Anna Miner’s (12) bubbly smile never fails to brighten someone’s day. Whether it’s her striking dance moves on stage, her leadership in guiding others or her selflessness in caring for children, Anna has constantly been a friend to everyone. 

“Anna’s the sweetest,” Allie Lee (12), one of Anna’s best friends, said. “She’s very thoughtful, she puts others before herself and she really just thinks with her heart. I love her hugs the most because they always make me feel very loved and happy.”

Growing up with her twin brother Grant Miner (12), the two have shared similar experiences and have helped each other through the years.  

“I can’t imagine life without him. We get to share our lives with each other at school, but then we also share what happens to us personally and it just strengthens our connection,” Anna said. “I used to have a lot of anxiety about social situations and I’m afraid of the unknown like everyone is, but Grant helps me see the bigger picture and not be so focused on like this one thing that went wrong. He’s just always there for me.”

In fourth grade, Anna picked up a love for flute and since then, she has joined both the middle and upper school orchestra. Traveling with the orchestra to New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, Anna not only developed her musicianship skills, but she also built her leadership and confidence. 

“In freshman year, I started out as last chair, and I was okay with that because I was just observing everything and taking it all in,” Anna said. “Then, I got chosen to be principal second sophomore and junior year, and that was a whole different experience for me because I could give them guidance and stylistic things to work on. I also had the opportunity to play a solo, and I remember it was so scary being singled out in the Chicago Symphony Hall. But, it definitely allowed me to grow because there was so much leading up to this performance, and it was where I could take it to the next level.”

Dance proves to be an immense part of Anna’s life right now, but this wasn’t always the case. 

“I actually started dancing when I was three, but I ran out of the room crying to my mom because I wasn’t ready yet,” Anna said. “So, she put me in gymnastics and karate for a while, and I got comfortable there. Then when I was five, I went back to dance without crying, and it was the beginning.”

From then, Anna took classes in a multitude of dance styles: ballet, jazz, contemporary and hip hop. After four years of ballet and competing in the industry with jazz and contemporary, Anna jumped into hip hop, which later became her favorite style.

“It was a leap of faith that my instructor took to put me in hip hop because I was very flowy, especially with my ballet background. Over the years, I’ve learned how to let loose and hit hard. Hitting that musicality and hitting it where the audience may not expect makes the audience notice things about the music. And I think one of my favorite things about dance is the joy that comes with it. I think without the joy, there is no point in dancing.”

While Anna has explored the culture behind dance and expressed herself through her emotions, she has truly found herself through choreography, which began during her dance composition class in junior year. With choreography, Anna has developed a specific process for choosing her music and gaining inspiration.

“The first thing I do is listen to the music, and honestly, there are so many songs. What I look for is the song has to be dynamic enough so it’s not the same the whole way through. And even songs that I only do for 30 seconds, if I don’t love it, then I know that it’s not something I can choreograph to,” Anna said. “I like to just listen with my eyes closed, and I actually picture most of my choreography in my mind. I see a stage and I see the dancers on it … Then I try to make it come to life.”

Anna also strives to convey important messages to her audiences through her choreography.

“There’s two main messages I want to spread through dance. One is about love, and there’s a song called ‘Where’s The Love,’ and it talks about the violence and hate in our world and how we have to come together. If we come together, we’ll always win,” Anna said. “The other one is changing the world and redefining our own worlds to shape those of others and be the change that we want to see in the world. I think that’s a really powerful message, and I want to show that unity in my dances.”

Besides her extracurriculars in orchestra and Harker Dance Company, Anna has also believed in the community’s ability to come together and shed light on significant incidents. This year, she piloted a 9/11 segment during school meeting in remembrance of those who lost their lives. 

“At the end of the day, the most important part is to come together and realize our self-worth. We’ve obviously all seen the hate in our world, and sometimes you just need to focus on the good. Originally, I just wanted a moment of silence, and then I realized that I almost wanted to make up for the lack of remembrances,” Anna said. “I feel like we’re old enough now that it’s not something that we need to keep hidden. I met with Mr. Keller, and he told me something that really inspired me. He said that this could go as far as my imagination could take me, and that I actually had the power to do what I wanted to do.”

During the school assembly, Anna also encouraged the student body to find their own 9/11 story and be mindful of the experiences others had gone through. 

“One thing I stressed was having a 9/11 story, which is honestly hard to define, but I think because it’s really affected my family and my trusted adults,” Anna said. “I feel like we live in fear sometimes, and it’s like we’re all just waiting in agony for something else big to happen … But my goal from here on out is to focus on the community and allow everyone to reflect in a free and safe space and to not be afraid of voicing our opinions.”

Throughout high school, Anna dedicated time to Girls Scouts, an activity that she has participated in since she was young. For their project, she and three other friends painted a mural at a school to spread an inspiring message: “Be a buddy, not a bully.” They also invited the families of the students to put their handprint on the mural and be a part of this project.

“It’s just really crazy to see how many people supported this message and wanted to say that this is my handprint, and I’m a part of this community that believes in being there for someone,” Anna said. 

Working with children has been a priority for Anna since the summer of freshman year. She worked in Harker English Language Institute (ELI) and at the lower school as well during her junior year. 

“I started working with the younger kids, and that’s when I was like, if I don’t do anything else in my life, I want to work with kids and I want to change their lives,” Anna said. “You realize how much you’re their social teachers, and just teaching them ways to grow up, have good manners and talk to teachers respectfully is really important.”

Having known Anna since middle school, Emiko Armstrong (12) has become close with her through dance and witnessed Anna’s growth as both a performer and a friend. 

“When I think of Anna, I think of stars because she’s so bright and she has this energy about her and you’re just attracted to it. I appreciate that she’ll very much speak her mind and she’s opinionated, not to the point that is overbearing, but she’s very good at giving advice and standing strong in her ideas,” Emiko said. “She’s super smart, kind, talented, and she’s funny. Not a lot of people see that, but she’s hilarious to be around. Once you get to know her, she’ll joke around a lot with you and just make you laugh. And that’s definitely something that everyone needs in their life.”