Hannah Montague is a junior pursuing a double major in biology and Russian with a minor in environmental science. Her extracurricular involvement with a variety of different organizations across campus embodies Wake Forest’s Pro Humanitate spirit.

What extracurricular activities are you involved with on campus?

Currently, I am the co-president of Wake Forest’s Take the Fight, squad leader for the Wake Forest Marine Corps Officer Candidates, a member of the co-ed service fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega, a tour guide and trainer as part of the executive board for ambassadors in admissions and a member of the Wake Forest Triathlon Club.

How do you manage your time between schoolwork and club activities?

It is definitely difficult to manage my time properly, and I have far from mastered it. However, I often utilize a whiteboard in my dorm room in order to keep everything I need to accomplish organized and accounted for.

What advice would you give to someone looking to become more involved but is afraid they will not have enough time?

While at Wake Forest, I have often noticed my extracurricular involvement, and in turn, the lessons I have learned through it, have enhanced my academic experience as a whole. Oftentimes, I realize that I am able to directly relate what I have learned outside the classroom to what I am learning inside the classroom.

In addition, extracurricular involvement — whether it be through community service, a club sport or career preparation — has allowed me to think differently as well as see the world from an entirely different lens. It allows for and often forces my exposure to different ideas, different viewpoints and completely new ways of thinking.

Part of being a Wake Forest student is undergoing the development of and transformation into becoming a well-rounded individual with diverse experiences and consistently having meaningful interactions with people from all walks of life.

My involvement outside of academics has definitely helped me to do so. Go out there, have fun with it, and allow yourself to learn from an environment different from that of a classroom.

What role has extracurricular involvement played in shaping your experience at Wake Forest?

Each extracurricular organization I have taken part in at Wake Forest has in some way helped me to grow both as a person and a student. While oftentimes the activity itself provides for this opportunity, the other students, faculty, and individuals involved — without fail, always shape the experience.

Whether it be learning new leadership skills from other officer candidates, being influenced by the incredible work ethic and sheer desire to serve from others involved with Take the Fight, witnessing the strength, perseverance, graciousness and humility of the patients I have had the privilege to work with, or enjoying serving and attending events alongside Alpha Phi Omega, it is the people I have been lucky enough to encounter, work with and create relationships with—which has shaped my Wake Forest experience as a whole.

What is your favorite memory from your participation in these activities?

My favorite memory was hands down one of the more demanding weekends I have ever experienced.

This semester, directly before our training weekend for new Take the Fight strategists, our leadership team of six spent the entirety of a Friday evening at WFBMC’s Cancer Center, preparing for training to take place the next morning.

While it is stressful working from 3 p.m. to 8:30 a.m. in one location, putting together something each of you is so immensely passionate about with people you respect and care about is absolutely a memorable experience.

While we encountered our fair share of obstacles along the way, each of us has a deep desire to make an impact. As a result, the weekend turned out to be very successful.

I learned a lot that weekend about myself, about those I have the privilege to serve alongside and about putting pride and passion into everything you do.

Ballroom dancing to Phantom of the Opera at 3:30 a.m. in the Cancer Center does not happen very often, but when it does you know that there is a great story behind it.

What are your post-graduation plans?

After graduation, I will be hired full time by Take the Fight to work nationally as a Fellow.

With that organization, I will get the opportunity to work with some incredibly talented graduates from around the world, with the goal of creating impactful and systemic change within the healthcare system. I will work with Take the Fight until I receive orders to report to the Marine Corps’ Basic School, where I will begin my career as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps.

I understand that the founder and CEO of “Take the Fight” recently passed away. Would you like to talk about his influence on you and the organization?

David Warren was a true leader and a fighter. He was a world changer who would stop at nothing to make impact, but more importantly, to protect those who surrounded him.

He inspired action, dreams, and hard work, while teaching to never give up and to never back down, to always believe in oneself, and to act and carry oneself with confidence. Because of him, we will never be the same.