Commitment
to Community
Harpeth Hall alumnae returned to campus to help as classroom champions during a pandemic year
Leslie Severns ’96 and Anne Elizabeth McIntosh ’96 always had lockers close to each other in Middle School. They participated in Harpeth Hall dance together, often passed in the hallways in between classes, and sat together at lunch. They had a thing about ketchup — never sitting at a table with any — and they loved the potato bar and the Coke machine. “And we ate curly fries every day,” Ms. McIntosh remembers. Neither girl would have imagined that in 2020 — more than two decades after they graduated from Harpeth Hall — they would be back sitting together at the school lunch table talking about the day’s events. But several days a week last fall and occasionally this spring, they did just that. Ms. Severns and Ms. McIntosh were two women in a dedicated group of alumnae who stepped up and stepped in when Harpeth Hall needed them — coming back to campus to work as teachers’ aides, substitutes, and support staff during the 2020-2021 pandemic school year. With alumnae helping in the classrooms, the health clinic, at before care and aftercare, and across all corners of campus, Harpeth Hall was able to keep school open and students learning to their highest ability during the pandemic. “That’s a gift that Harpeth Hall gave to these girls that not everyone was able to access this year,” Ms. McIntosh said. On campus, alumnae served as champions in so many ways. They ran Zoom sessions when a quarantined teacher was leading a lesson online from home. They helped with student clubs, ran study halls, proctored exams, and even led Winterim classes and immersion experiences. A dedicated group of alumnae spent time with the girls before school and after school helping with homework or playing games. And several women filled in to give even small breaks to those working so hard to keep everything running smoothly in a year that was anything but normal. “Our Harpeth Hall alumnae who stepped up to serve as TAs in our classrooms kept our Upper School open during the pandemic,” Upper School Director Armistead Lemon said. “The fact that they understood the school’s culture and were already familiar with so many people and places on campus made their transition a seamless one.” For Ms. Severns and Ms. McIntosh, it was a blast from the past being back. They walked through campus remembering what the library looked like when they were students, joking about the papers they put off writing, and recalling dance numbers they did together. “For our senior talent show, we choreographed a Madonna medley,” Ms. McIntosh laughed. “I can totally still do the Vogue moves.” 28 | HARPETH HALL HALLWAYS
