Emma Nair '19 Finds Wonderful Balance of Leadership, Arts, and Passion for Psychology
Have you ever thought about why people vote or how empathetic people are?
It’s something that Emma Nair ’19 thinks about, and she learned more about it this summer at “Compassion Camp,” a week-long program in Eugene, Oregon, that featured psychologists from all around the world.
“They talked about why people give and vote, how people spend money and why, as well as other topics such as biases in donating, nuclear war, climate change, and refugees,” Emma said.
After Compassion Camp, Emma spent time in a social cognition lab with Dr. Sara Hodges at the University of Oregon. She worked on research focused on empathic accuracy, or the ability to accurately infer another person’s thoughts.
Her work involved measuring empathy and what people were thinking. “For instance, one experiment involved having people guess what someone else is thinking, and then grading how accurate they are, which translated to how empathetic they were to a certain person,” Emma said. “I knew what the person was thinking, so I could say how accurate the guesses were on a scale from 0 to 3.”
To meet a need for interests in psychology at Hutchison, Emma founded the Psychology Club, a place where students can learn about the different values of psychology.
“The goal is to have discussions about job opportunities and research methods that we might not discuss in class,” she said. “I wanted a place where people who have similar interests could talk with others.”
Emma's interest in psychology helps when she gets into character for theater. She is involved in both the Hutchison and Memphis University School theater programs and recently played the role of Erzulie in Hutchison's production of Once on This Island. Emma also enjoys singing and was named 8th chair, second soprano in the 2018-2019 All-West Choir. Don't miss seeing her perform in our Winter Music Concert on Wednesday!
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.”