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Dakota Hansen

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Bio

I am a graduate at Copper Hills High School. I have one sister, and come from a single parent family home. I also participate in the arts like Band and Marching Band. I was also in Band Council at school as the Librarian. I also decided to join Marching Band. It takes very long hours of practices to perform the show and a lot of competitions to perform at. I've done three seasons of Marching Band and I still love it. I was born with Neurofibromatosis Type 1, which causes tumors at the end of my nerves. It also causes learning disabilities; I have struggled in school. I'm in special education classes at school for Language Arts and Math. Even though I have Neurofibromatosis, I'm not going to let that stop me and I would like to go to college to continue my studies. I hope to study in animal, veterinary, or plant sciences.

Education

Copper Hills High

High School
2021 - 2024
  • GPA:
    3.8

Miscellaneous

  • Desired degree level:

    Bachelor's degree program

  • Majors of interest:

    • Animal Sciences
    • Agricultural and Domestic Animal Services
    • Plant Sciences
    • Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians
  • Not planning to go to medical school
  • Career

    • Dream career field:

      Veterinary

    • Dream career goals:

      Anything with animals

      Arts

      • Marching Band

        Performance Art
        2021 – 2024

      Future Interests

      Volunteering

      Pet Pals Pack Compassion Award
      Why I've decided to pursue a career in the veterinary field is that I love animals, especially dogs. I've always loved animals when I was a kid. Ever since I was in Kindergarten, I have always wanted to be a vet because I loved animals. That love for animals hasn't changed at all, but when I got into High School. I realized that I couldn't be a veterinarian because of these classes you needed to take, and that you need to be good at science. I've been around animals a lot when I was a kid. My grandma had a dog, and at my other grandma's house they had a dog, two horses, two cats, and chickens. When I was 6, I got a fish for my birthday, and I took care of it for 2 years. For years, I've always been interested in animals and wanting to work with them. I watched a lot of veterinarian shows and was always interested in watching them. I'm currently taking a veterinary assistant college class so I can work in the veterinary medical field in the future. I love animals and I just always wanted to help them because I get all sad when I see them hurt or stray dogs and cats on the streets having no help or care for them. And they need that care to have a loving home. I just have this special bond with animals, and I have been for years now. I just have this feeling that I just want to help the animals in need and care for them either if it's someone's animal or if it's an animal on the streets. When I was always at my grandma's house, I would spend a while outside with the horses and the chickens by feeding them and brushing the horses. Some of the time I would ride the horses or buy food for the chickens. And when they had a kitten, I would help take care of it by feeding it and also the other cat they had. And also help my grandma give her dog a bath and help brush the dog after the bath. And when I would be at my dad's house, my stepsister would have her dog, and I would spend a couple hours outside playing with the dog and spend time with it. In conclusion, I just I have this need to help animals and care for them to help them get better or just taking care of them to let them be happy.
      Live Music Lover Scholarship
      My favorite concert memory was going to the Alanis Morissette concert this year. I had a really good time because this was my first time seeing her perform in person since I always had to listen to her songs on YouTube. When I went to the concert, there was a lot of songs that I knew and some I knew from heart since I listened to the songs so many times before the concert. When she played the songs, I sang along to a lot of them. I was really happy during the concert that I was singing along and dancing. I went with my mom and her friend, and my mom got these concert tickets for me as a Christmas present. When I got the concert tickets I started listening to the music until the concert came. And when it did came, I knew the songs from heart. Like this was one of my favorite concerts because she’s my favorite singer and songwriter. She has really good songs like Ironic, You Oughta Know, Uninvited, Hand in my Pocket, Ablaze, and many more. I was really excited the night before where I couldn’t sleep at all. I wore my Alanis shirt that I got for Christmas to the concert. I also bought the concert tour shirt with the concert dates on the back. I mostly recorded almost all the songs I knew, but I kinda forgot to record when she sang You Oughta Know, because I got so distracted when she started singing. My first concert memory was The Jonas Brothers. I don’t remember it very clearly, but I think it was in 2021 or something. I wasn’t really a big fan of their music or didn’t know any of their songs. But I went there just to enjoy it with my family. It was an ok experience for me to hear them in concert. I never really wanted to go to the concert, but I went anyways because it was something to do. I wasn’t as excited because I didn’t know them very well. But I had an enjoyable time at the concert listening to the songs. When I heard the songs, I thought some of them were actually pretty good songs, but not all of them. In conclusion, I had a good time at both concerts. But I had a really enjoyable time at the Alanis Morissette concert than The Jonas Brothers. Because I knew more of her songs and I loved her music.
      Jonas Griffith Scholarship
      My topic is about Marching Band. This extracurricular activity is probably more harder than football. We have to work harder a lot more than any sport when they practice. We have to work countless hours throughout the months of August to November. We do practices and competitions out in the cold, heat, and rain. Competitions against other schools with more band kids. For Marching Band, you have to have at least a 2.5 GPA or higher and you have to have good grades too to participate in Marching Band. Most marching bands wear a uniform, often of a military style, that includes an associated organization's colors, name or symbol. But most high school marching bands uniforms will represent their theme of their marching show, or they will use uniforms that have their school colors. Also marching bands are generally categorized by function, size, age, instrumentation, marching style, and type of show they perform. Also different from traditional parade performances, many marching bands also perform field shows at sporting events and marching band competitions. Increasingly, marching bands perform many songs, traditions, and flair from outside performances. In some cases, at higher level competitions, bands will be placed into classes based on school size. High school marching bands will also perform at home football games in the fall and sometimes will do a halftime show of their show. Before football games they will do the same pre show performance with the drill and cheer. And after they will play in the stands to hype the football team up. During marching band practice in the fall, we have to memorize many pages of music and all of these movements and dots. We have something called Band Camp, usually some bigger high school bands would do it in the summer like June or July, my band does it in August. We have a two week practice every day except Saturday and Sunday. The first week is hours long of practicing and memorizing the music in sections and then we come together in a group to practice. The second week is where we are outside mostly the whole time practicing our drill first and then slowly bring the music in too. My band marched in the National Memorial Day Parade in 2023. We only had 4 practices and have to memorize the music before we left for D.C., but during the parade, it was down-pouring on us and we and our instruments were soaking wet. But it all went perfect in the end. During competitions, we have to take the bus to a certain school and it can take 20 minutes to 2 hours to get to the school just to compete for 9 minutes. But for championship competitions, it’s a two day competition. One is the state competition, the other is where other schools from different states compete. Also before each competition, we have to arrive at the school to practice more. And that could be like getting up early to get ready for the competition. Like you have to do your hair a certain way for the show. But we also do summer marching band and that’s just doing parades. Where we just have to memorize the music, but we also have to march in the heat in these long mile parades. Also summer will also bring the hype. After the fall marching band season is over. We also have a pep band that plays for basketball games too. That also needs to be hype. For pep band I n my state, we were said by the directors board of the activities association that we were the number 1 most hype band in the state. In conclusion, I say that Marching Band is a hard extracurricular activity because you have all of these things you have to do. Like countless hours practicing and memorizing the music in order to be good at it.
      John Young 'Pursue Your Passion' Scholarship
      Why I chose the field of interest of animals because they are a living thing. And I want to create an impact since they are beautiful creatures and sometimes they need help when they’re hurt and stuff. Some personal life is that I’ve been around animals my whole life and I loved taking care of them when I was at my dads house helping take care of the horses and chickens. Some goals that will also help me achieve it that animals deserve to have a life and not just be dumped on the side of the road. In conclusion, animals are why I chose this field of interest because they need live a life just like us.
      Cat Zingano Overcoming Loss Scholarship
      I recently lost a loved one a couple years ago when I was about probably only 11 years old and it was my grandma. How it caused me to focus on what matters most in my life is that me and my grandma were super close and that I know she wants me to keep pushing forward in life even if she’s not there. I focus on what matters in life in a more different perspective of how other people see it. I know she would help me focus on what matters in life. She wouldn’t let me be all sad in life. What I want to do to fight to achieve is that sometimes it hits us hard when we lose a loved one that we were super close with. But they will help us get back up and fight again and not let emotions take us down. I know she wouldn’t let that happen to me. I would just get back up and try again even if she isn’t here, but she is in spirits. In conclusion, I know that I can continue to fight and focus on stuff that matters in life because I know that even if we lost a love one, it won’t stop from keeping us down.
      Curtis Holloway Memorial Scholarship
      The person who has supported me the most is my mom. She is the most supportive person I have ever known. Even though despite my hard ship with my learning disability and my hearing loss, she has always been there for me when I struggled at school. I've always struggled in school because of it, and she was there to support me through it. And she went through the same thing when she was younger with a learning disability. She has also always been there for me cheering me on whether it was a piano recital, marching band competition, or a band concert. She is the brightest person I know, and because I always know she is doing some hard stuff while working and helping the elderly at work too. But after she is always there after a long day at work. She's been there when I needed some help on work from school, and she has always told me to have good grades to succeed, so you could graduate. She was always there to give me the confidence to doing some amazing things like running for band council at school or have confidence boosts during marching band competitions. How she has helped me is that she would be there when I needed help on a project for school and need information for an assignment at school that needs parents to answer the question. She always helped during band things too like helping serve dinner during competitions or help the other band parents with stuff. But she was there when I needed advice on some work and artwork I've done at school. And that she helped me get to go on the band trip to Washington D.C., and that she helped pay some of it for me. How she has supported me is that she is always there for a band concert, and I really like it because it can show what we have been working on for the past couple months and show how hard we worked on it. She also supported me when I wanted to join Band Council and be a leader for it. She supported me during marching band competitions, like she would come to every single one. Even the championship competitions, which is a few hours away. She also always supported me when I struggled at school sometimes and I thought that was really nice of her.
      Dylan's Journey Memorial Scholarship
      My experience with NF has been a little tough growing up with it. Because I was born with NF and hearing loss. So, I have a learning disability, and it was hard for me to keep up in class sometimes in elementary school. And sometimes I got bullied in elementary school just because of my learning disability. But once I entered middle school, a lot of that changed. I wasn't really bullied anymore about the disability because no one knew about it. But I still had a hard time struggling in my classes in middle school. But sometimes I forget that I have NF when I get to school, but I hid my hearing loss when I get there too. Sometimes I feel uncomfortable talking about NF to people that don't know about what it is and that I have to explain all of this to the people that don't know. When I got to high school, a lot of that changed. I was put into a Co-Taught math class in 10th grade, and that class was very difficult for me. So, they put me into a resource math class when I was in 11th grade. But I still had to be in resource language arts classes at school, so it could be better for me and be easier for me. And it was easier for me, I've aced all three language arts in the grades. What my motivation for pursuing higher education is that I feel like I can do it, but facing that I have NF, Learning Disability, and Hearing Loss. And that I have support from my mom at home and that she cares for me and believes in me to keep on going. Facing that it is always hard for me at school, even though I keep pushing through it. Why I feel like I am a good candidate for this is that I always have a hard time in school. That I feel like I will struggle more once I get to college thinking that it would just be too hard for me, and it probably will. Even though with my learning disability and my NF, I am a hard worker at school. In conclusion, NF and my learning disability has impacted quite a bit from my life. And that it just has been really difficult for me. But despite all of that, I wouldn't let it affect me of who I am.
      Inguz Memorial Scholarship
      My favorite animal is a dog. Well, I just love dogs because they are really funny, and I love their personality. They are just the sweetest little creatures anyone could ever ask for. They are so fun to be around. And I feel like they are way better than cats to be honest. Like I mean cats just sit around doing nothing all day, but where you can have a dog and spend quality time with it. I've been around dogs my whole life. My mom's mom had one, my dad's mom had one, my stepsister had one, and my cousin has one. All the dogs I've been around in my family are so sweet. My mom's mom and my stepsister's dog were both old dogs, and they were both the sweetest dogs ever. My mom mom's dog died when I was at a young age, and my stepsister's dog died 1-2 years ago. And my dad's mom dog is really sweet, even though she is getting old. My cousin's dog is a bundle of joy, she just loves me when I come over. I love all breeds of dogs, but my favorite breeds of dogs are a Siberian Husky, Golden Retriever, Akita, Newfoundland, Corgi, Shih Tzu, and Pitbulls. I love Akita's because my favorite famous dog is an Akita, and his name is Hachiko. The one that waited 9 years for his master at the train station. Why I love huskies is that I love their unique color and mix breeds of the dog. And I love their personality too, of how it's hilarious. How my interactions with animals influenced me to pursue a career centered around them is because when I was younger, I've always loved animals. My grandma had a horse named JoJo and my aunt had a horse named Annabell. And they had chickens too as well as a rooster. And I've loved going to farms when I was younger too. And at my dad's house they had an Orange Tabby kitten and I loved it so much, that I basically the one that took care of it. It was the sweetest kitten, and his name was Maverick. We also had another cat there too that I took care of, a Siamese cat named Sammy. And when I was younger my great grandparents had two Apricot Poodles, which I only remember the name of one of them and that name was Daisy. In conclusion, this is why animals influenced my choice of to pursue career in animals. Because I care for them so much, they are basically your family that you never want to let go of them. And that they are creatures on Earth that are special and that they are such lovable creatures.
      Top Watch Newsletter Movie Fanatics Scholarship
      The movie I would choose would be is I am Potential. This movie is my favorite because it is about a kid that was born without eyes and joints that did not properly form. His father wouldn't let his disabilities stop him from achieving his dream of joining a marching band. And how a father learned to sacrifice all of his own dreams and plans for the sake of his son. This is based off of an incredible true story. The kid named Patrick Henry Hughes was diagnosed with bilateral anophthalmia with pterygium syndrome and congenital bilateral hip dysplasia. His father, Patrick John Hughes, introduced him to the piano at the age of nine months when the father played piano for him and taught him. He has studied piano in the years since and later began the study of trumpet. When Patrick Henry was young, he could listen by ear when something is played and play it back the same way on the instrument. At his home in Louisville, Kentucky, Patrick Henry continued to face opposition. While his father worked to provide for the expensive procedures, Patrick Henry dreamed of one day becoming a member of a real marching band. He had to fight all the odds to become an accomplished pianist, trumpet player and singer. He also did perform on television while playing the piano and singing. He later joined the Louisville Marching Band, playing trumpet while his father pushed him in his wheelchair through marching routines. Patrick Henry focuses on his playing while his father is focused on being his son's eyes and legs. And while tirelessly maneuvers his son in the wheelchair through the formations with other 220+ members in the band. This also increased crowds and media attention were drawn to the football fields to see father and son perform. His extraordinary musical talent became evident as he mastered the trumpet and displayed a remarkable ability to memorize complex musical pieces while performing out on the field. In conclusion, I really love this movie because I also am in marching band, and it is hard to do all these formations and stuff and having to memorize it all. I just love how fun it is performing on the field and performing at football games in the stands. And that it's such an inspiring movie that can show disability kids can achieve their dreams if they work really hard at achieving those dreams.
      Netflix and Scholarships!
      My favorite Netflix series is called School Spirits. Let me explain to you why this is my favorite show and that you should watch it. The show is about a teen girl that gets stuck in the afterlife, and she goes on to solve her own death that she can't remember how it happened. While the other spirits that are stuck in the school remember their own deaths. After she gets closer and closer to the truth, the more secrets she discovers. The protagonist is a teen girl named Maddie. She falls in love with one of the spirits named Wally Clark. He is one of the spirits that is stuck in the school, he died in 1983. And a few other spirits like Charley, Ronda, Dawn, and a few others that weren't named. But we know that they died in certain parts of the school. We know this because one of Maddie's friends named Simon can see her in those certain parts of the school where the students died. The Antagonist is Mr. Martin, the leader of the Afterlife Support Group. He was the Chemistry teacher in 1958, but he died in a fire along with another student. He tells the students that a student set the fire when he turned his back for a moment. He did also say he didn't have any more answers for the students, but later Wally, Rhonda, and Charley discover that he was lying about who started the fire and who died in it. They also find things related to their deaths and notebooks filled with information about them. Well Simon can see Maddie in the classroom, auto shop, bus stop, cafeteria, football field, and some other places. Because we know Charley died in the cafeteria, Ronda died in the classroom that used to be a counseling room, Wally died on the football field, the marching band kids died at the bus stop. And that Maddie can talk to Simon in those places, so she can tell him some things she found that could relate to her death. They get close to finding out her death, but the last episode ends on a cliffhanger showing that Maddie is alive. Because it was shown when Simon, Nicole, and Xavier went to an abandoned house to look for clues. And later we see someone get into the truck and hit Xavier. So, we see Nicole recording this and, in the video, we could see Maddie. This is why my favorite show on Netflix is called School Spirits. It has some parts that get really interesting and eye opening. And even though it does end on a cliff hanger, but we know that there will be a season 2 coming in late summer or early fall of this year.