About

Hannah Harrold is from Wilkes county in western North Carolina, and she is also the first in her family to receive a bachelor’s degree. When she first visited UNCP she felt an instant connection because of its diversity and could imagine herself on the campus. 

In May of 2020 Hannah graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics education and a concentration in secondary education. While attending UNCP she received the Dean’s Fellowship award. Hannah participated in organizations while she was campus such as InterVarsity Christian Community and Alpha Chi National Honors Society. Hannah also completed a student teaching internship at Jack Britt High School. 

When asked about the most rewarding aspect of the Honors College, Hannah mentioned the opportunity to take honors classes in the place of gen-ed classes. She felt it was very rewarding to be in that learning environment for subjects outside of her major. Hannah felt the most surprising thing about the Honors College was how connected the students are to the Honors College. She never expected the Honors College to be a community of students and it made her appreciate being in the honors college more. 

Hannah’s topic for her senior project was teacher evaluations in NC public schools and how they differ compared to surrounding states. She drew her inspiration from doing many research papers on testing systems in the US and other countries. The more she thought about how the US teaches for tests, she wondered how student performance would change if teachers were evaluated differently. 

After graduation Hannah plans on teaching in Cumberland County for a year while completing her master’s degree in mathematics education at UNCP. The advice she would like to share with future honors students is to use all the resources available to you. She says, “The staff working in the Honors College are wonderful people and you have a great opportunity available to you by being in the Honors College.”