SAMFORD WOMEN'S BASKETBALL FEATURE STORY
Hannah Dawson: A Selfless Leader
The life of any college student-athlete is hectic. Having to juggle a full class load with the demands of playing a sport at the Division I level is never easy. There are certain majors that make it even harder on a student-athlete. Hannah Dawson, a senior forward on the Samford women's basketball team, is majoring in nursing and says the hardest part of playing a sport and being in a demanding major like nursing is time management.
In addition to her normal class schedule, along with practices, games and weight training for basketball, she has to spend time working at a local hospital as well.
“You have all of this time that you have to spend studying, time you have to spend in the hospital working for clinical and then once you get done with that you have to go to practice or travel to one of the games,” Dawson said. “The hardest part is just trying to figure out when's the best time to study and still go in the gym and work hard to make sure that you are up to standards for basketball.”
She has to work at UAB Hospital two days a week from 6:30 a.m. until about 3 p.m. She then has practice before spending time at night studying.
Dawson said, despite all of the time demands, being a nurse is something she has always wanted to do.
“I have known since I was a little girl that nursing was what I wanted to do,” Dawson said. “So once I came to Samford I automatically majored in nursing and from day one, I was ready for it.”
Dawson says the reason she wanted to become a nurse is simply that she wanted to find a way to help people.
“It's just that I want to care for people and help people feel better,” Dawson said. “I just wanted to nurture people and I felt like that was the best route to go.”
Dawson said, like nursing, basketball is also something she has wanted to do since she was a very little girl.
“I was four years old when I started playing,” Dawson said. “My dad has inspired me so much to play basketball. He was a basketball coach, and he coached my sister. So just growing up around him in the gym always watching him coach and always watching my two sisters and my brother play I just developed that passion at really young age to want to be out there on the court and playing.”
Dawson continued playing basketball as she grew up and eventually became a standout on her Shelbyville Central High School team in Shelbyville, Tenn. She was named her team's Most Valuable Player as a senior. She was also named to the All-Region team, and she won her team's 100 Percent Hustle Award in each of her final three years on the team.
When the time came for her to decide where to go to college, Dawson said she was a little reluctant to look at Samford, but once she visited campus, it was an easy decision.
“At first, I really wasn't sure about Samford, but my mom just kept saying that I needed to go look at it,” Dawson said. “So once I got on campus I loved the environment, I loved the coaches, I loved the players and I really felt like this was where God was leading me. I felt like this is the exact place I needed to be to grow and develop as not only a person, but as a player and to get to where I am right now.”
As a freshman in the 2009-10 season, Dawson made an immediate impact on the team, earning a starting position in her first season in a Samford uniform. She says being immediately put in the starting lineup was a little stressful for her as a freshman.
“It was a lot of pressure because you're just trying to learn all of the plays immediately so you are ready that first game to play,” Dawson said. “And you always don't want to mess up. But you just have to learn that that is a part of the game. There are always mess ups, and I just had to learn at the beginning that it's going to be okay, as long as you work hard and give it your all then it's okay.”
Over her three seasons so far at Samford, Dawson has seen action in 98 games, starting 94 of those games. She has started in the only four national postseason games in program history. As a freshman, Dawson and the Bulldogs reached the WNIT, defeating Ole Miss in the first round before falling at Missouri State in the second round. For the last two seasons, Samford has won the Southern Conference Tournament and reached the NCAA Tournament.
Dawson added that, as a senior and a leader on this year's team, she does feel some pressure to finish with another strong season.
“It does put a little bit of pressure on this year, because we are a younger team, we have five new players,” Dawson said. “We just have to make sure we grow and develop into the team we can be and we have been in the past. There's pressure in that, but it's completely doable. We did it the past two years, we can do it this year.”
Over the last three seasons, Dawson has been one of the hardest working and selfless players in the SoCon. She has also developed into a strong leader for her teammates.
“I want to be remembered as a hard worker, a dedicated team member and friend,” Dawson said when asked how she wants to be remembered by her teammates. “Also that every day I did everything I could to glorify God, and live out what He wanted me to do. It's not to try to get all of the glory for me, it's just for Him. Because if it wasn't for Him, I wouldn't be where I am right now.”
Hannah Dawson: A Selfless Leader
The life of any college student-athlete is hectic. Having to juggle a full class load with the demands of playing a sport at the Division I level is never easy. There are certain majors that make it even harder on a student-athlete. Hannah Dawson, a senior forward on the Samford women's basketball team, is majoring in nursing and says the hardest part of playing a sport and being in a demanding major like nursing is time management.
In addition to her normal class schedule, along with practices, games and weight training for basketball, she has to spend time working at a local hospital as well.
“You have all of this time that you have to spend studying, time you have to spend in the hospital working for clinical and then once you get done with that you have to go to practice or travel to one of the games,” Dawson said. “The hardest part is just trying to figure out when's the best time to study and still go in the gym and work hard to make sure that you are up to standards for basketball.”
She has to work at UAB Hospital two days a week from 6:30 a.m. until about 3 p.m. She then has practice before spending time at night studying.
Dawson said, despite all of the time demands, being a nurse is something she has always wanted to do.
“I have known since I was a little girl that nursing was what I wanted to do,” Dawson said. “So once I came to Samford I automatically majored in nursing and from day one, I was ready for it.”
Dawson says the reason she wanted to become a nurse is simply that she wanted to find a way to help people.
“It's just that I want to care for people and help people feel better,” Dawson said. “I just wanted to nurture people and I felt like that was the best route to go.”
Dawson said, like nursing, basketball is also something she has wanted to do since she was a very little girl.
“I was four years old when I started playing,” Dawson said. “My dad has inspired me so much to play basketball. He was a basketball coach, and he coached my sister. So just growing up around him in the gym always watching him coach and always watching my two sisters and my brother play I just developed that passion at really young age to want to be out there on the court and playing.”
Dawson continued playing basketball as she grew up and eventually became a standout on her Shelbyville Central High School team in Shelbyville, Tenn. She was named her team's Most Valuable Player as a senior. She was also named to the All-Region team, and she won her team's 100 Percent Hustle Award in each of her final three years on the team.
When the time came for her to decide where to go to college, Dawson said she was a little reluctant to look at Samford, but once she visited campus, it was an easy decision.
“At first, I really wasn't sure about Samford, but my mom just kept saying that I needed to go look at it,” Dawson said. “So once I got on campus I loved the environment, I loved the coaches, I loved the players and I really felt like this was where God was leading me. I felt like this is the exact place I needed to be to grow and develop as not only a person, but as a player and to get to where I am right now.”
As a freshman in the 2009-10 season, Dawson made an immediate impact on the team, earning a starting position in her first season in a Samford uniform. She says being immediately put in the starting lineup was a little stressful for her as a freshman.
“It was a lot of pressure because you're just trying to learn all of the plays immediately so you are ready that first game to play,” Dawson said. “And you always don't want to mess up. But you just have to learn that that is a part of the game. There are always mess ups, and I just had to learn at the beginning that it's going to be okay, as long as you work hard and give it your all then it's okay.”
Over her three seasons so far at Samford, Dawson has seen action in 98 games, starting 94 of those games. She has started in the only four national postseason games in program history. As a freshman, Dawson and the Bulldogs reached the WNIT, defeating Ole Miss in the first round before falling at Missouri State in the second round. For the last two seasons, Samford has won the Southern Conference Tournament and reached the NCAA Tournament.
Dawson added that, as a senior and a leader on this year's team, she does feel some pressure to finish with another strong season.
“It does put a little bit of pressure on this year, because we are a younger team, we have five new players,” Dawson said. “We just have to make sure we grow and develop into the team we can be and we have been in the past. There's pressure in that, but it's completely doable. We did it the past two years, we can do it this year.”
Over the last three seasons, Dawson has been one of the hardest working and selfless players in the SoCon. She has also developed into a strong leader for her teammates.
“I want to be remembered as a hard worker, a dedicated team member and friend,” Dawson said when asked how she wants to be remembered by her teammates. “Also that every day I did everything I could to glorify God, and live out what He wanted me to do. It's not to try to get all of the glory for me, it's just for Him. Because if it wasn't for Him, I wouldn't be where I am right now.”
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