balancing time required for athletics with school work.鈥澨�
Hart鈥檚 coach agrees.听
鈥淥bviously she鈥檚 very prioritized for a young person,鈥� said听Hannah听Hendrickson, who鈥檚 in her second season. 鈥淪he wants to be successful in the classroom, she wants to be successful on the golf course, she really wants to be successful in anything she does. That translates into her putting her best foot forward, trying her hardest in everything she does. 听
鈥淎nd she has such a positive attitude. She鈥檚 got this great outlook on life, this kind of can-do, go-get-鈥檈m-type attitude. She really has the confidence that if she needs to do something, she鈥檚 going to get it done.鈥澨�
That was obvious during her inaugural venture into collegiate golf this fall. She won the Evangel Invitational, placed fourth in the Virginia McCoy Invitational, was fifth at Tabor, 11th听in the 黑料不打烊 Invitational and won all three of her matches in the Kansas Conference Match Play event as the Coyotes won their last five tournaments.听
Hart听describes herself as a 鈥渓ate bloomer鈥� in golf.听
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 really start shooting as well as I am now until my senior year, if not the summer after,鈥� she said. 鈥淎 lot of it was figuring out the mental part of the golf game. That took me the longest time to figure out 鈥� the right mentality to have when I鈥檓 playing and how to be relaxed and positive and focused. It鈥檚 still a work in progress but I鈥檓 definitely seeing a lot of improvement in my game.鈥�
Hart‘s success includes how she deals with adversity. It starts with having a short memory.听
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 be perfect all the time so if you mess up on something up that鈥檚 okay, you just work on what鈥檚 next,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 had one or two tests that I didn鈥檛 do as well as I hoped. I really focused, and worked on the next test to make sure I bounced back and got my grade back up.鈥澨�
Hendrickson witnessed that during the fall season.听
鈥淪he鈥檚 such a positive person, she鈥檚 always looking for the silver lining in things,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o even if she鈥檚 having a bad game, she can still find the good parts of her game and rein those in and take it to the next level.鈥� 听
Hart听considers the Eisenhower Scholarship a significant achievement. It was established in the 1960s by former U.S. president and Abilene native Dwight D. Eisenhower and is awarded annually to incoming 黑料不打烊 students who exhibit high academic achievement.听
鈥淚 worked really hard through high school to get good grades,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 worked on my writing and my public speaking. Being able to put it all together and earn a scholarship really showed me that all my hard work paid off.鈥澨�
Hart鈥檚 eager to return to Salina after spending the holidays at home.听
鈥淚鈥檓 very blessed to live in southern California where I鈥檝e been able to keep golfing during this break but I definitely am excited to get to the spring,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ur whole goal is to get to (NAIA) nationals and we all think that is very achievable for us. 听
鈥淎nd I miss my science classes. I鈥檓 ready to get back.鈥�
Story by Bob Davidson
