Alumni Spotlights are Q&A's with former Brandeis student-athletes, across a myriad of disciplines, as they reflect on their Brandeis experience and how it has shaped their lives today. Read more spotlight features here.
Name: Hannah (Johnson) Bornstein
Job Title: Attorney
Organization: Nixon Peabody LLP, Boston
Hannah (Johnson) Bornstein '02 is the top women's diver in school history. She was a four-time All-UAA selection, winning the three-meter championship as a senior. She also earned All-America honors three times, once as a junior and twice as a senior. A winner of the Department's Charlie Napoli Distinguished Student-Athlete award, Bornstein was inducted into the Brandeis Hall of Fame in 2008.
Bornstein attended law school at Indiana University. She started her law career with the firm of Ropes & Gray and has been with the firm of Nixon Peabody, in their Boston office, since 2012. She represents individuals and multi-national companies in compliance matters, investigations and litigation. She is experienced in health care industry matters involving the False Claims Act; the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act; and the Anti-Kickback Statute. In 2015, Hannah received a pro bono award from the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice for commitment to public service. Hannah received the 2014 Outstanding Pro Bono Mentor Award from the Political Asylum/Immigration Representation Project. In 2018, she was promoted to partner at Nixon Peabody.
Describe your overall experience as a student-athlete. What does it mean to you now/what did it mean to you while you were an undergraduate?
Competing as a student-athlete at Brandeis was the opportunity of a lifetime. During college, competing as a student-athlete brought discipline to my schedule. I forged lifelong friendships with my teammates and coaches. It enhanced my fitness level, and it taught me about resilience, determination, and goal setting. I am now seventeen years post-graduation, and looking back, my experience as a Brandeis student-athlete still remains one of the most positive life experiences I have had. Most importantly, I cherish the friendships I made and that continue to this day.
How did your time as a student and student-athlete at Brandeis prepare you for your career and life after college?
I was a diver at Brandeis. In Division III, we competed in the one-meter and three-meter springboards. I had done many other sports growing up as well, including cross-country, track, basketball, and gymnastics. Diving, for me, was unique in that, not only did I need to be in great shape physically, but I had to learn to overcome diving-specific mental blocks and fear while competing. Competing a 'reverse optional' on the three-meter during a big meet (where you approach the board facing forward but then spin backwards off the board), in front of your team, other teams, and a crowd, when you are afraid that one misstep might lead to hitting the diving board or crashing on the water, added an extra dynamic of 'fear' that I had to overcome. For me, I had to practice, practice, practice the dives that scared me, so that competing them was just like practice. I had to train my brain how to think about focusing on the technique rather than the fear. Those lessons of 'competing through fear' have carried over well into my career. Whether it was taking the LSAT, taking the bar exam, or conducting an oral argument in court, I continue to apply those mental techniques today.
Also, being a student-athlete has paid dividends in job applications and interview processes. Competing successfully as a student-athlete demonstrates that I can manage competing priorities, that I am committed to excellence, and that I am a team player. Those attributes are critical in the workplace and my experience as a student-athlete prepared me well.
Do you have any advice for current or future Brandeis Student-Athletes?
Don't under-estimate how fast time will fly by after you graduate. Cherish the time spent with your teammates and coaches. Also, do not take for granted your fitness level! As life evolves, and you begin balancing career, family, and personal well-being, it becomes harder to fit quality fitness time in. Do your best to keep fitness a priority in your life.
What do you miss most about your Brandeis experience?
I don't mean to be cliché, but I miss my college friends and seeing them every single day. Facebook, social media, and phones all help, but there is nothing like having all of your meals together, studying together, hanging out together, and being no more than a ten minute walk away from your friends on campus.
What personal or professional accomplishment(s) are you most proud of since you graduated?
From an athletic standpoint, I have completed six marathons; I have run the Boston Marathon four times for charity, and I also have completed the New York City and Marine Corps Marathons. Running provides much-needed stress relief as well as fitness, and I have made wonderful friends in the running community. From a professional standpoint, in 2018, I was elected partner in my law firm, Nixon Peabody LLP, and I really enjoy my practice as a white-collar criminal defense attorney in Boston. Most of all, from a personal standpoint, my husband and I are parents to two wonderful kids, ages 8 and 5, who always help me keep perspective and never cease to amaze me.
