Twelve Hutchison sophomores took the places of real government officials at the Youth in Government Tristar Conference in Nashville.
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Hutchison Sophomores Get Hands-On Experience in Politics Through Youth in Government
Note to the State of Tennessee: if you want to get legislation passed, put Hutchison girls in charge! Twelve sophomores wrote and presented five bills at the 69th annual YMCA Youth in Government conference in Nashville. All of the bills made it onto the Senate and House dockets and one was signed into law.
Twelve Hutchison sophomores rose to the challenge of running the State Capitol at the Youth in Government Tristar Conference in Nashville. Part of the Tennessee YMCA Youth in Government Program, the annual Tristar Conference is designed to offer high school and middle school students a hands-on experience with state government. Students roleplay and take the places of real government officials.
As state senators and House representatives at the conference, Hutchison participants wrote and presented five bills, which all made it through committee and onto the Senate and House dockets. A bill written by Hira Janjua ’24 and Shifa Qureshi ’24 bill was signed into law after passing in both the Senate and the House. The legislation made CPR training mandatory for schoolteachers. A bill by Adela Calzada ’24 and Olivia Lester ’24 that proposed mental health seminars in schools passed in the Senate. Noorain Gill ’24 and Maddie Lee ’24 wrote a bill protecting children in foster care, and it passed in the House and Senate.
In addition to these successes, Adela Calzada ’24 and Sarah-Catherine Jackson ’24 received Outstanding Statesperson awards, and Noorain Gill ’24 and Maddie Lee ’24 received an Outstanding Bill award. Congratulations!
From left to right: Adela Calzada ’24, Sarah-Catherine Jackson ’24, Noorain Gill ’24 and Maddie Lee ’24 photographed with their awards.
The following students participated in the Youth in Government Tristar Conference:
Adela Calzada ’24
Zelia Cedeño-Avila ’24
Lauren Coleman ’24
Izzy Ellis ’24
Noorain Gill ’24
Sarah-Catherine Jackson ’24
Hira Janjua ’24
Caroline Kim ’24
Maddie Lee ’24
Olivia Lester ’24
Shifa Qureshi ’24
Sakshi Singh ’24
We are proud of our girls' hard work and civic engagement during this wonderful learning opportunity. Hutchison educates young women for success and lives of integrity and responsible citizenship. We teach our girls to think critically and engage in civil discourse.
Elizabeth Austin ’20, a junior at Middlebury College in Vermont, has been selected for a Udall Foundation Scholarship. She will receive a $7,000 grant to focus on her research in the emerging field of conservation paleontology.
Rising juniors and seniors who are part of four myExperience cohorts in Hutchison's Institute for Responsible Citizenship – global civic engagement, entrepreneurship, STEM, and art and design – explored their respective fields of study on trips to New York and Boston.
The 15-year student and recent recipient of the Ideal Hutchison Girl Award credits Hutchison for providing opportunities for her to delve deeper into her interests and helping her become a strong student and creative innovator.
The National Merit Finalist and 15-year student has distinguished herself by pursuing challenging academic opportunities in math and science and following her various interests along the way. She credits Hutchison for fostering her intellectual curiosity and love of learning.
Fifteen-year student and National Merit Commended Student Brooke Fair ’23 is an award-winning singer-songwriter who has released an album, an EP, and several singles all before graduating high school. This talented artist also is a dedicated student whose music accomplishments have come while achieving academic success.
Fifteen-year student Emmy Walton ’23 has put her heart into becoming a rocket scientist one day. After developing her interests in science and math through various STEM opportunities at Hutchison, she will follow her dreams at one of the nation’s top schools for engineering, Purdue University.
The National Merit Finalist was challenged by Hutchison’s various academic and extracurricular activities. From the tennis court to the courtroom to the classroom, Sarah is a well-rounded, hardworking Hutchison student who lives up to the school’s mission of inspiring girls to go anywhere they can imagine.
Eve-Elyse Hall ’23 has been known for setting up her teammates on the volleyball court throughout an excellent high school career. Now she’s setting herself up for a bright future after choosing to sign to play volleyball at Asbury University in Kentucky.
Hutchison world language students participated in the 2023 U of M Language Fair, sponsored by The University of Memphis Department of World Languages and Literatures. Demonstrating their knowledge of Spanish and Chinese, Hutchison had a total of 21 students win awards at the fair.
Note to the State of Tennessee: If you want to get legislation passed, put Hutchison girls in charge! Seventeen juniors wrote and presented six bills at the YMCA Youth in Government conference in Nashville. All of the bills made it onto the Senate and House dockets, and one was signed into law.
JK girls aren’t scared of these bones! They were fearless and loved being scientists as they took a closer look at the animal bone collection of Lauren Pharr Parks ’02, alumna and mom to Patty Mae ’36.
Seven upper school students will participate in high-intensity summer programs in subjects including computational physics, international studies, and visual arts at universities across the state.