From Papillion to Rome

Last spring, Hanna Hadrick graduated from the American University of Rome with a major in English Literature, Writing and Publishing and a minor in International Business. It’s not everyday someone from Papillion, Nebraska ends up studying literature in Rome, but Hanna’s innate curiosity made that move feel natural. 

For her senior capstone, Brownie’s Watering Hole, Hanna returned to her roots. The project is a collection of character sketches inspired by her childhood and upbringing in her family’s dive bar in Papillion. “It presented a wide range of people I grew close with over the years and little snippets of their life stories and the lessons their lives taught me,” Hanna shared. “My capstone addresses topics of alcoholism, nostalgia, PTSD, grief, depression, death, and life, in a series of character sketches. I felt compelled to write my capstone on Brownie’s Watering Hole, not only for the significance this dive bar played in my life, but also to discuss a part of the United States not known to many.”

The collection refers to interactions from both her childhood, young adulthood, and events that transpired after her grandparents sold the bar. “I was quite worried that no one would take an interest in my piece about old veterans and alcoholics,” she admitted, “but Professor Colletta reassured my ideas and was a great asset to the writing and editing process. I also owe a great deal to Professor Di Robilant for showing the first bit of interest in this piece.”

Now six months after graduation, Hanna works as an office associate for Bellino Enterprises, assisting the company’s many sectors and businesses. She also keeps a hand in the hospitality industry as a server at a local sports bar, staying close to the kind of place that inspired her writing.

In her spare time, Hanna continues to read and write, with plans to expand the fifty page Brownie’s Watering Hole into a full-length book. “The completion of my capstone was the longest writing piece I have ever attempted,” she reflected. “With the help of Professor Colletta, I was able to get an insight on the entire writing process and can not recommend enough how broadening this piece of work was.”

It's through pieces such as Brownie’s Watering Hole that show how even the most unassuming places can have entire worlds right within them.