Home Means Nevada
At 5’11’’ freshman Hannah Hartley aims to make threes for the Nevada women’s basketball. But as eager as she is about basketball, it competes with how passionate she is about the environment, which she calls the most valuable resource.
Hartley, born and raised in Reno, graduated from Galena High School in 2021. A three-sport athlete in high school, Hartley was most passionate about basketball and decided to pursue it in college. With multiple offers from Division II and III schools, Hartley made an easy decision to attend college in her hometown to play Division I basketball as a walk-on.
“Attending Nevada gave me the opportunity to play a sport I love for my hometown team and for a coaching staff that I love,” Hartley said during a recent interview with Our Town Reno.
Silver and blue runs deep in the Hartley family blood. Not only was the combination of athletics and academics a selling point for Hartley, but the familial ties also had an impact. Attending Nevada made Hartley a third-generation Nevada student following her grandmother, parents, two aunts, and uncle. Her father, Chad Hartley, served as Nevada’s associate athletic director for strategic communications from 2006 to 2021.
Nevada is extremely important to my family,” Hartley said. “Much of my family attended the University and my parents both have close ties to the athletic department, which is one reason why playing here is so important to me. Being able to play at a school that has had such a big impact on my family means the world to me,” Hartley said.
Hannah stands next to her parents, Chad and Shannon, at her high school graduation in 2021. Photo provided by: Hannah Hartley’s Instagram (@hannahhartley33)
Eager about the Environment
Hartley is majoring in environmental studies with the hopes of pursuing a career as an environmental researcher. She chose this major as a chance to give back to the community that means so much to her.
“Our environment is the most important resource we have and we must find ways to protect it as best as we can,” Hartley said. “I feel that I have a very strong connection to the Reno-Tahoe area, and I want to do what I can to protect it, and I feel that studying environmental science here is how I can begin to do that.”
The outdoorsy aspect of Reno has always been of interest to Hartley, which is why it is so important to dedicate her major to the environment. What better place to do so than in the city that fueled her passion for the environment that surrounded her growing up.
“Attending Nevada gave me the opportunity to study the major I was most interested in,
Hartley said. “I am very happy that I get to study something that I am so passionate about, while playing the sport that I love.”
Going, Going, Green
The famous ‘Keep Tahoe Blue’ stickers that can be found on numerous car bumpers around the Reno-Tahoe area was a motivator to get Hartley involved with protecting the environment.
“Growing up in Reno, I would always see Keep Tahoe Blue stickers,” Hartley said. “I feel like they have had an influence on why environmental science is so important for me.”
Off the court, Hartley dedicates her time to volunteering for community clean-up projects around the area as well.
“I have helped organize and participate in several park clean ups in the Reno area,” she detailed.
Hartley attributes a lot of her passion for the environment with whom she spends time around the most. Growing up exploring the area influenced Hartley to pursue a degree that would allow her to protect the area she has always called home.
“Since I was young, I would hike and spend lots of time outdoors with my family,” Hartley said. “Many of my friends and my parents' friends are passionate about protecting the Reno-Tahoe area. I feel like they have had an influence on why environmental science is so important for me and growing up around people who cared about the environment and want to protect it was very impactful for me.”