‘It was everything’: Touching way Hannah McGuire’s dream of being a teacher will still come true
Hannah McGuire was on the cusp of attaining her teaching degree when her body was found last year. Now, her mother shares the touching way Hannah’s dreams will still come true as her ex awaits trial over her alleged murder.
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Hannah McGuire’s caring nature made her a natural born teacher, her mother says.
The 23-year-old teaching aide was on the cusp of reaching her dream when her body was discovered in a burnt-out car in Scarsdale, near Ballarat, in April last year.
Her ex-boyfriend, 22-year-old Lachlan Young, is awaiting trial over her alleged murder.
But the countless late nights Hannah spent behind her computer studying will not be in vain.
She will be awarded her degree in primary school teaching along with the rest of her Federation University class as they attend a graduation ceremony next week.
Breaking her silence for the first time since Hannah’s death, Debbie McGuire told the Herald Sun that her daughter’s milestones are often the hardest days to get through without her.
“She worked hard, long hours, and then she’d go home and study for long hours as well, so I’m really pleased that they’re going to do that,” Ms McGuire said.
“She was very close to finishing and it was so important to her, and uni and teaching was everything.”
The family endured their first Christmas, Hannah’s favourite holiday, last year without her.
Two days later, she would have celebrated her 24th birthday.
“Those things are really tough, especially the firsts of everything,” Ms McGuire said.
“Our family will never be the same, a piece of the puzzle is missing and it’ll never be whole again.
“What we have is what we have and there won’t ever be another. That’s the hardest thing to cope with.”
Hannah’s family has overcome another devastating blow since her death.
26-year-old Lachlan Morganti, who organised a fundraiser for Hannah’s family, stole $64,000 in funds, for which he was sentenced by a magistrate to 400 hours of community service.
Ms McGuire said Hannah’s father Glenn, and her two younger brothers, Jude and Fletcher, are coping with Hannah’s death as best they can.
They still run the town’s most popular pub, the National Hotel.
But the journey is far from over as they brace for Mr Young’s murder trial in July.
“We’re broken,” Ms McGuire said.
“You wake up everyday and you just can’t believe this is your life,” she said.
“We just get up every day and hope that it’s not real.”
As she gathered at a CBD rally on Saturday with the families of other women allegedly murdered across the country, Ms McGuire remembered her daughter as a “very kind” and thoughtful young woman who loved to look out for others.
“Hannah’s love language was gift giving … She put a lot of thought into what she got for people,” she said.
“When it’s my husband’s or my birthday, the boys are like: ‘Oh, this was Hannah’s job. Hannah went and got the presents and now I’m going to have to do that’.”
“She was just a very caring person and I think that is probably why she ended up choosing the profession she did.
“She was the little organiser in the family. I think being the oldest and being a girl she kept her brothers in line.”
Ms McGuire said she felt compelled to attend the memorial to call for better resourcing for police, particularly in regional Victoria.
“It’s unacceptable for intervention orders to be served via email,” she said.
“Domestic violence is just becoming more and more prevalent and there’s just not enough members to deal with it.”
Hannah’s memory is never far away from Ms McGuire.
Adorned with bright watercolours and a feather, a tattoo in honour of her daughter now sits on her right forearm.
The new ink was etched at the family’s favourite holiday spot, Bali, and reads: “watching with the angels”, a nod also to the song that played as hundreds of loved ones farewelled Hannah at her funeral.
Ms McGuire said her family may not have been able to cope with the support of the wider Clunes community.
“They’ve really wrapped their arms around us,” she said.
“It’s been our saviour.”
Mr Young has pleaded not guilty to Hannah’s alleged murder.
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Originally published as ‘It was everything’: Touching way Hannah McGuire’s dream of being a teacher will still come true
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