From New Girl to Peer Council President: How Hutchison Shaped Virginia Unglesby ’25

The new girl who walked into Labry Hall her freshman year is a completely different person, Virginia Unglesby ’25 said about her journey at Hutchison. “A lot of that has to do with Hutchison and the people here. It’s shaped me into who I am today,” she said. 

Virginia, an AP Scholar with Distinction, came from Grace St. Luke’s Episcopal School. Hutchison is where she said she learned to have faith in herself and her abilities, building confidence and learning how to advocate for herself. She added that Hutchison pushed her out of her comfort zone, which helped her learn how to be a good leader. 

She exemplifies these qualities as Peer Council president. In her role, she spearheads programming designed to welcome all incoming students to the upper school and serves as a mentor to many of our new girls. She also works to bring upper school girls closer together and promote healthy relationships among the student body. “Serving as Peer Council president truly means a lot to me because I know coming in as a new girl freshman year can be scary and intimidating. But Hutchison is a warm and welcoming place, and I ended up having nothing to worry about,” she said.

She encourages younger students to embrace the many opportunities that Hutchison has. One activity that helped Virginia realize what she wants to do in life is mock trial. She plans to attend Tulane University in the fall and hopes to one day go to law school. Virginia participated in mock trial all four years of upper school and led the group this year as president. She served as an attorney for a plaintiff in a civil case and a witness for another case. From gaining public speaking skills to learning to think on her feet, mock trial helped her grow. 

“When you’re getting objections in, you have to rely on yourself. It teaches you to be confident,” Virginia provided as an example. “You realize that you know your case, and you have to voice what you need to say and articulate those thoughts clearly.”

These experiences include serving as the editor-in-chief of Signpost, playing on the soccer team, growing as a leader through Volunteer Girls State and Facing History, exploring philanthropy for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the Philanthropic Literacy Board, and being part of the STEM cohort of the myExperience program. 

Hutchison also helped Virginia thrive academically. She has dyslexia, and she knows when she needs additional support, she can go to her teachers, the Math Lab, and Gretchen Gintz, our upper school learning specialist whom she has worked with for the past four years. She meets with Gintz about once a month, and they make a plan based on any issues Virginia is encountering.

“Hutchison has so many resources. It fosters an amazing learning environment, because it truly has allowed me to learn to my best potential,” she said. “At any point if I feel stuck over something, I can always go to my teachers. Mrs. Gintz has been a great resource through my academic journey and a person I can count on.”

As Virginia prepares to head to Tulane, she is grateful she chose Hutchison for high school. “There is truly no place like Hutchison. Hutchison helped me find my voice and learn to articulate my thoughts and ideas. I know that next year and beyond, I will be confident in myself and my abilities,” she said.