Rocky Hill School Names Valedictorian

EAST GREENWICH, RI - From Rocky Hill School: Rocky Hill School is proud to announce Hannah Wahl-Dunnigan of West Kingston as the Valedictorian of the Class of 2018. Hannah earned the distinction by having a cumulative grade average greater than 93% over four years in the Upper School. At Commencement on June 8, Hannah will deliver her Valedictorian address at the school that she called home since freshman year.

Hannah represented Rocky Hill’s Upper School in the “Best of the Class” program affiliated with ABC6 WLNE-TV in May. With the support of high school administrators and its sponsor, Roger Williams University, the program recognizes and encourages academic excellence and brings together the top academically-ranked students from over 95 Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts high schools.

As the Head of Nathan Hale Society and Polar Bear Club, Hannah maintained a busy schedule during the course of her studies at Rocky Hill. She was a member of eight additional clubs and societies, including National Chinese Honor Society, as she is a passionate student of Mandarin and participated in Mandarin competitions at the University of Rhode Island. Hannah was instrumental in organizing the Chinese New Year celebration program at Rocky Hill School for the last two years. Her many distinctions are not limited to academic pursuits, too, as Hannah was one of two captains of her Cross Country team and earned Most Valuable Player recognition at the culmination of her season.

A self-professed barefoot running enthusiast, Hannah stood out for her unique sense of humor and unwavering positivity. She famously once lectured her peers on the importance of self-sacrifice in order to achieve greater ends; her speech was about the time she burned her hand taking cookies out of the oven so as to preserve their perfectly golden brown goodness.

Last semester, Hannah completed an internship under Dr. Stacey Springs, PhD, an Investigator in Health Services, Policy and Practice at Brown University. Under Dr. Springs’s tutelage, Hannah studied the emotional intelligence and empathy levels of students in the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. She investigated the efficacy of integrating visual arts and humanities in the medical school curriculum. Hannah was particularly interested in whether such a curricular integration led to changes in emotional intelligence and empathy levels in graduate students.

A skilled artist herself, Hannah has amassed an impressive portfolio of two and three-dimensional works. The intersection and art and science has always fascinated Hannah, as she will continue these studies at a dual-degree program at Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design in the fall of 2018.

About Rocky Hill School

Founded in 1934, Rocky Hill School is an independent day school for grades preschool through 12. Located on 84 acres overlooking Narragansett Bay, Rocky Hill School focuses on innovative teaching and an interactive educational experience that prepares students to become leaders and life-long learners.

Photo courtesy of Rocky Hill School