Graduation Class of 2021

Graduation

HONORING THE CLASS OF 2021

When she was in the 5th grade, Edith Kiprono sat in the Frances Bond Davis Theatre and watched the senior class run down the aisles laughing, dancing, and singing on the first day of school. She thought they were the “coolest girls ever” and she could not wait until her senior year. May 2021 marked the end of Edith’s senior year at Harpeth Hall. Though she has grown over the last eight years, she still thinks the seniors are the “coolest girls ever.” The Class of 2021, aside from being a remarkably cool class, led a difficult year with grace, flexibility, and good humor. They kept the spirits of the entire school community lifted and taught us all how to care for one another during hard times. “You inspired and led us all — students and adults — by helping us focus more on what was, rather than what was not,” Head of School Jess Hill said. “Some of us started this Harpeth Hall chapter of our lives as 10- and 11-year-olds, barely knowing anyone,” senior Frances Bradford said. “No matter who we were a few years ago before Harpeth Hall, we have all become something greater. This time has changed us for the better.” The 98 members of the graduating class have changed the school for the better, as well. From creating new programs that help serve our community, including spearheading efforts to make over 2,000 masks during COVID-19, to providing constant support and guidance to each other and the rest of the student body during a year of uncertainty and disappointment, each student has left an enduring mark on campus and they will be missed by all. On a beautiful evening in May, the bell rang across Souby Lawn, signifying the beginning of the 70th commencement ceremony at the current Harpeth Hall campus. For the first time in over a year, family and friends came together on campus to celebrate the Class of 2021 in person as the graduates collected their diplomas and began the next exciting step in their lives. From here, the Class of 2021 will continue to grow the roots they planted at Harpeth Hall as they travel across the continent to continue their studies as college students. “After we walk up Souby Lawn as graduates, no one will be able to guess what we will accomplish next,” senior Nora Wang said. Whatever dreams these graduates follow, we cannot wait to see what they achieve. “This evening,” Ms. Hill concluded, “we send you into the world with our very best wishes and a solid belief that you, Class of 2021, will help us envision a better one.”

The CLASS OF 2O21 received offers of admission to 140 colleges and universities throughout the United States and abroad. All 98 young women will attend 60 schools in 27 states plus Washington, D.C. and Canada.

Mariam Al-Rawi Belmont University Isabelle Arnold University of South Carolina Mary Catherine Aylward Syracuse University Angie Baird Worcester Polytechnic Institute Alli Baker Belmont University Olivia Barlow Auburn University Neva Bass Vanderbilt University Frances Bradford Bryn Mawr College Janet Briggs Bowdoin College Zoe Burnett Tulane University Devon Campbell Columbia University Hannah Britt Campbell Auburn University Kenna Carter University of Miami Sabrina Chandra University of Miami Eva Christopher Davidson College Clare Coleman Southern Methodist University Mary Collins Howard University Sarah Cook Yale University McKenzie Cooper Florida State University Maddy Corts University of Tennessee Quinlan Cyr University of British Columbia Isabella Davé Wake Forest University Margo Dobbs Baylor University Martha Downey University of Georgia Emma Dube Belmont University Mallory Egly University of Tennessee Georgia Elder University of Miami Lila Elrod DePaul University Nev Fenelon University of Washington Lily Ford University of Tennessee Kalla Freeman University of Tennessee Kayla Gardner University of Tennessee Macy Gilmour University of Washington Anna Parker Griffith Texas Christian University Bailey Grissom University of Texas at Austin Megan Hannon Purdue University Tessa Haws Colorado School of Mines Ellen Hedera Auburn University Maggie Hedera University of Southern California Lela Hooper University of Georgia Belle Huang Vanderbilt University Falcon Hudson University of Mississippi Elise Ikejiani Baylor University Taylor Kappelman Washington and Lee University Tina Karimaghaie Princeton University Kathleen Kerr Wake Forest University Hannah King University of Georgia Edith Kiprono University of Tennessee Cate Kohl University of Tampa Jojo Lampka Santa Clara University Grace Lee Washington University Ellie Leschen Colorado State University Grace MacLachlan University of Vermont Lily Majors University of San Diego Ava Malnati Lehigh University Tori McDermott Auburn University Madeline McGrew Southern Methodist University Claire Mendes Loyola University Chicago Abby Mertz Tulane University Zoe Miles University of Rochester Kate Miller Boston College Emory Moore Belmont University Liliana Morrison Clemson University Abby Moschel University of Michigan Fiona Muldowney University of Mississippi Clara Murff Stanford University Olivia Pickens University of Alabama Elise Presnell University of Richmond Lily Przybylinski University of Southern California Macy Richards University of Kentucky Maia Roark Haverford College Spencer Robbins Columbia University Catherine Ryan Wake Forest University Eliana Schneider Syracuse University Lily Silvester Texas Christian University Coco Smith Auburn University Ava Sohr Loyola University Chicago Weatherly Spence Rhodes College Annie Stewart Cornell University Nora Sullivan Saint Louis University Libby Tarantin Wake Forest University Sloane Thor Wittenberg University Mary Beth Tune Bates College Sydney Vandewater Texas Christian University Sinclair Walker Washington and Lee University Virginia Wall Southern Methodist University Gretchen Walsh University of Virginia Nora Wang University of Pennsylvania Ava Claire Williams University of Georgia Claire Wilson University of South Carolina Kate Wilson Auburn University Emily Wood Oregon State University Simms Woodward University of Georgia Sydney Wynn Spelman College Cate Yappen Sewanee: The University of the South Lynleigh Young College of William and Mary Mary Neely Young Miami University Christina Zua Loyola University Chicago