Hanna Understands the value of an education as well as the value of organized athletics.
Hanna was a hyper-active over-achieving student while representing Costa Rica Internationally in Track and Field. Her athletics kept her focused and limited to outside negative factors.
Due to an injury that she and her family could not afford treatment for she had to retire her track sneakers and was left with so much time on her hands that outside influences and family financial needs helped make the decision to drop out of school in her junior year of high school.
The time after she went through a windy road of experiences that lead her back into athletics by way of boxin and in turn organized the other factors of life. To the point that Ms.Gabriels is currently back in high school finishing up her high school diploma so that she can go ahead and register for college the coming semester.
The Benefits of Athletics
A well organized athletic program keeps you away from so many negative influences that surround our youth today. Programs that help your mind an body respond and adapt quicker. Shows us to work together in team effort. To form and attain hard to reach goals that requires your mind to decided before your body can make it happen.
Todays parents are so busy due to the economic social pain we seem to all be in. Your kids are keeping busy with play station, the internet and music videos. Its scary to realize the results of these habits without proper parent supervision.
With an organized athletic program married to educational standards perhaps parents will have a better support coming from the school administrators and the school administrators will have a well conducted mentally stimulated student body.
Costa Rica School Administrators
We need to take example from other countries and set up tutorial programs where students from a higher grade level get involved with students having difficulty making the grades.
Failing them all year to then give them an exam that allows them to pass the year is only teaching them to be mediocre. Re-enforcing that only the minimum is Good Enough.
Team Hanna School Tour
By way of the School Tour I am trying to do my part. I am 27 years old and though I dont have children, I have helped raised my 4 younger siblings. the youngest is currently 13 years old.
I dealt and I am dealing with many of the issues I am discussing within my own family. I was never handed anything and i was raised to go after what I put my mind to. We all need to go after what we put our mind to but first we need to know we have the RIGHT to AIM HIGH.
In Costa Rica the social levels are drastic. Many of the students we have spoken to during part one of the school tour express a career they would like strive for and then follow there enthusiastic response with a shrug of the shoulders as they say but I could never do that, my family would not be able to afford it. Thats only one of the excuses. In the begenning of the tour we were in shock at some the responses and it was at that moment that decided that I wanted to go further with this program.
Much more than autographs..
I refuse to be another athelete simply signing autographs. If I hae support from the youth and they have the attention span to listen then they are inviting me to make a difference. I may not be able to change the word. I may go in and the only thing they really want is that autograph but my hope is that maybe.... just maybe at least one student lets me and my teams life experiences affect them.
One student is all I need to know that I am striving after a porpuse that helps others. I want them to know I am much more than a boxer... much more than an autograph...I am someone who wants to make a difference.
