By Stepping into the Spotlight, Chloe Simpson ’25 Grew into Herself

It can be daunting to put yourself out there, especially in front of hundreds of people night after night. But through the arts and the support of the Hutchison community, Chloe Simpson ’25 discovered a love for performing and the confidence to take on a variety of roles, both onstage and off.

Since arriving at Hutchison in sixth grade, Chloe has grown into an authentic, resilient, and civically minded leader with a deep love of learning. She serves as Arts Council president and is an AP Scholar with Distinction. Hutchison’s arts program helped her thrive, from participating in Hutchison’s middle and upper school dance company to singing in Vocal Point. Her first theatre production at Hutchison was As You Like It her freshman year, and she has been in every upper school production since. “The theatre community has been an amazing source of comfort and joy for me throughout the entirety of high school,” she said. 

Chloe credits Hutchison’s supportive environment with building her confidence. She said her classmates consistently empower one another, which has helped her find her voice. “Being in an all-girls environment and feeling like I have the power to voice my opinions in front of a group of supportive girls has made me feel like I deserve a seat at the table… that my opinions and thoughts are valued and are valuable.”

Offstage, Chloe’s commitment to the humanities flourished through Hutchison’s curriculum, student organizations, and the global civic engagement cohort of the myExperience program. For her myExperience capstone project, she wrote an original play, In Her Eyes, exploring psychological abuse, victim blaming, and therapy. She worked with theatre professionals to shape her plot, characters, and staging, and a therapist to ensure that her script explored its difficult topics with realism and sensitivity. She directed a performance of her play at Hutchison for a live audience. Chloe earned an award of distinction from the Institute for Responsible Citizenship.

“Art has always had the ability to touch people’s souls and create this sense of community that you can’t get when you just explain a bunch of statistics,” she said about choosing to write a play over a research paper as she originally proposed. “Global civic engagement means not only educating yourself on the problems around you, but also lifting each other up and creating a better global community. It’s important that you use that education and responsibility to help others and those who need it.”

Chloe describes herself as a naturally curious and open-minded learner, and Hutchison’s upper school curriculum allowed her to explore both rigorous academic subjects and personal interests. She appreciated the chance to challenge herself in the classroom while still having the freedom to pursue what inspired her most. In the fall, Chloe will attend Amherst College. She plans to major in English or in Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought. She hopes to attend law school one day, but for now, she is ready for what’s next. Though she doesn’t plan to pursue a career in the arts, her experiences onstage and offstage shaped her perspective and helped her grow in unexpected ways.

“Hutchison encouraged me to go for my passions and gave me room to grow academically and socially,” she said. “Hutchison helped me develop the soft skills I need for life after high school. I learned how to communicate with professionals and manage large projects, preparing me for the real world.”