Phoebe Norcross ’13, an architectural designer in New York, served on the design team for an award-winning tech headquarters in Shanghai, China.
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Phoebe Norcross ’13 Makes Her Voice Matter
Hutchison Now highlights recent graduates early in their careers who embody how a Hutchison education can lead anywhere you can imagine. We spoke with Phoebe Norcross ’13, an architectural designer for Ennead Architects in New York.
Did attending an all-girls school prepare you for times at work when you are the only woman in the room?
Going to an all-girls school taught me to pay attention to nuance in a conversation. The few times I have been on a male-dominated team, I've noticed the team often speaks over each other and competes for time to voice their opinions. Often the whole team agrees on what is important, and the underlying messages are the same, but a layer of nuance is needed to pull the ideas together. I love being able to help synthesize multiple ideas into one clear approach.
How did your Hutchison experience help you get to where you are today?
Hutchison equipped me with the curiosity to listen and ask questions. My biggest culture shock at the University of Arkansas was that even in some of my smaller classes, people were afraid to speak up. Hutchison taught me that any question or comment was a way to start a conversation and explore a subject more deeply. In college, I was always the first person to ask a question, not because I wanted credit, but because I wanted to make it easier for others to jump into the conversation.
During my first year working professionally, the roles reversed, and I realized everyone was willing to be the first person to speak. I took on a listening role to understand how the conversation dynamics work. As I grow more confident and comfortable at work, I speak up more intentionally when I actually know the answer to a question. When I don't know the answer to a question, I'm learning to ask follow-up questions to better understand what my colleagues need from me.
When did you decide to become an architect?
I was 5-years-old the first time someone asked me “what do you want to be when you grow up?” I said, “I want to be an architect.” My dad is an architect, and while he never pushed me toward the profession, he always demonstrated passion, excitement, and dedication to the work. As I got closer to college, I realized architecture had always been my default answer. I went through a lot of questioning trying to decide if I was pursuing architecture because my dad loves it so much or because I love it so much. Each profession I researched felt like something I could accomplish with architecture or something I could maintain in parallel to architecture. So, while I chose to be an architect when I was 5, it is a decision to which I have continued to make a commitment.
Why is it important to be able to pursue your interest in art during your free time?
Creating art has always been an important part of my life. Art helps me explore thoughts and observations in a tangible way that I can't easily express in words. When I paint, draw, collage, and photograph my surroundings, I am capturing the beautiful parts of the world in a way that can be shared with other people.
Phoebe Norcross ’13 received her Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Arkansas in 2018. She joined Ennead Architects in New York City in 2018 as an architectural designer. She is pursuing her architecture license.
Eleanor Merchant '23 wanted to find a way to help fight the national ongoing blood shortage, so she organized a blood drive at Hutchison. With her efforts over the past two years, blood donations at the Hutchison blood drive could have saved as many as 192 lives.
Allison Blankenship ’12 has committed her 10 years since graduating from Hutchison to working in the political arena, spending the last five years working in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Becca Coopwood ’27 serves as a student ambassador for The Social Institute, an organization that works to empower students to use social media and technology in a positive way. In her role, she helps produce blog posts from the perspective of students.
If you want to see Coach Thomas Jones light up, ask him about Maxine Engel ’21 and her journey from a rising ninth grader with a broken leg to a senior walking away as a State Champion. “You know how most coaches say, ‘I helped a kid?’ Well, she helped me. Helped me grow as a coach.
Seniors had a lot to say about the Tom Lee Park redevelopment after a recent Rogers Scholars excursion. And that's the point of these forays into the community. “They keep us aware of what is happening in our city, ultimately making us more well-rounded citizens,” said Emma Couch ’23.
Meet Katie Davis, one of Hutchison's third grade teachers. Ms. Davis enjoys taking on a challenge in the classroom and the freedom to follow her students' interests. She encourages her students to become lifelong learners.
The College Board has named Antonella Lejwa ’23 a National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholar, an honor reserved for a select number of outstanding students. She has proven herself through academic achievement and various extracurricular activities.
Middle school teacher Joe Koelsch loves quadratic equations like only a math teacher can. He wants his students to spend time understanding the equations before they rush to solve them. Koelsch, a national expert in Illustrative Math (IM), wrote in a leading blog for educators that IM’s focus on understanding processes, not just the pursuit of a right answer, can be a game-changer for math students.
Solving global issues requires research, critical thinking, proposal crafting, and challenging discussions, and our 7th and 8th graders are honing their diplomacy skills through Model United Nations. The YMCA Middle School Model UN Conference provides an opportunity for students to practice their debate and public speaking skills in a formal setting while encouraging them to find ways to join together as a community to solve current global issues.
Hutchison Lacrosse Head Coach David Gearhardt has been selected as an inductee into the Tennessee Lacrosse Hall of Fame. The longtime Sting coach is in the inaugural class of four, one of a very select group of historically significant contributors to lacrosse in the state of Tennessee.
The career of Berklee Scifres ’23 is only going in one direction – up! Scifres is signing a college scholarship to play basketball at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, where she also plans to pursue a career in aviation.
Two Hutchison seniors signed to continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level and received athletic scholarships after terrific high school careers. Morgan Simmons ’23 and Kolby Cohen ’23 were honored at a signing ceremony held at the new Keras Complex.
Meet Lorraine Gagliano, Hutchison's Latin teacher. Mrs. Gagliano enjoys seeing individual students' English vocabulary and confidence grow. She hopes to spread her passion for the language and culture with her students.
It is a vivid memory for Lynn Witte Rodriguez ’78. She was a sophomore at Hutchison and on a field trip with her biology class, taught by Elsie Yeates, at the Veterans Administration Medical Center. “They packed us into this little room to watch hemodialysis,” she recalled. “I was horrified by the experience. The whole thing scared me to pieces. I remember sitting there, and someone told me not to lean on one of those little silver instrument trays they put out. All of a sudden I woke up in another room. I had completely passed out.”