Catching up with Natalie Hartmann
Natalie Hartmann is an upbeat person. She’s has a great sense of humor, is adventurous, studious, well-spoken and can carry on a conversation on just about any topic. The Huntington High School community knows all of this very well. Before too long, Wake Forest University in North Carolina will know it, too.
Ms. Hartmann graduated last June and headed south later in the summer. She said high school gave her a great experience and there’s no reason to think the next four years won’t offer up the same.
“I'm doing great,” Ms. Hartmann said last week. “I'm really enjoying being at Wake Forest and I'm loving it more everyday. I'm taking a lot of interesting classes.”
During high school, the 2009 alum completed 11 Advanced Placement courses and generally took the most challenging classes at the school. It wouldn’t be surprising if she followed that same path in college.
“Linguistics is my favorite class,” Ms. Hartmann said. “I'm also taking Astronomy, Pyramids, People, and Politics, a class about the ancient Mayans, Spanish Literature and a few other required courses.”
Volunteering and helping others has been a big part of Ms. Hartmann’s life. Will that continue at Wake Forest? “I haven't gotten very involved yet because I've been adjusting and trying to get used to being on campus and such,” she said. “Right now, I have a job in the special collections department of the campus library.”
Little-by-little the Huntington grad is searching for and finding college activities that fit her interests. “As far as clubs, I joined the Project Pumpkin fundraiser,” Ms. Hartmann said. “It's this great program where we have elementary school kids from around Winston-Salem come onto campus and do activities and trick-or-treat in the dorms. I dressed up as a princess fairy with my friend, Cecile, and we escorted a group of six kids around the campus to get candy and play fun games. I was only an escort for the kids and I'm planning on getting more involved next year in the planning of the event rather than only for a few weeks prior to the event.”
Ms. Hartmann always seems to be up for a new adventure. As a Huntington senior, she participated in the school’s career internship program, working with Jack Abrams Intermediate School teachers Jim Lauter and Jason Suarez and helping their students grasp difficult academic concepts.
“I recently joined the RSA, which is the Resident Student Association, and I hope to get more involved with that,” Ms. Hartmann said. She’s increasingly stepping out and displaying for the Wake Forest community the qualities that impressed so many people back in her hometown.
At Huntington, Ms. Hartmann earned memberships in the National, Spanish and Art honor society, serving as vice-president of the latter. She also volunteered extensively with the Huntington Historical Society.
So far, Wake Forest seems to be a great match for Ms. Hartmann. “I'm excited about my classes, and though I'll probably change my mind, I'd like to do a Spanish and Classical Studies double major as well as a minor in Linguistics,” she said. “I'm doing great here.”
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