By Ada Kessler

McCaskey junior Hasset Tesfaye has a plethora of passions. She has a love of films, books, and music. She has a strong interest in learning, especially about African culture and history. She is particularly interested in anything relating to her Ethiopian heritage. However, there is nothing Hasset is more passionate about than helping others. 

This passion manifests itself most often through community projects. Currently, Hasset is working on two major projects: the Witness Stones Project and the Buddy Glover Project. She began with the Witness Stones Program which started in her IB History of the Americas class. In this class, Hasset and her classmates are studying enslaved African Americans who were “pretty much forgotten.” Specifically, her class is learning about people who were enslaved under General Edward Hand at his plantation, which is now known as the Historic Rock Ford. 

They are focusing on three of these enslaved people: Frank, Sue and Bob. Her and a few other classmates are creating a documentary on Frank based on everything they’ve learned. Additionally, Hasset and a few other classmates hope to get three engraved stones that recognize these enslaved people. The end goal is to get these stones engraved in the city by the end of May.

While taking part in this project, Hasset said she was inspired to research enslaved people in Lancaster and if they had any part in McCaskey’s history for her Buddy Glover Project. She is currently still in the process of researching, but as of now she has found no history of enslaved people in McCaskey history. 

She has, however, found that McCaskey High School was not always as diverse. In fact, McCaskey used to be an all boys school with only one African American student who was barely featured in old yearbooks. Hasset plans to publish a writing piece discussing what she finds in her research. She hopes her project will “impact the school or even our community in Lancaster.”

Both of these community projects have been manifestations of Hasset’s interest in African history, of course, but it’s also a manifestation of her religion. “God’s the driving passion in my life to become a better person. That’s how I want to interact, with kindness,” she says regarding her faith. “His kindness has taught me to be kind to others.” 

This faith not only motivates Hasset to be a better person, it motivates her in everyday life alongside her parents. Her parents are both Ethiopian immigrants, and their hard work inspires her to do the same. This has led her to strive for her goals in life of being a lawyer and going to Yale for college. In the future, Hasset hopes to do family law or domestic relations. She wants to bring a safe environment to children who are facing abuse or any bad situation. “I want to help prosecute the bad guys,” Hasset says regarding why she wants to be a lawyer. “I want to make my mark that way, by just being kind to others and helping them.”