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Hannah Rice performing in a German play called The Visit.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Five years after they graduated, we talked to these Old Girls from the Class of 2015 about what they have been up to since they left Dio, and how they are navigating the challenges of COVID-19. HANNAH RICE Hannah Rice was Deputy Head Prefect in 2015. In an action-packed final year at school, she gained an NZQA Scholarship in drama, got her ATCL Diploma in Performing from Trinity College, earned a Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award, and was involved in tennis and dragon boating. Hannah plans to study acting in Los Angeles. “After graduating from Dio, I studied economics and cognitive science at Northwestern University in Illinois and was also involved in student film and theatre. “The most rewarding experience during my time there was volunteering as a tutor with the Northwestern Prison 72
DIO TODAY
Education Program at Stateville Correctional Centre, a male maximum security prison in Chicago. It gives Stateville inmates the chance to take classes with university professors who volunteer their time to teach at the prison. As part of the programme, Northwestern undergraduate and postgraduate students tutor at a study hall at the prison. It was a humbling experience to work with people from different backgrounds and help them better themselves through education. “Despite gaining a degree in economics and cognitive science, I’m pursuing a career in acting and writing. Acting has always been my passion and I want to explore this as a career while I’m young and have few responsibilities. I was admitted to the New York
Film Academy with a merit-based scholarship and was due to move to Los Angeles in September 2020 to pursue postgraduate study in acting for film. Due to COVID-19, I’ve had to defer my place until January 2021. After coming home from Chicago in March, I’m enjoying being back in Auckland and spending time with friends and family. “Dio really instilled in me the value of having a good work ethic and being creative. One thing I love about the Dio community is how you can randomly run into people from school and there is instantly a connection. It’s been lovely to catch up with friends from Dio and I was really lucky that quite a few of them came to visit me when I was in the States.”
