A poised and picturesque figure, Hannah Alimajstorovic walks the paint covered halls of Archer, fashioning her black acrylic nails and long brown hair dip-dyed to perfection. The fading of each strand looks painfully natural in the sunlight, as if Zeus himself was its creator.
A freshman and accounting major at the University of the Cumberlands, Hannah’s first steps as a college undergrad began in the Fall of 2014, where she traveled 956 miles south of the North American continent to meet with her fate and long awaiting future. “I was excited to experience a new environment,” she says “becoming my own person without the help of my parents was a very important step in my growing-up process.”
Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Hannah is the only child of Admir and Dragana, two incredibly loving parents. Both originally from European countries, Hannah’s parents migrated to Canada in 1995, during the Serbian/Bosnian War. Her father being from Sarajevo, Bosnia and her mother from Split, Croatia, wanted to find a better life for themselves in Canada.
Being the centre of all things pure and relentlessly loving, Hannah had the world at her feet; and inadvertently discovered the horrible side of life without parental support when she arrived in Williamsburg. “It was difficult without them at first, I didn’t know how to do it.” She says, as she combs through her goddess-like hair. “There were a lot of things I realised I had to learn how to do.”
Despite difficulties in her first few of months in college, Hannah claims she continually pushes through barriers and forces herself to make the most of her time at UC. Dealing with accumulative issues in school, sports, and the usual complications of a coming-of-age individual, she struggles to cope with the pressure but claims it’ll only make her a better person. “I need to go through these struggles to learn, and even though it’s tough right now I know it’s exactly what I need,” she says.
As the interview goes on it becomes apparent that she not only strives for what she wants but almost always gets what she wants, too. “Back home I would usually get anything I asked for,” she says. Noticing her $200 Abercrombie & Fitch raincoat, $420 waterproof Ugg boots, and an average of about $250 of high end make up on her face, that statement was evidently very true.
“My parents had the means and there was usually no reason to say no.” Having both parents involved in rigorous jobs that forced them to be away from home, she jokingly explains with a giggle that they, “would buy my love with materialistic things to fill up the space for when they weren’t around.” Regardless of the stereotypical traits of a spoilt child, Hannah is anything but. Her obvious work ethic, sense of gratitude, and the positive attitude that she has towards everything in her life, which becomes extremely addicting, shines through her words and movements.
“Being around her positivity makes my day positive,” says her friend and roommate, Victoria Tornelli. “It’s always a pleasure to be in her company.” When asked what Hannah’s negative traits are, Victoria struggled to put her finger on it. “She doesn’t really have any negative traits, but I guess she could work more on her bed-making technique.”
Despite being extremely down-to-earth and levelheaded, Hannah has had the privilege of excelling in modelling, a career she claims is part-time and “just for fun.” Her flawless face and slim body were the main aspects which got her noticed by numerous modelling agencies back in Canada, which jumpstarted her hobby that has carried on to her time here in America. “I thought I would try it just for fun,” she said “it’s a great way to meet people and become connected, but after a while I continued doing it because I thought I could really make something great out of this experience.”
While observing Hannah’s every day demeanour, she showcases her tough side, a side that is not deterred by small issues; a side that stays rock solid through thick and thin. But within every girl, there is a soft side. Hannah Alimajstorovic, unfortunately like most of us, is not immune to the emotions and hardships of every day life. She tells a story of when she regretfully ran over a squirrel on her way to a friend’s house, “I pulled over on the side of the road, and there it was, its body just laying there,” she says through gritted teeth, which was an attempt in hiding her distaste. “A nice man had to come soothe me because I was crying on the sidewalk for ages.” When asked if she committed these heinous roadkills often she says, “Yes, my smart car back in Canada seems to be like an animal attractor or something, there have been birds, various insects, and even a snapping turtle once.”
As she confidently struts through Archer Hall every night, Resident Assistants and fellow dorm mates all recognise and greet her with warmth and kindness. Her popularity was earned, not from straining to become wanted, but through her bold sense of humour and enduring sense of compassion for those around her. With four exciting years ahead, and many close friends around her for support, Hannah’s road to success seems very promising. Witnessing her constant rise and fall is sure to keep people on their toes, but the gain in having her as a friend as well as an inspiration outweighs all the cons. Despite everything she has been through, she has yet to go through much more, and the process of her blossoming into a grown woman has not yet diminished. As of right now, Hannah Alimajstorovic is the spitting image of a young, beautiful, and successful soul.
