Making an imprint on the drama club
By ANNALIESE WITMER
Brandon Hern, a Bellefonte Area High School (BAHS) class of 2018 graduate, continues to impact the school performance arts program. Brandon has been helping out with the set designs at BAHS drama productions since his senior year of high school. These productions include Anything Goes, Mamma Mia, Mary Poppins, and now Auntie Mame.
Working with the productions helps Brandon build a design portfolio. Brandon graduated Penn State in May of 2022 with a Bachelor’s degree in Arts in Integrative Studies with minors in Architecture and Landscape Architecture. He then entered the Disney College Program during the Spring of 2022. Brandon enjoys being back in the high school building because of the memories it holds.
“It’s nostalgic being back, but I will say it makes me feel a little old. Although I’ve only been gone five years it’s changed and then again it hasn’t changed at the same time,” Brandon said.
During Brandon’s time at BAHS he was very involved in many clubs and activities and sports.
“I was in Key Club and was president my senior year, also International Club (disbanded in 2016), Drama Club, and on both the bowling and golf teams,” Brandon said.
Brandon was very close with Mrs. Walter, during his time at BAHS. Mrs. Walter has made many memories with Brandon over his four years here but her favorite memory is the lasting impact he made on Key Club. She saw how committed and passionate he was during school, and during Key Club. His work made a difference, and didn’t go unnoticed. .
“Brandon reorganized and revitalized the Key Club hours tracking system. He took it and made it something that included a ton of important info about our club, projects, members, and activities. It was amazing what he did with it. I could never have done what he did and we still use aspects of that system to this day.” Mrs. Walter said
If you look in the back left corner of the stage in the Bellefonte High School auditorium, you can find Brandon’s handprint along with his initials “BH”. Brandon’s dedication to the BAHS’s drama club is evident.
