Hana Taylor Schlitz knew from a young age she wanted to help people.
This week the 18-year-old graduated from UNT Dallas with a master's in public leadership with a concentration in emergency services administration, becoming the youngest person in the school's history to receive their graduate degree.
She said the barriers she faced when she was younger set the foundation for her trailblazing academic career.
Born in Ethiopia, Schlitz was orphaned as a baby when her mother died of tuberculosis. At 10 months old, she was adopted by her parents and moved to California, then Keller, Texas. Shortly after, she was also diagnosed with tuberculosis – and the care she received still impacts her today.
The "village" that came to her side and helped treat her made her want to grow up to be a person people can rely on when they need help, she said.
"It's really inspiring to know that there were people who, they didn't know who I was, but they knew that I needed help," Schlitz said. "They knew I needed treatment and they gave me my treatment ... I want to be that kind of person."
Schlitz started her education homeschooled by her mom. She then transitioned to public school in third grade and later switched to private school. After the COVID-19 pandemic began, Schlitz — then just 11 years old — started attending classes at Tarrant County Community College because her mom wanted her to fill the time.
As the youngest in her family, Schlitz was used to being around adults, so being the youngest student in the classroom did not phase her.
"Being that I'm young they think that I'm just a typical teenager trying to put their ear buds in and disassociate," Schlitz said. "I had to push past that so they could see that I'm an educated young woman and I'm trying to make a name for myself."
After graduating from high school at 13, she decided to enroll at Texas Woman's University, where she earned her bachelor's degree in sociology at 16 years old. She is the youngest graduate in TWU's history.
While her mom worked in the medical field and her older sister focused on law and government, Schlitz was entering uncharted territory with her studies.
"My passion probably just comes from being able to create systems and being able to nurture the systems that helped me be where I am today," Schlitz said.
Aside from the support system Schlitz's parents surrounded her with, she said her mother, who is an emergency medicine physician, is one of her biggest inspirations.
"She has been part of the drive for emergency management," Schlitz said. "It's been amazing to be able to see her do all these different things that she's been able to do and still have a family and run the family and come home at the end of the day and talk to us and eat dinner with us."
With her master's degree complete, Schlitz is now preparing for a two-month summer internship at Dallas Love Field in aviation emergency management and communications. After that, she plans to enroll in a PhD program and is looking at several universities on the East Coast.
Her goal is to someday run an agency like the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Avery Escamilla-Wendell is KERA's news intern. Got a tip? Email Avery at aescamillawendell@kera.org. You can follow her on Instagram @by_avery_escamilla.
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