Minnehaha’s new counselor Lizzie Hanson, on her journey to MA
Competing in the Ironman World Championship race, getting married in Hawaii, and starting a brand new job back
home in Minnesota all within a few days, that was what early October looked like for Lizzie Hanson, Minnehaha’s new counselor.
“It’s been a whirlwind, but it’s been so exciting and so energizing,” said Hanson.
Her coworkers say that from the moment they met her, they felt that she would be a perfect fit for Minnehaha.
Lizzie Hanson, photo by Lucy Lutgen
“She’s a gift from the Lord,” said Christine Paton, Hanson’s fellow counselor. “She immediately has jumped in and has been a part of the team.”
Hanson grew up in Buffalo, Minnesota, where she attended a private K-8 school and West Lutheran High School. She grew up in a Christian household, and from a young age, she watched her parents compete in triathlons.Starting from her time in high school, Hanson was familiar with Minnehaha. She played volleyball games against MA and had a good friend who was a Redhawk.
Her time at West Lutheran fostered her appreciation of community and how she values relationships and connections with others.“Knowing my students and colleagues on a personal level makes such a difference,” said Hanson.
As she grew older, she decided to try out endurance sports, just like her parents.
“[I] got hooked,” said Hanson.
So far, she has raced in three full-distance Ironmans, several half Ironmans, half marathons, and full marathons. She says that endurance sports have “taught me a lot about resilience and [how] to lean into hard things.”
Hanson’s most recent Ironman was at the Kona Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. An Ironman consists of three events: a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a marathon – all in one day. To get there, she had to be one of the top finishers in her age group at a previous race. Worlds was a huge accomplishment, and she is excited to set more goals in the future.
“Every finish line is a blessing, and I always feel so much gratitude at a start line,” said Hanson
Her resilience and philosophy on “leaning in” have been fostered by and carried over to other areas of her life. Hanson went off to college as a psychology major at North Dakota State University. NDSU isn’t a Christian school, but they do have campus ministry groups that Hanson went on to join, and she soon found a church community in Fargo.
“[Faith] has always just been in my life and [it] truly became a personal relationship after college,” said Hanson.
She said that after coming back to Minnesota, it was nice “being able to choose a home church of my own.” She now attends North Cross in Lakeville.
After earning her bachelor’s degree in psychology from NDSU, she went on to get her master’s degree in college counseling and student development at St. Cloud State University. She was considering careers in higher education, but after her first job, she realized that she wanted to work with high school students. She wanted to have the opportunity to focus on the whole student, including their social and emotional lives, not just their academics.
“[What] is so beautiful about high school counseling is that it supports students in all three of those areas,” said Hanson.
Before joining Minnehaha, she worked as a college and career counselor at Eden Prairie High School and at the district office at Minneapolis Public Schools. Even though she hasn’t been at the school long, she says that Minnehaha “truly feels connected, and even that can make some of the tough days seem worthwhile.”
As Hanson begins to settle into this new chapter of her life, she is excited to continue getting to know the Minnehaha community better.
“I really like helping students see how persistence and consistency can really help them reach their goals,” said Hanson.
As her life moves forward, she knows that “there’s going to be times that feel easy and effortless, and there’s going to be times that you really have to lean in and dig deep to get to the finish line.”
If you would ever like to talk to Hanson and learn more about who she is, chat with a counselor about what’s going on in your life, or just stop by, the counseling office doors are always open.