By Bradlee Dowling & Sienna Lamond, ’26

Co-editor in Chief and Staff Writer

This year, The Hawk has profiled some of the truly special students in the Class of 2026. Each issue, we’ve asked several seniors about their Hanover High School experience to get to know a little bit more about them before they head off into the world. The chosen seniors showcase excellence, whether as a team captain, award winner, club leader, or academic achiever. Read our previous profiles at Senior Spotlight.

Brianna Adams

Brianna Adams moved to Hanover from Randolph when she was just 2 years old! Since then, she’s been attending Hanover Public Schools. In elementary school, she started playing soccer, and she continued through her senior season of high school. She shares, “Through my involvement in soccer, I made a lot of new friends that I am still close with, even though the season is over.” 

In high school, Brianna started doing HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America). She is currently the volunteer coordinator for the club. She explains, “My role is to facilitate and carry out any service projects proposed by members of the group.” This is the club’s first year competing in the Massachusetts HOSA Leadership Conference, where Brianna will participate in a Behavioral Health event individually and a Health Education event with her team of two other members. “For Health Education, we are creating a lesson about food allergies to provide information and raise awareness about them. We then get to teach this lesson to a local Girl Scout Troop and submit our experiences to be considered for the HOSA International Leadership Conference,” she elaborates. In 2014, Brianna started Taekwondo and became a second-degree black belt before taking a break sophomore year. “I really enjoyed Taekwondo,” she explains, “because it made me feel confident and gave me a sense of discipline.” She misses the friends she made, “but we all meet up at Sweet Frog and hang out sometimes,” she says.

In high school, Brianna has been an exceptional student. She has always loved history and social science classes, so her favorite classes have been AP World History with Mr. Brown, AP U.S. History with Mr. Perry, and AP Psychology with Mrs. McCusker. She has genuinely enjoyed learning the course content in each of these classes and simply learning about historically and scientifically significant events. However, her favorite teacher has always been Mrs. Gately, “for her constant support and positivity both in class and the clubs she advises: Unified Sports and Friendship Connection.”

Brianna’s favorite high school activity has been Vox, the school’s select choral ensemble. “I have found some of my best friends in Vox, and the community is unmatched in its constant support.” Not only has Brianna been a dedicated member of Vox for the past two years, but she is now also the Vice President of the group. As Vice President, she assumes the responsibility of maintaining this special community and ensuring that the same energy is passed on to next year’s members. “It is truly something that has changed my high school experience for the better.” Vox is known for singing the national anthem at high school football and basketball games, and this has been one of her favorite activities within the choir. “I’ve been given the responsibility of handling the new ‘boom mic’ when we sing, and I take my job very seriously,” she adds.

After graduating, Brianna plans to study neuroscience. She isn’t exactly sure which path she will take with this degree, but she knows for certain that she wants to work in health care. “My decision to study neuroscience was motivated by my close relationship with the neurodivergent students that I have become great friends with through Unified Sports and Friendship Connection,” she shares. “In my chosen field, I hope to work with children who face similar conditions and help them live their lives to the fullest despite their differences.”

One accomplishment Brianna has felt proud of during her high school pursuits has been her success in DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America). As a junior, the first year our school DECA chapter competed in the district conference, she and her partner went in completely blind to what this academic competition was truly like, but they ended up leaving with a clean sweep of the Marketing and Management Team Decision Making category. In her senior year, she and her partner competed in the same category again, scoring second place and earning the opportunity to compete at the state conference in March. At states, they finished fifth and qualified for the national competition, held in Atlanta in late April. “I am proud of my partner’s and my victory in something we were both not initially very experienced in.”

Outside of school, people may not know that Brianna is a preschool teacher at her church as well as the President of her church’s teen group. “I have been teaching since the beginning of my junior year, and I absolutely love it. Since I teach preschoolers, the class curriculum consists of a new craft every week and a small lesson about the Orthodox Christian faith,” she explains, “but the craft is really what the students look forward to.” Although the kids she teaches are 2-4 years old, she has formed personal relationships with each of them, sits with them during church, and enjoys walks to the church classroom together.

Her favorite year of high school was easily junior year. Despite finding it difficult to prepare to apply to college while simultaneously finishing the school year with good grades, the year as a whole overflowed with fun memories and enjoyable classes. “My teachers and two best friends, who were in all my classes, are really what made junior year my favorite.” If given the chance to do high school over again, she has a few things she would do differently. Academically, a couple classes she wishes she could’ve taken are Anatomy and AP Calculus. She also wishes she had taken freshman year a bit more seriously, knowing how it sets up the rest of one’s high school career. “However,” she says, “the main thing I would do differently would be to not take high school for granted. The seniors who told me these four years would fly by freshman year really were not kidding. These have been the fastest but some of the best years of my life, and I wish I had truly stopped and appreciated every moment.”

One lesson Brianna puts above all else is, “enjoy the little things and not take any moment for granted.” She has learned how important it is to be present in every moment. Her time left at HHS is limited, and she intends to spend every last moment well.

Heather McGinnis

Heather McGinnis moved to the town and came to Hanover Public Schools in 2013. She started first grade at Cedar Elementary School. When she was younger, she played all kinds of sports like softball, basketball, wrestling, golf, hockey, and soccer. Today, she still plays hockey and softball, and these are very special to her. She believes she is a very competitive person and loves meeting new people, and playing on these teams has allowed her to do both. Whether she was in elementary, middle, or high school, Heather has always kept a smile on her face and a positive attitude. She strongly believes in the importance of positivity, and cherishes her ability to choose it whenever she can.

Upon entering high school, Heather learned the importance of being open to trying things she had never tried before, “hanging out with new people, going to a different sporting event, or spending more time focusing on schoolwork,” she says. Being able to be more social and explore the waters outside of her comfort zone has allowed her to make some of her closest friends who she previously never imagined she’d be friends with. “Being a part of clubs and activities has allowed me to better my communication skills and do more for my community,” she says.

In elementary and middle school, Heather used to spend hours playing outside, bike riding, going on walks and hikes in the woods, and spending time with friends. Now, being so caught up with schoolwork and other activities and responsibilities, she finds it difficult to spend time outside like she used to.

Her favorite classes during high school have been Accounting and Art. For her, “Accounting has taught me many valuable lessons, how to manage money, file taxes, and budgeting, preparing me for adulthood.” On the other side of things, she says, “Art has allowed me to unlock my creative side I never thought I had and create something really special art.” Beyond these being her favorite classes, they just so happen to be with her favorite teachers. “Mr. File has been one of my favorite teachers as he is always so chill and such an encouraging teacher.” Heather expresses that he always sees the best in everyone’s art abilities and has compassion for all of his students. “Mrs. P has also been one of my favorite teachers as she has supported me throughout my four years and has been someone I can always talk to. She is extremely hard working and cares for all her students deeply,” Heather explains.

In high school, Heather’s favorite activity has been playing sports. She has built close friendships through the hockey and softball teams and she always has a good time playing. She also loves attending games: “I love the sports atmosphere and its competitive nature.” After high school, Heather plans to attend college and major in engineering. During her time at HHS, she loved her engineering classes and learned that this area of study excites her most. Some accomplishments she has felt most proud of are being named captain for both softball and hockey, “as well as being named unsung hero for my hockey team,” she adds. She puts so much hard work into her athletics, so being recognized means a lot to her. 

Outside of school, she volunteers in the summer helping teach street hockey to kids. “I love the sport and it brings me joy working with kids,” she says. She also has discovered golf and pickleball as fun and interesting activities outside of the classroom.

Her favorite year of high school was freshman year: “it was full of meeting new people and exploring a new school.” She recalls everything being a little scary and intimidating, but with the promise of everything to come, she thinks of that year fondly. She also loves her time so far as a senior, “as I know everything and can be more confident,” she answers. Heather admits that if she could do high school over again, there isn’t much she would do differently. “I’m glad with all the experiences I’ve been through,” she explains. If she had to do anything differently, she would wish she had more confidence going into high school, “to be more successful in my classes and have the reassurance that everything was going to be okay.” Her one lesson to take away? “Be yourself and always have a positive attitude.”