Hanna Pak
Senior Hanna Pak’s neon-colored hair can be spotted afar wherever she is on campus: performing a trumpet solo in the Bowld, dashing through trails for cross-country practice, or designing innovative products as co-head of the Engineering Club.
Hailing from Texas, Pak has been a musician since childhood. “Because both my parents were classical musicians—not professionally—I’ve been exposed to music since day one,” she said. In fact, Bob Dylan’s Forever Young (Slow Version) was playing in the operating room when she was born.
After experimenting with several different instruments as a child, Pak eventually came to love the trumpet. “I was terrible at violin, and then I realized piano wasn’t really my thing. I decided to switch to trumpet as my main instrument in fifth grade,” Pak said. During Pak’s lower year, she attended the prestigious New England Conservatory, travelling to Boston every Saturday to participate in rehearsals.
Pak is also an avid singer and a co-head of the female acapella group Sans Hommes. On campus, she is also involved in the symphony orchestra, concert choir, vocal chamber music, and Exeter Association of Rock (EAR). On campus, she has performed in several EAR concerts and her own Evening Prayer.
Upper and fellow musician Meili Gupta praised Pak’s kindness and musical ability. “Hanna plays the trumpet so beautifully. It’s definitely something that she pursues with a lot of drive,” she said. “She is so warm to everyone she meets.”
Lower and fellow member of Sans Hommes Audrey Yin has known Pak for several years. Yin explained that in addition to arranging the group’s performances, Pak also serves as a role model within the group. “She’s always at rehearsal, always on time, and doesn’t make excuses for herself. She shows us what the expectations are and how to hold yourself to a high standard,” Yin said.
In fact, even before Pak arrived at Exeter, she already made her mark at the Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan. Yin, who also attended, described her first impression of Pak. “At first I was actually really intimidated by her because she was super well- known in the camp for being an amazingly talented musician,” Yin said.
Despite her fame, music holds an intrinsic value for Pak. “There’s something about music that allows for self expression, allows for someone to go through a lot of complicated emotions. It’s very humbling to know that a few notes on a page can do that to you,” Pak remarked. “It’s really not about the medals or the awards. I definitely want to be involved with music until the day I die.”
Along with being a talented musician, Pak has been on the varsity cross-country team since her prep year. One of the most defining aspects of her relationship with the sport has been her persistent knee injury. “I’ve dealt with a chronic knee injury since prep winter. That’s been one of the biggest barriers in my performance in cross-country,” she said.
However, the injury was instrumental in changing Pak’s outlook towards the sport. “Going through that whole process of injury and not being able to run for so long made me learn to love running for what it is as an activity, as a sport,” she said. “It’s just you in your body running, and not as some way to gain accomplishments. So, I just want to continue with running in whatever form I can for the love of the sport.”
Senior and cross-country captain Grace Gray has known Pak since their prep year. “I would characterize [Pak] as someone who is amazing to be around and is always there for her friends,” she said. “Hanna has such a huge heart to take on the world; she is empathetic and also to ready listen to anyone.”
Gray often feels inspired by Pak’s determination. “I see her putting herself out into the world every day. She battled an extremely tough, persistent knee injury but she never gave up. She would always destroy those races and put so much passion and energy in them,” Gray said.
Upper and cross-country runner Celine Jeun agreed with Gray. “Hanna just has this aura about her. My first impression of her was purely admiration for her confident presence, but as I got to know her, I came to realize that she is so warm and so driven,” Jeun said. “She really is a role model in so many ways.”
English Instructor and Pak’s advisor Christina Breen shared these sentiments and described Pak as a “terrific student” with a unique personality. “Hanna is deeply connected to the community in a lot of different ways, such as music, athletics, academics and other clubs,” Breen said. “She sets a really high standard for herself and works really hard to reach that standard at all times.”
In addition to her several extracurricular passions, Pak hopes to pursue design engineering in the future. “When I was little, I always told people I wanted to be an inventor. It’s still true. I realize now that the proper term is maybe design engineer, or something like that,” Pak admits.
Pak knew that she wanted to invent ever since she first read the series Franny K. Stein. “[Franny K. Stein] is a series about a little girl who is a mad scientist. I saw her building these weird monsters and robots and I immediately thought ‘that looks really cool’. I knew I really wanted to do that,” Pak said. “I wanted to be that little girl mad scientist.”
While she explained that she does not have time to devote herself to major projects while at Exeter, she enjoys committing her energies to solving small problems. “I made myself a hanging shelf to put in my dorm and I helped some cross-country boys build steeplechase barriers last year. It’s just the little things that make me really happy,” Pak said.
“I don’t really have any specific ideas for what field of problem I want to solve [in the future], but I want to be one of those people who’s not just following an instruction manual to build something. I want to be helping to create things the world hasn’t seen before, whether that’s at the forefront of some kind of Microsoft technology or even if I ended up working for Google or Apple or something like that,” Pak said.
Pak has also designed a pair of walkable six-inch heels with shattered glass fragments in her 3-D: Tech + Form + Fashion class.
One of Pak’s most iconic traits is her personal style. Her hair is always dyed vibrant colors, her outfit and accessories chosen accordingly. “I like the whole beauty thing,” Pak admitted. “Sometimes I’ll spend too much time on it, but I do it for myself.”
Pak recalls developing an interest in fashion after coming to Exeter. “It all kind of exploded for me once I came to school without a uniform because Exeter is the first place where I didn’t have to wear a uniform. When I came here, there were just so many years of experimenting with my own personal style,” Pak explained.
This term, Pak is enrolled in Art 500, an advanced studio arts course. Pak said of her goals in the course, “I want to use this class to explore the marriage of engineering and fashion and push the boundaries of my own personal ability.”
Throughout her four years here, Pak has impacted the lives of many Exonians—even if through an act as simple as performing a beautiful piece of music during Evening Prayer. Yet for others, the relationship is deeper. Yin even described her relationship with Pak as parental. “When I got into Exeter, Hanna took me in as a daughter,” Yin said. “I really love her so much like family. She’s given me things that my own family can’t give me, and that’s really special.”