Freshman Paulina Hafer with her brother, senior Jack Hafer during the summer of 2004. Jack hopes to graduate and go off to college in 2016. “I’m excited for him to be able to experience college,” Paulina said. Photo courtesy of Paulina Hafer.
Update: The ODYSSEY Media Group will provide viewers with weekly stylized profiles that center on people in the Athens community telling their own stories.
By HANNAH GALE – Staff Writer
Freshman Paulina Hafer has faced a lot of hardships in her life, but the support of her family, friends and the Athens community have helped her become the person she is today.
Paulina Hafer was born on Jan. 29, 2001, to a family of four: a mother, a brother, a father and a restaurant.
On Nov. 9, 2007, her father took his life. Leaving his daughter, son, wife and restaurant behind.
A son who loved chess and video games, a wife who did yoga and gardened, and a daughter who played soccer and rock climbed. A restaurant that many loved and has cemented itself as an Athens icon– The Grit.
Paulina remembers going to a family counselor.
Immersing herself in every sport available.
Always staying busy, whether it be with friends or academics.
All methods for coping, but she never forgot the moment when he took his own life.
In June of 2011, her family opened another restaurant, Ted’s Most Best. In honor of her late father, the Athens community gathered to celebrate the positive impact he had on the music scene, local community, restaurant business and Boulevard neighborhood.
In the spring of 2014, her mother was diagnosed with stage three HER2 positive breast cancer. Paulina’s mother received treatment and chemotherapy at Athens Regional Medical Center and at the University Blood and Cancer Center, but the fear of losing another parent never left her mind.
On Aug. 11, 2015, she started ninth grade at Clarke Central High School with some of the same kids she attended elementary and middle school with. She entered a new chapter with the same kids who gave her support when her father took his own life, the same kids who gave her reassurance when her mother was diagnosed with stage three HER2+ breast cancer.
The same kids she hopes to walk at graduation with at Stegeman Coliseum in May of 2019.
