Two Kanawha County student-athletes are being recognized for their hard work in the classroom and in their respective sports.
Jacob Swecker has been selected as the Todd Judy Ford Scholar Athlete for Herbert Hoover High School, and Hannah Warden has been chosen for the same honor for Nitro High School.
Herbert Hoover and Nitro were slated to play Friday, Sept. 11, in a Par Mar Friday Night Rivals Sponsored by Rally’s football matchup, but the game was canceled. Kanawha County was designated as orange on the state county alert system map and could not participate in sports competitions that week.
Jacob, a senior at Herbert Hoover, participates in soccer and plays tennis. His excitement for soccer started when he was in elementary school, watching the World Cup on television. He has been playing the sport ever since.
“The game has taught me a lot about team work and cooperation, working with all our teammates to get better and to work so we can win,” Jacob said.
The Herbert Hoover senior also takes his energy to win into the classroom. He has a GPA of 4.70. It’s a tough schedule to juggle schoolwork with sports, but he has a strategy to accomplish both.
“I try to make sure I have enough time between school and soccer and not waste any opportunity I can. If I have free time, I try to get my studying done then, so I’m able to keep up with my school work and be able to still play soccer,” he said.
Jacob has always liked math and science and is exploring the possibility of going into the engineering field, possibly aerospace engineering.
Meanwhile, Hannah Warden competes in volleyball. In this case, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Her mother played volleyball in high school, and Hannah picked up the sport when she got to middle school.
Hannah loves the fast-paced nature of the game and adds that it has taught her a lot about life.
“I’ve learned so much. I’ve learned about teamwork, about trusting other people more than you can trust yourself because it’s a sport mainly about other people’s reactions can help you react to the ball. So, it made me think on my feet,” Hannah said.
The Nitro high school senior also is quick academically. She carries a 4.2 GPA
Her strategy for juggling both? It’s all about focus.
“Training with my team, I usually like to, when I enter the gym, not think about anything – nothing school related. Just worry about the game. It allows my mind to clear,” Hannah said. “And when I come home, I really like to sit down and do my schoolwork, and I will stay up as long as I need to, to get my work done.”
After high school, Hannah plans to major in public health and is looking at the field of epidemiology. Epidemiologists, often called “disease detectives,” have been thrust into the spotlight this year investigating the coronavirus pandemic.
