At Hutchison, Lauren Coleman ’24 Discovered a Love of Environmental Science and Found Her Voice

Hutchison has been a place that has challenged Lauren Coleman ’24 academically while helping her build upon her love of science. Lauren has attended Hutchison since third grade, but she said her time in upper school is when she grew the most as a student.

“I had to learn to be comfortable with not always being perfect,” Lauren said. “I had to apply myself a lot more in AP classes. I had to find new ways to adjust to the workload. I found ways to manage my time well, get my homework done, study, and organize around my life.”

Lauren has been recognized as an AP Scholar with Honor, an award given to students who receive an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams. The College Board also named her a National African American Recognition Program Scholar, an honor reserved for a select number of outstanding students.

In the fall, she will attend Duke University, where she plans to study environmental science. The wide range of science classes offered at Hutchison helped Lauren determine what she wants to further explore in college. This year, she took zoology and AP Chemistry, and during her junior year, she took AP Environmental Science, which she said was one of her favorite classes. “It’s something that I looked forward to and loved going to every day. I always found myself interested in the material,” she said.

As someone who has been interested in learning more about the environment at a young age, she enjoyed learning about biodiversity and renewable energy in the class. She also loved the challenge of building a sustainable city for a class project because it was a unique and fun way to apply her new knowledge. 

“It was difficult when I was first writing it because I had to think about how a child would understand what I was explaining,” she said. “It’s important to let them know what’s going on because even a little impact is still an impact.”


At Hutchison, Lauren overcame her shyness not only to find herself but also to leave her mark on the school community. She said the most important thing she learned was to stay open-minded when it comes to new experiences or meeting new people.

“When I was a freshman, I kind of kept to myself. I went to class and did my homework,” she said. “Eventually, I learned to take advantage of opportunities, like clubs and organizations, and enjoyed meeting new people of different ages.”

One of the ways Lauren found her voice is through the Equity and Inclusion Council. During her senior year, she served as the council’s president. Students on the council collaborate to plan events throughout the year to celebrate diverse cultures while promoting awareness and the importance of being kind and inclusive.