Dance Major Working with Students at New Mexico School for the Arts

With the arts always in mind, Hannah Lamberto branched out from dance performance to therapy, then set out for New Mexico in August.

She and an assistant manage about 30 adolescents in a dormitory setting at the New Mexico School for the Arts, a public performing arts school.

“Santa Fe is a diverse place: Indigenous people, Hispanics, a huge arts scene, and the weather and scenery are wonderful,” Lamberto says.

A dance major at Seton Hill, she joined in a movement therapy workshop “that was pretty cool” and decided to broaden her background. That led her to a master’s degree in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling at Antioch University New England.

“I wanted performance since I was a tiny tot, but after serving as a resident assistant at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, I don’t think I would be completely fulfilled performing,” she says.

Meanwhile, she was featured in an Allegheny Health Network ad campaign and worked as an extra in “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” based on Fred Rogers’s life.

Lamberto spent a year as a mental health therapist at FamilyLinks in Pittsburgh before deciding to make the leap to New Mexico.

“I always thought I’d be a performer and on stage, and that’s really not what I want. And that’s good; it keeps me open.”

Seton Hill’s young alumni are making their mark on the world through their work in science and healthcare, finance and business, industry, entertainment and service to those in need. The Fall/Winter 2019 edition of Seton Hill’s Forward magazine featured 30 of these alumni, all under the age of 30. You can find all of their stories here on Seton Hill’s site (just look for the “30 Under 30” icon).