Twenty-eight seniors shared their projects at the inaugural myExperience Senior Showcase.
Family, friends, mentors, faculty, and staff came to see our seniors share their college-level research projects.
All of the projects were impressive, and students were articulate and enthusiastic as they talked about their work and what they learned.
Adela Calzada ’24 was one of six students who received an award of distinction for her project. She choreographed and filmed an original dance, and she screened it in the Wiener Theater during the showcase.
Lara Eason ’24 earned an award of distinction for her work analyzing chemicals in fish in the Little Red River in Arkansas.
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Seniors Display Capstone Projects at myExperience Showcase
Our inaugural graduating class of the myExperience program presented their capstone projects with confidence, poise, and enthusiasm at our first myExperience Senior Showcase.
Twenty-eight Hutchison seniors celebrated finishing their myExperience projects by presenting them to family, mentors, faculty and staff, and friends. The flagship program within Hutchison’s Institute for Responsible Citizenship, myExperience is a multi-year opportunity that allows a girl to select from one of four cohorts — STEM, Entrepreneurship, Art & Design, and Global Civic Engagement. Each girl then studies an area of interest in depth and develops a college-level research project related to that interest. The development of her project includes working with a professional mentor, completing a summer internship or other relevant experience, and planning a trip to a U.S. city where she may explore her project’s area of focus in detail.
At our Senior Showcase, we celebrated our seniors' hard work and success by providing the opportunity for our girls to share their final projects with family, friends, mentors, faculty, and staff. A few of the 28 projects included:
Studying the effects of pollution on the Memphis aquifer
Choreographing and filming an original dance
Analyzing chemicals in fish in the Little Red River in Arkansas
Investigating the implications of language barriers on healthcare access and patient safety
Writing and illustrating a children’s book about coral bleaching
Curating a social media account that highlights different opportunities for service
Interviewing medical professionals about the impact of technology on the medical field
“An overarching aim of the Institute is to develop young women into people who can take on the world when they leave us and go to college,” said Nick Simpson, Director of the Institute for Responsible Citizenship. “We want to inspire girls to become innovators who are doing new, exciting, and dynamic things. We want to encourage girls to find their leadership style, see themselves as members of a global community, and seek ways in which they can serve, augment, and improve the world around them. Lastly, we want them to invest in themselves, in their academics, in their projects, in their relationships with their communities. We want them to invest in ways that bring them joy and growth over time.”
All of the projects were impressive, and students were articulate and enthusiastic as they talked about their work and what they learned. Six awards of distinction were given out to the following students: Adela Calzada, Jordan Deupree, Lara Eason, Izzy Ellis, Olivia Lester, and Elizabeth Soefker. We are proud of how our girls have grown through the myExperience program. Congratulations to all of our senior myExperience graduates!
Spring is a time of traditions at Hutchison. Some, like the celebration of May Day, have been around for a century or more. And some, like the Number Five Award, are brand new.
Empathy. Discomfort. Controversy. Curiosity. Perspective. Engagement. These six words encompass a wide range of emotional and intellectual ideas. In the fall of 2020, when the Class of 2024 were freshmen, they started attending sessions to learn about civil discourse. While the world was still navigating the pandemic, it was a great time to practice how to have constructive conversations about things we agree on… and things we disagree on.
Nine Hutchison upper school girls served the Memphis community during the Church Health Youth Service Council’s inaugural year and will continue to serve on the council next school year.
Hutchison Now highlights graduates early in their careers who embody how a Hutchison education can lead anywhere you can imagine. We spoke with Shelton Wittenberg ’14, an associate attorney at Baker Donelson who also coaches Hutchison middle school lacrosse.
Jordan Deupree ’24 and Bailey Wiener ’24 have been recognized for their leadership in their selection for the Next Gen program, which provides students with mentorship and opportunities to learn more about the Memphis business community.
Hutchison alumna Dr. Kelly Rodney Arnold ’96 had the honor of serving as the commencement speaker for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s College of Arts and Sciences ceremony in May 2024.
At Hutchison, Zelia Cedeño-Avila ’24 stepped out of her comfort zone to try many different things and hone in on her interest in science and math, from serving as Technology Council president to creating a robotic scarecrow for her myExperience capstone project. A lifelong learner, she will bring her knowledge and skills to Vanderbilt University, where she plans to study mechanical engineering.
Three upper school students will participate in high-intensity summer programs in subjects including emerging technologies, international studies, and computational physics.
A discovery in one science class led Izzy Ellis ’24 to delve deeper into her interest in biology and map out a path for college and beyond. Along the way, she nurtured other interests, from athletics to civics. An aspiring oncologist, her dream is to find a new, innovative treatment that could help save lives.
Hutchison world language students participated in the 2024 U of M Language Fair, sponsored by The University of Memphis Department of World Languages and Literatures. Demonstrating their knowledge of Spanish, Hutchison had a total of 12 students win awards at the fair.
AP Scholar and National African American Recognition Program Scholar Lauren Coleman ’24 explored her interest in science and the environment at Hutchison. She hopes to make a difference through a career in sustainability.
J’oules Williams ’24 is a member of Memphis Parent magazine’s inaugural 10 under 20 class. The award celebrates youth who strive to make a difference in their community and change the lives of others for the better.
Adela Calzada ’24 has attended Hutchison since pre-K, and she said it allowed her to blossom into a leader who also makes Hutchison feel like home for her peers.
Our inaugural graduating class of the myExperience program presented their capstone projects with confidence, poise, and enthusiasm at our first myExperience Senior Showcase.