Alumnae Spotlight

Our world changed with COVID–19.

Now, every aspect of our lives feels different. How we teach and communicate, how we travel and innovate, how we care for each other.

With change comes opportunities to lead. Whether uniting to serve a community in need or fighting the pandemic on the medical frontlines, our alumnae stepped forward and took initiative to help others in unprecedented times. The educational foundation built during their years at Harpeth Hall binds them together. This fall, Nashville’s Nfocus magazine highlighted a collection of Harpeth Hall alumnae who embody our school’s values and core purpose by combining knowledge with goodness and reflection with action. Through their determination, these women continue to stand up to the challenges 2020 brings — each striving to make the world a better place for all. We asked the alumnae how Harpeth Hall prepared them for this year. Here are some highlights of what they shared. More on these remarkable women can be found at HarpethHall.org.

Harpeth Hall prepared me to think critically about the world around me, and not to subscribe to a singular narrative about the world. I learned to listen, ask questions, and delve deeper beyond the surface of how things appear. Harpeth Hall also instilled in me the confidence to take risks.

— Caroline Hawkins ’12, Director of Education, HEAL Ministries

Harpeth Hall provided me with additional support to move forward in being a strong-willed, confident, empathetic, smart woman who leads with an open heart, mind, eyes, and ears.

— Jessica Reynolds Pasley ’85, Media Relations Manager, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt

At Harpeth Hall, I learned how to be resilient and committed, but most importantly, I learned to be a life-long learner. COVID-19 has forced me to find ways to make seemingly impossible situations possible. While this pandemic has altered everyone’s life significantly, the relevance to think critically, lead confidently, and live honorably is now woven into the fabric of who I am.

— Aidan Nettles ’13, Instructor of Dance, University of Alabama Department of Theatre and Dance

Harpeth Hall gave me the space to meet challenges head on and conquer them. It is this kind of perseverance and support that gives me hope that, despite hard times, our country and community will continue to grow in new and better ways.

— Sally Anne Harrell ’07, Director of Global Shared Trade, Thistle Farms

Harpeth Hall challenged me to push my own boundaries and get uncomfortable, and uncomfortable is exactly what we are all feeling these days. If I have learned anything from my eight years at Harpeth Hall and through my military training, it’s that we stand to gain the most when we are challenged and find ourselves outside of our comfort zone.

— Hannah Claybrook Gibbs ’10, Regional Commander Task Force Medical, Tennessee Army National Guard

Harpeth Hall introduced me to an environment different from my own. In doing so, I met people with differences that allowed me to expand my mindset, as well as share my own. My Harpeth Hall education taught me how to have difficult conversations respectfully, embrace my own voice, and love who I am while strengthening the woman I desire to be, all while encouraging others to do the same.

— Zuri Walker ’07, Financial Analyst,

I am grateful to

Davidson County Clerk’s Office

Harpeth Hall is an experience and a community more than just an education. It is a place for growth and balance, for failure and celebration, for cramming for tests while getting your hair braided by a classmate. It is a place where you learn to lean into challenges and lean on the shoulders of the other strong women around you. I am not sure that Harpeth Hall really (prepares) any of its students for a time like this.

Rather, it empowers each girl to start becoming the woman she will always be becoming; and, to me, that is significantly more valuable.

— Amanda Norman ’00, Artist & Owner, Amanda Norman Studio

Harpeth Hall for the confidence I gained there. This ability to lead confidently has been critical as I led my team through the transitions of in-office to remote work, as well as navigated the continual strategic shifts we needed to make as a result of COVID-19’s impact on my product.

— Reid Patton ’14, Product Manager, Facebook

During my time at Harpeth Hall, I learned the value of service to others not only through club involvement but also through modeling by teachers, peers, and my senior year Winterim experience. I learned how to be a strong and confident leader, to find my voice and to speak up for those whose voices are not heard. I learned to depend on myself and also to ask for help when needed. I received a high-quality education that certainly prepared me for college, but I also received incredible guidance from faculty and staff that supported great personal growth. In the end, I left Harpeth Hall with a burning desire to do all that I could to effect positive change in the world around me in both big and small ways.