An outstanding student, avid reader, star volleyball player, and strong leader, Layla Truitt lives up to the Hutchison mission of showing girls they can go anywhere they can imagine.
Since coming to Hutchison in 6th grade, Layla has continued to discover her passions both in and out of the classroom. During 7th grade when girls are required to choose Spanish or Chinese to study, Layla says it was a no-brainer which one she would select. “When I walked into Chinese class, something clicked, and I have loved learning the language ever since.” Now as a junior, she is enrolled in Advanced Honors Chinese and is on track to take AP Chinese next year.
In addition to Chinese, Layla’s class schedule is stacked with AP Environmental Science, AP Government, and AP Language & Composition. And her extracurricular schedule is just as impressive. She serves as the communications officer for the Honor Council and is a member of the Chinese Club, Bee Outdoors Club, and Library Advisory Board Club. Her passion for reading is well known as some staff members even go to her for book recommendations, and she says sci-fi/fantasy is her favorite genre. “My love for reading really came out in middle school. In Ms. McCausland’s 8th grade English class, she gave us a challenge of reading 25 books, and I ended up reading 100 books that year. I just love the story that comes from a good book.”
Perhaps her greatest passion outside of school is volleyball. She plays for the Hutchison varsity team and for the Memphis Metro club team. She has been playing the sport for six years and currently spends about 10-12 hours a week either practicing or participating in games. “I love the camaraderie and team aspect of the sport. In volleyball, you can’t play by yourself. It is a true team sport. Every time I step on to the court with my teammates, I feel that adrenaline rush and know we are in this together, and we can do whatever we want as a team.”
Layla is a hard worker and dedicated to always doing her best. She says Hutchison has played a great part in helping her try new things and manage such a full schedule. “I am at a loss for words when I think about my Hutchison experience. Every level of my school has prepared me to be the person I am today. Every year since I have been here, I have become a better, more well-rounded person. All the teachers and faculty have played a major part in that.”
"I think my time in France, which is what I credit for my love of wines, ties back to taking French classes at Hutchison,” Katie Griesbeck ’96 said. “We started French in junior kindergarten and took classes until about sixth grade. I elected to pick it back up when I was in high school, and it set me up to be a Francophile for life. I loved the language, and that’s what inspired me to go to the Burgundy region of France when I was in college."
For the first time in school history, Hutchison's varsity basketball team won the TSSAA DII-AA state championship after defeating Knoxville Catholic 41-34.
Victoria Martin ’21 wants to be able to reflect on her more than 12 years at Hutchison and know that she did what she could to make things easier for black students who came after her. Victoria was one of six seniors who participated in a candid panel about race relations this week at Hutchison to commemorate Black History Month. The other students were seniors Nia Drayton, Dakota Shelton, Camilla Johnson, Kiya Brown, and Micah Watkins.
The University of Virginia Jefferson Scholars program is recognized as one of the two leading scholarship programs in the country. Out of more than 2,000 nominations from around the world, approximately 120 finalists are selected after rigorous regional competitions and interviews.
She has a full plate of academics, volunteer work, leadership responsibilities, and extracurriculars, and she has the work ethic to succeed in anything she puts her mind to. She credits Hutchison for instilling in her that anything is possible.
As with many academic adventures at Hutchison, a weeklong lesson on computer science and coding transformed into an interdisciplinary exploration for our girls as teachers from various subjects incorporated coding activities into their day-to-day lessons.
It's all about mental toughness... How you rise to accept a new challenge after you fall down. Make no mistake, these Hutchison girls are in it to win it this year.
This might seem like a silly question: Are you a dog person or a cat person? Why? Now imagine you’re a dog lover and you can’t understand the enthusiasm of a cat aficionado. Or vice versa. Suppose you have to explain your passion for your favorite pet to a person who disagrees with you. How do you communicate your beliefs civilly?
When Leah Grace Wolf is not thinking about solving a science problem or tinkering with a new invention, you can find her at the mixed martial arts gym, thinking about next steps to overpower her opponent. This National Merit Commended Student is the epitome of a Hutchison girl who enjoys exploring a variety of interests.
When Ms. Prewitt’s Pre-Kindergarten class went to the farm recently to look at carrots they had planted, Mrs. Riddle, the director of environmental education and sustainability, was in a bit of a pickle. She said she desperately needed help with her crop of cucumbers.
An outstanding student, avid reader, star volleyball player, and strong leader, Layla Truitt lives up to the Hutchison mission of showing girls they can go anywhere they can imagine.
Sophie Mansour ’21 wants to help young people see diseases and their impact more clearly. Whether it is a classmate with diabetes or asthma, or a family member with Alzheimer’s, Sophie believes everyone would benefit from a deeper understanding. So she created the Memphis Medical Awareness Club at Hutchison, and that’s just the beginning for this conscientious entrepreneur.
Think of them as warm-up stretches – for the brain. Each one of Joe Koelsch’s 7th grade math lessons begins with a “bell ringer.” It encourages the girls to “open up their brains” before class, he says.
Jamie Sokoloff’s '21 teachers describe her as bright and highly motivated. Those adjectives definitely fit this high performer who has her plate full with extracurriculars.
At Hutchison, a girl can explore her unique place in the world through the wonder of art. We're making sure that tradition continues, even in a pandemic.
Juniors and seniors in Deborah Brown’s Women’s History class commemorated Women’s Equality Day with a video confirming that their generation is a force to be reckoned with.
Celia Economides ’97 is well acquainted with persistence. As an executive at a biotech company in San Francisco, persistence is a trait that comes in handy. Fostering the development of new drugs for rare diseases often requires soliciting millions of dollars in investments, decades of trial and error in the labs, and lots and lots of patience.
Caroline Halliday '21 had her Hutchison social science certificate project all planned out. She wanted to start a Community Supported Agriculture vegetable subscription service for Hutchison families, but with a pay-it-forward twist: for every one purchased by a Hutchison family, she would provide one for a family in need in Memphis. Then the pandemic hit, and her plans got turned upside down.