Berklee Scifres ’23 Signs to Play Basketball For Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
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.
For Scifres, heading to the Florida coast was an easy choice. “I decided on Embry-Riddle because my dad is an alum and because it provides me with everything I need to be the most successful in my future aviation career.”
Scifres arrived at Hutchison as a freshman and immediately made an impact around the campus with her determination, hard work, and kindness. During her sophomore year, she was named a Daily Memphian All-Metro team member, playing as a starter on the historic 2020-21 Hutchison basketball team that took home the TSSAA Division II State Championship. “It was a surreal, once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Scifres said. “I will remember jumping on the floor after the buzzer went off and feeling like everything I ever worked for finally paid off.”
She continued to perform at a high level last season, again being named to the Daily Memphian All-Metro team and to the TSSAA All-Region West team. With the basketball season just days away, she will be the only senior on a young Sting varsity squad.
Scifres has made a big impact in her time as a high schooler, and she credits those around her for her success. “Hutchison has provided me so many great coaches and teachers that have made me a better person on and off the court, and I am very thankful for that,” Scifres said.
By her own admission, she’s a perfectionist and has worked tirelessly to pursue her aviation dreams while going to high school. She stands out among her peers for her passion for studying aviation and is a part of Hutchison’s inaugural cohort of Dual Enrollment aviation students through the University of Memphis. She completed the Weather and Climate course in 11th grade and is currently enrolled in the Aviation Safety course.
Both of her parents are pilots, and flying is a way of life in the Scifres home. “I’ve grown up in a family that is embedded in aviation, on both sides of my family,” she said. Embry-Riddle will provide Scifres with an opportunity to fly through the sky and soar on the court, all at the same time. Scifres plans on spending much of her life in the air. “I want to become a commercial aviation pilot. Later in life, I’d like to create my own private charter company,” she said.
Signing with Embry-Riddle is the first step toward making that dream a reality.
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.