and a member of the campus sustainability
committee, Hanson has a vested interested in involving his peers in
environmental issues.“Often people my age are overlooked as being able to have a positive impact. I’m trying to turn that stigma around. There are so many college students around the nation, I think we can have an impact.”
Hanson’s interest in all things “green” grows naturally from his biology major. “I was the guy who brought the caterpillar to school in a mayonnaise jar,” he said. “I would wander off and look at the ducks when everyone else was playing baseball.” Hanson’s early passion for wildlife never left him so it’s no surprise that this senior from Berea was drawn to biology.
In addition to his environmental activities, Hanson is the head lab assistant for biology professor Chris Stanton who called him, “a truly remarkable, talented student who comes along very infrequently.” Stanton praised him, not only for his academic prowess, but also for his leadership and sense of responsibility.
Hanson says he loves learning and he loves going to classes, especially biology classes. In fact, he planned his study abroad experience in Australia specifically so that he could take core classes there and not miss “cool biology classes” on campus. He did some marine biodiversity research while there, which helped him to secure a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) position at Stone Laboratory a field station on Gibraltar Island in western Lake Erie last summer. As a result of his research on the water snake (a threatened species) this summer he will have a job as a research assistant with an environmental company.
This spring Hanson’s knowledge and his willingness to help out paid off when Berea High School asked him to help chaperone a marine biology trip to the Bahamas with upper level students. One of the chaperones canceled at the last minute so Hanson filled in as a teacher and chaperone. The cooperation of his B-W professors allowed him to accept the opportunity.
Hanson’s outreach experiences are not new. He has been a volunteer at Berea Animal Rescue as well as Hanson House, a non-profit organization founded by his mother, which offers services to brain-injured adults.
“My parents instilled a stewardship ethic in me,” he explained. “They taught me that we have a duty to preserve the beautiful environment in which we live. They are concerned about everything going on in the world. I was raised to care, to try to do something about it. I’m just a hometown Berea kid trying to make a little difference in the world.”
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