Ella Ford '28, Abby Livingston '28, Katie Phan '28, and Shelby Faulkner '28 represented the country of Ethiopia at the conference and received an award for writing an Outstanding Resolution.
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Middle School Girls Learn About Solving Global Issues Through Model UN
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 students in 7th and 8th grades recently participated in the YMCA Middle School Model UN Conference, a citywide event where students engage in civil discourse and open discussion of international issues through role play. Every year, we see how this conference expands the minds of our students and builds their confidence in their own voice, critical thinking, and teamwork.
For weeks, the girls have been researching issues in 18 assigned countries, including Armenia, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, and Austria. They prepared resolutions addressing problems each country faces and have put a lot of time into practicing presenting and defending their proposals.
Their hard work shows! The following students were named Outstanding Delegates, an award given within each General Assembly to the students who best represented their countries/delegations: Madden Culpepper '27, Kaitlyn Johnson '27, Eloise McDonald '28, and Rowan White ’28.
The following delegations were recognized as having Outstanding Resolutions:
Nigeria: Madden Culpepper '27, Kaitlyn Johnson '27, and Molly Piper Spear '27
Ethiopia: Shelby Faulkner '28, Ella Ford '28, Abby Livingston '28, and Katie Phan '28
These groups' resolutions made it to General Assembly:
Armenia: Sienna Blaylock '28, Emma Coe '28, Abby Kamm '28, and Eloise Milnor '28
Austria: Dottie Higginbotham '27 and Ella Ann Russell '27
Egypt: Harper Godwin '28, Lois Hill '28, Leia Sherman '28, and Emily Weber '28
Somalia: Menaal Haris '28, Eman Kadiro '28, Jesslyn Majors '28, and Yilin Pan '28
The General Assembly passed resolutions by two groups:
Armenia: Sienna Blaylock '28, Emma Coe '28, Abby Kamm '28, and Eloise Milnor '28
Somalia: Menaal Haris '28, Eman Kadiro '28, Jesslyn Majors '28, and Yilin Pan '28
We are very proud of the entire Hutchison delegation! We know it's never too early to start thinking globally, and opportunities such as Model UN create unique and practical learning experiences for our girls.
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.
Kendyl Brown ’23 took a leap of faith in auditioning for her first production at Hutchison in middle school. That first step sparked a love of theatre, and now she is pursuing a career in acting thanks to encouragement and experience from Hutchison’s theatre department.
Dabney Roberts Ring ’90 joined Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland’s staff in January 2016. She is currently a Senior Policy Officer and the Federal Relations Lead on Mayor Strickland’s intergovernmental team. She helped build an immersive internship for Hutchison senior Katie Frazer ’23.
Each year, Hutchison seniors on the Philanthropic Literacy Board research community needs and decide how to allocate grant money to local nonprofits that focus on those issues.
As eighth graders study the Holocaust, they got a unique opportunity to hear from a Hutchison staff member and her father about her grandparents' story of survival.
Anna-Margaret Webber '23 became the latest member of the Hutchison lacrosse team to earn a college scholarship as she signed to play for Rollins College.
Natalie Alexander ’25 is the first recipient of the award. She was chosen because she exhibits characteristicsthe award’s namesake, Dot Jones Hammons ’76, has demonstrated throughout her life: intellectual curiosity, steadfastness, loyalty, kindness, and compassion.