Starlight Seniors—Hannah Samson

HANNAH SAMSON
Senior, Liberty North High School
Member, Blue Star Awards Student Council

Favorite high school experience:
Directing two scenes in this school year’s production of Cinderella – the “trying on the shoe” and “the Pursuit” scenes.

Things you’ve missed most with school being closed:
All of the things cancelled – our spring show, the one-act play we qualified for state, and district readers’ theater competition.

Your best memory with Starlight:
Liberty North winning the Blue Star Award for best Overall Production for Seussical in 2018, my sophomore year.

Sharing the senior photo spotlight is Hannah’s dog Bailey.

Hannah Samson senior photo — Sharing the senior photo spotlight is Hannah’s dog Bailey.

Advice you’d give to Liberty North freshmen to help them navigate high school:
As cheesy as it sounds, try everything but expect to fail at some.

Don’t sweat it. By trying everything, you can actually get a sense for what you like or don’t like beyond stereotypes. You often learn more from your failures than your successes, so accept the lessons offered to you and try again.

How you made the most of the final virtual months of your senior year:
Honestly…just relaxing

I’ve worked really hard to get where I am right now. And with everything on hold and cancelled, I’m going to finally relax and be a normal teenager.

While Hannah can’t take credit for the colorful artwork displayed at Parkville Coffee, she picked this spot for a senior photo because she loves to paint – and the coffee’s good, too!

Plans for your summer:
I was going to Europe, but that also got cancelled.

I am writing a novel, so I’m making it my goal to finish that over the summer.

Plans for your immediate future:
Still deciding between Emerson College in Boston and Loyola Marymount University in L.A.

A lot has changed with COVID-19 and these schools being in big cities, so a lot is up in the air right now. No matter what, I know I am going into Film Production with an emphasis in directing.

Hopes/dreams for your future:
Write and direct a feature film

Hannah used to live 30 minutes from Manhattan, so she was return to New York City over winter break to visit family and friends.

Favorite musical and why:
Guys and Dolls

I love the ‘50s and the relationships between all the gamblers.

Favorite artist and why:
AJR

They have a very different type of pop sound with relatable lyrics.

Words you live by:
“The only person holding you back is you.”

Celebrating their first-place finish in the Liberty School district’s forensics competition for a one-act play of Anne Frank were Hanna (right), who was student director, and Ayriana Haney who played Mrs. Frank..

Why theatre?
It’s really the only place where we can leave behind the problems of our current world and enter a new one.

I was born in Kansas City, but we later moved to St. Louis and Connecticut for my dad’s job. When he got transferred at the start of my freshman year, I was really happy to move back to Kansas City because my school in Connecticut didn’t offer a theatre program and had very limited arts in general. It was refreshing to find a school that really supported theatre and allowed me to dive into my passion. The work I do in theatre – directing and stage-managing – mixes creativity with practicality and logic, which pretty much sums me up!