Hannah Sanchez has established herself as a wordsmith, driven by her passion for writing and literature. After graduating from Midland College with an Associate of Arts degree, she is now pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in English at Texas Tech University, majoring in literature and minoring in film studies.
According to a news release from Midland College, it took some time for Sanchez to find her footing in high school. Her passion for online learning eventually guided her towards her academic interests.
"I first discovered the joy of reading and the power of words when I was in high school taking dual credit online composition courses," Sanchez said. "I have been taking online courses since January of 2020. I was a student at Legacy High School and did well, but I just really didn’t enjoy high school life. So, I enrolled in an online school and received a high school diploma as a homeschool student. I guess it was a bit prophetic that I decided to switch to online courses in January of 2020, just two months before the pandemic began. By the time everyone else had gone to an online world, I had already mastered it!"
Her favorite authors hail from the 20th and 21st centuries, including Ottessa Moshfegh and Patti Smith, along with works from historical authors. Her interest in literature deepened after taking a class taught by Dr. William ‘Chris’ Brown, an English professor and department chair at Midland College. This year she was among eight community college students to speak at the Sigma Tau Delta national convention for English honor societies due to a paper she wrote titled "The Longing for Socioeconomic Justice."
"I admire Hannah’s confidence in public speaking contexts," Brown noted. "Hannah won second place for Short Fiction in the 2023 Rebecca T. Watson Creative Writing Contest and read an excerpt at the awards ceremony. More recently, she read a creative nonfiction piece at an open mic night at the Fasken Learning Resource Center. I am impressed with her ‘presentation voice.’ She speaks confidently and clearly with a commanding presence. I predict that one day, I am going to be at a conference and welcoming Dr. Hannah Sanchez to present on a panel!"