Inspiration from Adversity
Something Hannah Bienvenu did casually when she lived in Wisconsin became a passion when she relocated to Louisiana. Her family moved from the cold of Green Bay to the warmth of Baton Rouge and that created a case of homesickness for the University View Academy senior. So, she took up ice skating in earnest to remind her of where she used to live. She even went as far as hiring a coach and took weekly group and private lessons for 6 years. Hannah says she loves the “flow and the smoothness” of ice skating and how “one skill leads to another.”
Click the here to see her skate.
But she was thrown for a loop when the ice skating rink she used in Baton Rouge closed. Now, she’s forced to go almost 60 miles to Lafayette if she wants time on the ice. Undeterred, she found something similar and Hannah describes what it is in this link.
Hannah credits the flexibility University View Academy offers to allow her to pursue her skating passion as it became “the thing that I did”. She can inline skate 3 times a week in Baton Rouge or make the trek to Lafayette for ice time in-between her Dual Enrollment courses for college credit.
She’s also become a young entrepreneur and uses the flexibility to develop her new online business. She sells used clothing on the Poshmark site. Hannah says she “takes pride in acquiring clothing and recycling”, scouring thrift stores for particular pieces. She says she’s sold 150 items so far and “as a kid it’s cool to make money”. But she also reinforces how her business has taught her responsibility and is taking a Dual Enrollment accounting class at Baton Rouge Community College to apply the real world knowledge to her business. She says she takes great pains in packing and boxing the items to send to the buyers, has never had anything returned and averages a five-star rating from her customers. Hannah also adds a business card and a homemade scrunchies as lagniappe.
After graduation in May, Hannah says she’ll take a gap year to expand her business and figure out what she’ll study in college. Whatever it is, she’ll apply her passion to succeed.