Christian Hannah is more than just a number. The Huntington High School senior is a creative young man who has found something he is passionate about and plans to pursue it and perfect his skills.
The teenager discovered a love for film in the high school’s video arts program. Mr. Hannah is pursuing admission to a variety of top colleges and their film programs. The teenager’s college application video, “I Am Not a Number,” is exceptional.
Huntington High School senior Christian Hannah.
Mr. Hannah’s video has been submitted to the Sarasota Film Festival, Newport Beach Film Festival and Film One Fest in New Jersey.
“Mrs. [Heather] Swan’s Creative Video class has inspired me to apply to a variety of schools for film and digital media,” Mr. Hannah said. “Schools like UCLA, Loyola Marymount, Syracuse University, Pratt Institute, University of Miami and American University in Washington, DC. One of my sisters is a screenwriter in Hollywood, but I see myself more behind the scenes, maybe as a producer.”
The senior’s academic schedule includes classes in Advanced Video Production, Introduction to Photography, Forensics, Economics and Film and Short Story.
“Christian is an incredibly charismatic young man and I have had the pleasure of working with him for all four years of his high school career,” Mrs. Swan said. “I enjoyed collaborating with him on his college video. He continues to impress me creatively, coming up with new ideas and working towards his goals. I wish him all the success as he enters the next chapter of his life.”
Mr. Hannah has been enrolled in Huntington UFSD since his first day of kindergarten at Flower Hill Primary School. “Clubs, teams and other activities have never been a big thing for me,” he said. “I have focused most of my attention on doing well in school and that has meant spending time out of school studying.”
One sport that Mr. Hannah does enjoy playing is volleyball. He has also become a certified lifeguard. The teenager has also done quite a bit of traveling over the years.
“I’ve traveled to a number of cool places in and around the states, like Los Angeles, Boston, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Georgia and Montreal, but what was most memorable was Europe,” Mr. Hannah said. “I was lucky enough to have visited Rome and Florence, then London and Paris on two separate trips. My parents thought it was important for me and my sister to see how big and small the world is. In Paris, I saw the Mona Lisa in person and it’s much smaller than you think.”
Mr. Hannah’s closest friends include Griffin Bluemer, who he’s been friends with since he was four or five years old and Jonah Salese, Timothy Lefebvre and Lucas Arloff.
The senior has a number of “favorite” teachers, including “Mrs. Swan for making video awesome and inspiring me to see film as a career option; Mr. [Matthew] Liguori and Mr. [Edward] Florea for making science approachable and my favorite academic subject; Ms. [Dianna] Molenko and Mr. [Brian] Reynolds for helping freshman year be less terrifying; Mrs. [Pamela] Piffard for teaching me how to see through a lens and Mrs. [Nicole] Mulholland for always being there for me no matter what.”
With Mr. Hannah entering his final months of high school, the teenager is looking forward to the future with excitement.
“My experience at Huntington High School was great, complicated sometimes, but I made a lot of great friends who help you through anything,” Mr. Hannah said. “I’ve also met a lot of amazing teachers, like Mrs. Swan who have helped me to achieve my goals. But being a senior means I know I am ready to get out of here and onto the next step.”