Number Five Award Honors Liza Wellford Fletcher ’06
Meriel Rowland ’24 was announced as the inaugural Liza Wellford Fletcher Number Five award winner at the 2022-2023 year-end Sports Award Celebration.
Liza Wellford Fletcher ’06 wore the number five during her time at Hutchison. Members of the Hutchison athletic department created this award to honor Liza’s contributions, and it will be given annually to further her legacy. Liza not only had a passion for sports, but she also had a heart for lifting up younger athletes and helping them shine.
Back
At the year-end Sports Awards Celebration, a junior will be named Hutchison’s Number Five. In the fall, the senior will be the only athlete across all sports and all ages to wear the number five for Hutchison. The Liza Wellford Fletcher Number Five award recipient will be a student who emulates the ideals of Hutchison athletics that Liza so beautifully demonstrated. In addition to striving for athletic excellence, she will demonstrate the kind of character, integrity, and leadership that Liza personified. This year’s recipient is Meriel Rowland ’24, a star athlete in cross-country, lacrosse, swimming, and track.
“This is really special, and it’ll motivate me,” Meriel Rowland said. “Sometimes in races, I just want to stop because it gets so hard. I’m doing it for Eliza and all that she had done. Even when it’s hard in a race or even in life, just keep going.”
One of the ways Rowland reminds the Hutchison community of Liza is that she exhibits incredible sportsmanship. She is a fierce competitor and usually one of the first to cross the finish line, but she goes back after to cheer on her teammates. Richie Fletcher, Liza’s husband, said Meriel was the perfect athlete for the award and that it was a beautiful tribute. Meriel Rowland ’24 told Geoff Calkins of the Daily Memphian that she met Liza Fletcher once two years ago. Meriel saw someone helping a homeless man lying flat on the street and stopped to assist as well. She later realized the person helping him was Liza.
“Life is so special, and it’s not guaranteed day by day. Love everyone around you,” Rowland said.
Read More
-
Mallory Mullis '18 Uses Her Hutchison Foundation to Empower Emerging Leaders in Dallas
Hutchison Now highlights graduates early in their careers who embody how a Hutchison education can lead anywhere you can imagine. We spoke with Mallory Mullis '18, Manager of Leadership Programs at the Dallas Regional Chamber.Read More -
Louise Smythe ’06: Drawing Her Way to Bliss, One Story at a Time
Louise Smythe ’06, who works as a storyboard artist at Pixar Animation Studios and contributed to “Inside Out 2” credits her time at Hutchison for building her confidence and skills.Read More -
At Hutchison, Margaret Shaul ’14 Learned How to Connect with Others, Think on Her Feet, and Embrace New Perspectives
Read MoreHutchison Now highlights graduates early in their careers who embody how a Hutchison education can lead anywhere you can imagine. We spoke with Margaret Shaul ’14, a senior experience strategist at Czarnowski, a full-service exhibit and event marketing company. Shaul was named to Nashville’s Top 30 Under 30 leaders list in 2022. -
Bringing the Hutchison Acrostic to Life for Middle School Girls
“H” is for Honest, “U” is for Understanding, “T” is for Trustworthy… Hutchison’s beloved acrostic got a makeover in middle school this year, but the familiar character traits of the Ideal Hutchison Girl remain unchanged.Read More -
Caroline Orr ’12: Working with a Diverse Palette of Art, History, and Business
Caroline Orr ’12 has built a unique career that merges her love for art with business acumen. After working at Sotheby’s, she now works as an art services specialist at Bank of America, where she helps collectors navigate the art market with strategic advice.Read More -
Hutchison Gave Caroline Kyle ’15 the Confidence to Dive into Software Engineering
Hutchison Now highlights graduates early in their careers who embody how a Hutchison education can lead anywhere you can imagine. We spoke with Caroline Kyle ’15, a software engineer for Walmart Global Tech in Bentonville, Arkansas.Read More -
State of Tennessee Recognizes Hutchison for 100+ Years of Impact
As part of a State of Tennessee initiative, the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development recognized how Hutchison has made a difference in local and state communities for over 100 years.Read More -
Hutchison Empowered Meagan Thornton ’12 to Be a Leader in Her Field
Hutchison Now highlights graduates early in their careers who embody how a Hutchison education can lead anywhere you can imagine. We spoke with Meagan Thornton ’12, the lead pharmacist at CaryRx, a digital pharmacy based in Washington, D.C., that provides access to pharmaceutical services online.Read More -
Vanessa Ross ’91: Raising Her Voice to Empower Women to Live Their Best Lives
If you have ovaries, you can learn a lot from spending time with Vanessa Ross, CNM, MSCP, Class of 1991. Let’s say hormones are wreaking havoc with your life and your doctor dismisses the symptoms with “it’s all in your head.” According to Ross, you should respond with: “Yes. You’re right. My brain is literally changing, and my body is reacting. My symptoms are real.”Read More -
Gabriela Alvergue ’13: Hutchison Helped Kickstart My Education in Architecture
Hutchison Now highlights recent graduates early in their careers who embody how a Hutchison education can lead anywhere you can imagine. We spoke with Gabriela Alvergue, an associate and technical designer at Gensler, a global architecture, design, and planning firm, in Chicago.Read More -
Elizabeth Gonda ’16 Discovered Her Love for Nonprofit Work at Hutchison
Hutchison Now highlights graduates early in their careers who embody how a Hutchison education can lead anywhere you can imagine. We spoke with Elizabeth Gonda ’16, a care manager at Healthfirst based out of New York who serves over 130 people and helps them with healthcare.Read More -
Hutchison Taught Shelton Wittenberg ’14 to Have Confidence as a Lawyer and a Lacrosse Coach
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.Read More -
Hutchison Alumna Serves as UT Knoxville Commencement Speaker
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.Read More -
Mary Catherine Hughes ’10 Builds Support for Theatre through Compassion and Communication
Hutchison Now highlights graduates early in their careers who embody how a Hutchison education can lead anywhere you can imagine. We spoke with Mary Catherine Hughes ’10, a development associate at the Nashville Repertory Theatre.Read More -
Caroline Couch ’20 Receives Fulbright Award to Study Sustainability in the Netherlands
Caroline Couch ’20 will study the intersection between the creative sector and climate at Radboud Universiteit in the Netherlands.Read More -
Shea Sisk Wellford ’87: How a Move to Memphis Opened Up a New World
When she was 15 years old, Shea Sisk and her family picked up and moved from Marianna, Arkansas, to Memphis. “It was a significant life change, to say the least … academically, socially, leaving behind all of my friends and coming to a new city,” Shea Sisk Wellford ’87 said. She said her parents empowered her to choose the school she would go to, and she picked Hutchison, but admits it was daunting. “My school in Arkansas was completely fine, but it was not a challenge.”Read More -
Hutchison Alumna Featured in Memphis Magazine Cover Story
The March 2024 issue of Memphis Magazine celebrates the work of Ebet Roberts ’63, who has photographed many famous musicians over the past four decades.Read More -
Audsley Dunavant Carr ’08 Encourages Students to Embrace Lifelong Learning in Cum Laude Address
Audsley Dunavant Carr ’08 delivered a special Cum Laude address to this year’s Cum Laude Society inductees. She spoke about how Hutchison taught her to become a lifelong learner and how it laid the foundation for her career.Read More -
Gabi Stein ’15 Drives Innovation through Data Analysis and Computer Science
Hutchison Now highlights recent graduates early in their careers who embody how a Hutchison education can lead anywhere you can imagine. We spoke with Gabi Stein ’15, a product manager for Reddit in Seattle, Washington.Read More -
Fifth Graders Bring Timelines to Life at Trezevant Manor
Spalding saddle shoes, ballroom dancing, classroom hijinks, and lifelong friendships. Alumnae at Trezevant Manor compare notes with the Class of 2031.Read More
1/20
Hutchison School
Connect
Hutchison is the leading private girls school in Memphis for ages 2 years old through twelfth grade.
