Hannah Miller leaves her mark at Hiland
Hiland High School principal C.J. Sprang, standing left, and a host of appreciative Hiland seniors share a joyful moment of celebration when Hannah Miller received her diploma at the recent Hiland scholarship award banquet.
Ask any high school student at Hiland High School or any staff member and they can probably tell you who Hannah Miller is. Not because Miller is a household name for her prowess on the basketball court, or in the theater or as the National Honor Society president, but rather for her ever-present smile as she walked the halls delivering cups of java from the school coffee shop.
After nine years at Hiland, Miller received a worthy send-off as part of the Hiland academic scholarship evening that took place Saturday, May 15 at Carlisle Inn in Walnut Creek.
While the school doled out dozens of scholarships, near the end of the evening Hiland principal C.J. Sprang wanted to honor Miller for everything she did and meant to the school.
“Hannah has been at Hiland for nine years, and she has become a staple at our school,” Sprang said. “She is someone who truly loves to learn. She enjoys coming to Hiland every day to see her friends and her teachers.”
Sprang asked some of Miller’s teachers to share one word they felt most accurately described her. The terms “very friendly,” “smiles,” “mashed potatoes,” “bus boss” and “making an impact” all described Miller’s time at Hiland amidst the people she went to school with and learned under.
“I never would have imagined the positive impact she had on me and the students at Hiland,” classroom aide and coffee shop director Ruby Shoup said.
From her uncanny ability to know exactly what was on the lunch menu to her indisputable sense of direction in helping on the bus, Miller has become a wonderful part of the Hiland High and Middle School landscape, for both staff and students.
Her teacher, Michelle Mishler, called Miller ornery. “She loves to laugh and loves to tease and loves to call people out when they do things wrong, and she does it to me too.”
However, Mishler said Miller is one of the most determined people she knows. “When she gets her mind set on something, you have to move heaven and earth to change it.”
Sprang heaped high praise on Miller, saying she was a true joy to have around and has grown to mean so much to so many during her years at Hiland. He said she constantly brings smiles to people’s faces and makes the school a better place, so it was his privilege to present her with her diploma.
“She is a special person who has touched the lives of those around her in many incredible ways,” Sprang said of Miller, who served as one of the students in the Hiland learning disabilities classroom and performed all of the duties in the school coffee shop including delivering all of the coffee orders each Friday morning.
The LD class had a Friday morning coffee program that allows teachers to order a hot beverage in the morning. In addition to providing participating staff members with a beverage, the classes also use this opportunity as a way to raise funds for area families in need.
The J&H Coffee Shop, named for its two student members, Jason Mast and Hannah Miller, took orders, made coffee and hot chocolate, and then made the rounds to deliver their highly anticipated drinks.
While the hot drinks were relished, Shoup said it was always the spirit and joy Miller brought with her that made the day so much brighter and better for those with whom she came in contact.
“We are going to miss her immensely,” Sprang said.