Hannah Helmer, Seward High Senior, was honored by Seward Rotary Club as its January Youth Rotarian of the Month
Rotarian Matt Dominy introduced Hannah Helmer during a Zoom meeting in January and shared her high school career information. She is the daughter of Dr. Joel and Holly Helmer of Seward.
Hannah is first and foremost a scholar at Seward High. She is proud of her 4.0 grade point average and has been on the SHS Honor Roll 12 consecutive times. She is certified in Microsoft Word and a leader in the SHS National Honor Society.
Hannah enjoys athletics and has been a member of the High School Volleyball team in 2017-2018 and served now as the manager and stat tracker in the 2019 season and the Social Media rep for the team, where she photographed the volleyball activities and posted them on social media. She is also a member of the SHS High School Track and Field team from 2017 to present and has a varsity lettered in track. Her leadership on the track team includes pole vaulting, 4x4 relay team and runs the 400-participating all three years so far.
She has been a leader in the Skills USA program at SHS and competed in the State Conference in the baking competition and was first Runner-up at State in baking for two consecutive years in a row. She has been a member of the Bluejay Leadership Team (Student Council), representing the class of 2021. She is a leader in the SHS Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) and participated at the State FBLA Conference in Marketing at Midland Business Day.
She participated in the SHS One Act/Play Production activity, and enjoyed the lead role in the one act-“Appropriate Audience Behavior,” and was selected Best Actor at the District Level. She is also a member of the SHS Speech team, participating in Informative Speaking event, the Oral Interpretation of Drama-the Drama team and this year is doing a duet. Hannah has served on the SHS Yearbook staff, writing copy and designing pages.
Hannah is involved in the community through her 4-H Club and is a 10 year member of the “Shooting Stars” 4-H Club, holding a variety of leadership roles and offices. She has been involved with the Seward County Fair and volunteered at the Clover Colleges and other club activities. She is a member of the 4-H Council and served as a teacher in the Maker Day as a teacher and volunteered at the 4-H Food Stand.
Hannah is an active member of St. John Lutheran Church and attended St. John Lutheran School. She is an active member of her Godparents group for Bible Study, sponsored by Kellen and Michelle Meyer and enjoys community volunteering. She has been a Vacation Bible School-leading the music sessions and opening and closing gatherings, singing and playing the guitar for the students. She also helped lead classes for elementary students at the annual Summer Horizons with planned lessons and instruction.
Hannah has volunteered for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and help with fundraising and other events. She most recently presented at the Seward Rotary meeting during National Diabetes Week.
Hannah is currently employed at the Seward Walmart as a cashier and working customer service, re-stocking and inventory. She was a Lifeguard for the City of Seward at Dowding Memorial Pool, worked in sales for a Kaboomers Fireworks Stand in Seward over the Fourth of July and was employed at Premier Detasseling for years 2016 and 2017. She also enjoys babysitting and supervising younger children.
One of Hannah’s “Claim to Fame” is that she shot a very large elk-which was the 33rd biggest elk in the The Boone and Crockett Record book-with it scoring a 426 7/8. She had the head mounted and it is on display in the Celebration Room at the Bottle Rock Brewery in Seward, Nebraska. She also enjoys Antelope hunting and bagged a large buck this fall. Her hobbies include reading, cooking, hunting and listening to music, shopping, art, pottery, fishing and “hanging out” with friends.
Her “Service Above Self” volunteer activities include the numerous service activities of both the SHS FBLA, the SHS Leadership Team (Student Council) and Skills USA, along with her volunteer efforts in many 4-H community activities. He has also volunteered with Vacation Bible School, New Horizons Summer Education program and various youth camps in volleyball over the years.
Hannah plans to attend the Concordia University and has not decided on a major yet, however is planning a minor in self-led art focusing on ceramics and painting, with long time career plans still very open.
She will now be considered a finalist for the Seward Rotary Youth Rotarian of the Year to be announced at Honors Night in May. The Seward Rotary Club recognizes one Youth Rotarian a Month and applications are available from the SHS Counselor’s office.
Photo: Hannah Helmer is presented her Rotary Banner and mementos from the Seward Rotary Club by Seward Rotary Club Past President, Todd LaVelle