GPS Magazine | Winter 2014

W i n t e r ‘14 • Volume 27, No. 1

Inside This Issue: Students, faculty, and alumnae reflect on Transitions.

Framing Our Future International Day of the Girl

2013 – 2014 BOARD OF TRUSTEES Nini Davenport ’77, Board Chair Chris Benz Smith, Ph.D. ’72, Vice Chair Keith Sanford, Treasurer Karen C. Welborn, Secretary Ashley Averett ’95 Kerri Martin Bartlett ’75 Betsy Blunt Brown ’92 Blair Bennington Cannon ’93 Marilyn Sherman Center ’58 The Honorable Marie Williams Cleary ’70 Brad Cobb Fred Decosimo Lizzer Bright Graham ’77 Holly Lynch Harwell ’84 Jody Jackson Jane Kline Claire Hunt McVay ’87 Carter Newbold, IV Mitch Patel Michelle C. Ruest Lisa Reynolds Shanahan ’83 John Spann, D.D.S. Dr. Mary Tanner Randy Wilson Margaret Wheland Cate ’49, *ex officio Dr. Susan R.. Groesbeck, *ex officio

Girls Preparatory School creates leaders by engaging the mind, stimulating the spirit, instilling values and self-confidence, and challenging girls to recognize their membership in the global community.

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Features 2

THE THEME OF TRANSITION 3 A Clean Slate in a New Community 4 The Transition from Middle School to Upper School 6 Girls in Gig City 8 Creating Change in the Classroom 10 Transitioning from GPS to the College World 12 Redefining Life from a World Away 14 A Life by Design

16 THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF EDUCATION

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Girl Rising, Lisa Ling, Malala Yousafzai, and International Day of the Girl change attitudes about education.

18 FRAMING OUR FUTURE A Transitional Strategic Plan

GPS

GPS Magazine is published by Girls Preparatory School P.O. Box 4736 • Chattanooga, TN 37405 (423) 634-7600 • www.gps.edu

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Head of School, Interim Dr Susan R. Groesbeck Assistant Head, Upper School Principal Jessica Good Assistant Head, Middle School Principal Elaine Milazzo Chief Financial Officer Elizabeth Thompson Admissions Alumnae/Events Annual Giving Capital Campaigns Communications

Debbie B. Young ’79 Katherine Betts ’76 Bess Steverson Maria K. Matthews ’75 Anne N. Exum

Girls Preparatory School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin in any of its policies, practices or procedures.

Editorial Staff General Editor Anne N. Exum Writers: Weesie Glendenning Cook ’95 Anne N. Exum Brooks Imel Photography: 204 Studios Jimmy Burgess Lauchlan Davis ’14 Anne N. Exum Kendall Jacobs ’04 Alex McMahan

Departments 20 26 28 36 38 40

Around School Athletics Alum News Brides Babies VISIONS

Cover: Seventh grader Kylie Eiselstein, profiled on page 3, steps into a new era at GPS. (Cover photo by 204 Studios)

Refinement T R A N S F O R M AT I O N

CHANGE

MODIFICATION

SHIFT Passage

ALTERATION

Development

ADJUSTMENT

Reshaping

Variation

FLUX

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The theme of Transition

is appropriate as the school moves through a time of leadership change and into a chapter of its history that is about creating a new vision for the school’s future. This edition of The Magazine offers a broad array of articles about how transitions affect the lives of individuals as well as the life of the school.

The theme is particularly interesting to us as educators because part of the essential school curriculum is teaching girls and young women the skills they need to

manage

transitions in their own lives. Teens are frequently shifting from one outlook to another as they navigate the “bumpy waters” of adolescence. Ask any teen who is moving from middle school girl to upper school student, and she will be able to describe all the transitions going on around her. One of the articles in this publication, for example, summarizes the comments of two GPS students who reflect upon their experience of becoming members of the Upper School student body.

E M B R AC E C H A N G E

Our work with girls

regarding transitions is specifically about teaching them to accept the fact that transitions are inevitable because

change

is inevitable; to understand that one always has

a choice in managing change and transitions; and to make the choices that are consistent with one’s personal values and aligned with one’s aspirations for the future. When girls have been taught the skills they need to manage transitions in their lives, and given time and opportunity to practice those skills, they develop an eagerness to embrace change and the confidence to know that they are capable of coping successfully.

With transitions come new opportunities. I invite you to enjoy the stories of transition, change, and opportunity that are described within these pages.

Sue Dr. Susan R. Groesbeck Head of School, Interim

A C L E A N S L AT E in a

NEW

COMMUNITY

T

he keys to a successful transition from elementary school to sixth grade at GPS, according to seventh grader Kylie Eiselstein, are 1 - don’t be timid or hesitant to make new friends, 2 - be open and honest with your teachers, and 3 - realize that GPS is a girlfriendly, trusting community.

Words of wisdom from a 12-year-old to a student of any age.

T R A N S I T I O N I N TO T H E SIXTH GRADE Starting sixth grade at GPS with only one other girl from Fairyland Elementary School in Lookout Mountain, GA, Kylie’s whirlwind first few weeks were “about just getting to know everyone!” she says. Cat-Rat meant she had a senior buddy, but Kylie believes that “the whole Upper School watches out for and is thoughtful of the Middle School students.”

For example, she remembers getting lost on the first day of class, surely not the only new student to have that experience. But Kylie’s memory of that event and another student’s kindness still impress her a year later: “An eighth grader stopped to help me find my class, and she was late to her own class just because she helped me!”

Random acts of kindness.

by Anne N. Exum

T H E G P S CO M M U N I T Y Kylie is equally enthusiastic when describing her teachers. Words like friendly and supportive come quickly, along with her confident assurance that they are always available for help. Required time with the Learning Center teachers was another way that the transition to GPS was eased. With their “you’re a girl, not a grade” reminders, their tips on studying, and their advice to “do your work when it’s assigned and don’t put it off,” Kylie says the move into the seventh grade classes has been easy. “A familiarity with everyone and the feeling of community” also added to an easy adjustment, as did joining the soccer and swim teams.

After a little over a year as a Bruiser, Kylie says she likes advisory time’s snacks and socializing, the diversity of IMPACT programs (the religious diversity panel was a favorite), weekly Middle School gatherings, where “we learn what it means to be a GPS young woman”; chapel talks, and the assemblies on Friday, particularly the Current Events segments and the funny weekly Bruiser Tube video.

Although Kylie knows she came to GPS with a good academic background, she welcomed the “clean slate” that a new school offered, and her frequent use of the word community to describe GPS makes it clear that she’s inscribed on that slate and on her heart an appreciation for her “home away from home” for the next five and one-half years.

No Limits I Prepared for Life

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QA &

THE TRANSITION FROM MIDDLE SCHOOL TO UPPER SCHOOL Halfway through their sophomore year, Meagan Scott and Caroline West can now look back to the freshman year and bring clarity to the move to Upper School and the differences in the two schools that comprise the GPS experience. As they reflect on moving from one division to the next, we understand the transitions they are making in becoming insightful, grateful, and accomplished young women.

Caroline West ‘16

Q

W H AT D I F F E R E N C E S D I D YO U

N OT I C E I N U P P E R S C H O O L C L ASS R O O M S A N D E X P E C TAT I O N S? Caroline – The nurturing and sometimes more lenient atmosphere in the Middle School gives students wings to fly into the Upper School. From 6th to 8th grade, the expectation is for a girl to dabble in everything, to hone her place, to find her path and zero in on this.

Meagan – The first quarter of ninth grade was hard. I had a bit of mini-me senioritis. Time management was more of an issue, but I remembered several study tools I’d been taught from the Learning Center, like the online-flash card sharing program.

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Caroline – In eighth grade, we thought we were cool with our laptops. All the teachers knew me, but the ninth grade experience with all new teachers took me down a notch!

Q

S P E A K I N G O F T E AC H E R S , A R E T H E Y

D I F F E R E N T F R O M T H E T E AC H E R S YO U LOV E D I N M I D D L E S C H O O L? Meagan – I have the ultimate respect for my teachers in both schools. With that respect comes a sense of more responsibility.

The Upper School faculty challenge us more to give our opinions, and I find that I have no problem disagreeing in discussions! I guess I’m finding my own voice. In the Middle School, there were

lots of helping hands; now my teachers expect me to be more independent.

Caroline – I didn’t even realize it in Middle School, but now I’m seeing that all of the teachers are dedicated in different ways to our writing skills. There are different boundaries with teachers in the Upper School; whereas Middle School classes were all about the academics, we can now veer off to discuss more controversial topics. I’ve recognized a shift from teacher-led classroom to a discussion with a guide.

Plus, there are more coordinate and other social events, and as a member of the bowling and lacrosse teams, I notice that the athletic seasons are longer. More opportunities in community service mean that we can have connections with a larger number of people.

The Middle School gives students wings to fly into the Upper School.

Q

W H AT D I F F E R E N C E S H AV E YO U

N OT I C E D I N E X T R AC U R R I C U L A R C H O I C E S A N D CO M M U N I T Y S E RV I C E ?

Caroline – I’m in orchestra and a member of Tango Strings. The time commitment is greater, and I get a chance to represent the school when the Tango quartet plays in the community. There seem to be more authentic service opportunities. We’ve moved from needing instruction to working one-on-one in tutoring, for example. I hope these activities will help me develop more humility as I seek to give voice to the voiceless.

Meagan – There are so many more choices of clubs in the Upper School. I made the mistake of signing up for too many at first.

Q

H OW H AV E YO U C H A N G E D S I N C E YO U R MIDDLE SCHOOL Y E A R S?

Caroline – I’ve come to understand better what it means to be a Middle School girl. After my freshman year, I realize again that it’s not easy being the youngest! I hope I’m not quite as foolish and that experience has informed more mature decision-making. With every year, my realization of the blessing of education grows. I have a sense of pride in my school and think, “I get to go to school here!”

Meagan – I’m sure I had some goals in my Middle School years, but now I hope they’re more realistic! I have a growing appreciation of the IMPACT program, the Global Speakers like Lisa Ling, and my opportunity to participate. My experience this past fall of being able to open assembly was, I hope, a reflection of my confidence.

Q

W H AT A DV I C E WO U L D YO U G I V E TO

A NEW 6TH GRADER OR 9TH GRADER? Meagan – Middle School is a time of making memories, of Cat-Rat, field trips, etc.; Upper School seems a time to reflect on friendships and teachers. I empathize with a new ninth grader who doesn’t have a ‘history’ with her classmates. I would tell her that it takes time to develop that mutual respect and camaraderie, to be able to joke around with each other.

Caroline – Honor and tradition were foreign concepts to me as a sixth grader. As you move through the years, you learn to appreciate the values that the school has maintained. We spend more time with each other than with our family!

Meagan Scott ‘16

No Limits I Prepared for Life

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G I R LS in the

CITY GIG

A new initiative nurtures students in transition beyond knowledge acquisition.

lumnae who graduated a few decades ago probably remember “Basic Skills,” the time spent on Friday afternoons proving they knew the mathematical skills useful for life after GPS. Today, basic skills has given way to problem-solving, and in more disciplines than just math.

In case you haven’t heard, Chattanooga now has the nickname of “Gig City” as a result of the city being one of the first in the U.S. to offer one-gigabit-per-second fiber internet service to all residents and businesses, many times beyond the speed of the national average.

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The environmental science class teaches not from a book, but through the GPS garden. The Engineering Design and Application class presents a problem to student teams and expects them to learn by investigating toward a solution.

The question being asked by GPS faculty is, “What do we need to do to nurture these girls beyond knowledge acquisition?”

Girls in the Gig City which originated from a conversation between Learning Specialist Rebecca Davenport and Daniel Millbank, Director of Educational Technology, helps to answer that question.

The initiative also responds to one of the goals in the Board of Trustees’ Framing the Future Strategic Plan: Create a more externally-focused GPS in collaboration with a more-internally connected GPS. “We want to capitalize on the opportunities in our city by creating events to help enrich student experiences, broaden teacher perspectives on 21st century learning, and help promote community building locally and globally through engagement,” says Millbank. The first phase he has planned is to make every girl familiar with the amazing resources available in the Chattanooga area. “I should be able to stop a girl in the hallway and hear her explain what it means that Chattanooga is called the Gig City.”

An October field trip to Astec Industries introduced a dozen girls to a 3D printing laboratory and to two women engineers, one of whom was Noelle Currey ’87. A visit to a business, however, is only the beginning.

After the trips, students present their experience at assembly and create a short Bruiser Tube video to summarize what they learned. In addition, tweets, Facebook posts, and an article on the GPS website bring home the point of how important it is to connect young females to technology, logistics, and science oriented companies. Millbank also hopes that summer internship opportunities will be created from the connections that GPS girls are making in the community.

Faculty members involved in the first phase of the initiative agree that students should appreciate their hometown’s growing reputation as a city that, as stated in a Washington Post headline, “beat Google Fiber by half a decade.” They are enthusiastic about students moving beyond the classroom walls to learn how ideas in classrooms transition into decisions and design in industry.

GPS students move beyond the classroom walls to learn how ideas in classrooms transition into decisions and design in industry.

“GPS is the best place for girls in Chattanooga to receive their education,” says Rebecca Davenport.

“These trips should spark their imaginations for their future.” AE

No Limits I Prepared for Life

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CREATING

CHANGE IN THE CL ASSROOM

by Brooks Imel

ou might say that “transitioning” has been a constant theme of my life for about the last ten years. I started my college career at Colgate University to play soccer, only to transfer to the University of Pennsylvania after injuries forced me into early retirement.

After graduating, I worked for an energy company in Dallas, my hometown, for a year while Lindsey Permar, who is now my wife and a fellow GPS teacher, was teaching in Spain and having the time of her life. With some inspiration from her, I decided that I needed an adventure and thought maybe teaching might be a good fit for me. So Lindsey and I applied to teaching jobs over the world and ended up both landing the same job teaching English at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey. In Turkey, I realized that I wanted to live a life devoted to knowledge; I discovered that I really enjoyed teaching; and it was there that I realized that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Lindsey (I proposed to her the summer after we returned from Turkey).

Brooks Imel Undergraduate: University of Pennsylvania Graduate: Georgetown University Teaching Career: Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey Girls Preparatory School Family: wife, Lindsey Permar, GPS English teacher At GPS: JV soccer coach, Amnesty International sponsor, Faculty committee Classes: Ethics in a Global Society, Liberty & Totalitarianism: Political Theory in the Modern Age, World Religions, Modern U.S. Presidency

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M Y J O U R N E Y TO G P S After Turkey, I spent two years at Georgetown University getting my M.A. in history. After graduation, Lindsey and I got married in Philadelphia and were lucky enough to get offers from GPS—her from the English Department, me from the History Department.

My life leading up to GPS had been one long transition—moving every summer, exploring different cities, and trying my hand at different careers. However, I finally feel like I’ve found a home. The transition to teaching high school has been an incredibly stimulating one. I have had the opportunity to teach lots of different classes in subjects such as U.S. History, Religion, Political Theory, and Ethics—and I’ve had the freedom to create much of my own curriculum in these courses, which has been a challenging but rewarding experience.

Just as my transition to GPS seemed to be easing up a little bit and I began to feel more comfortable with the curricula of my different classes, I was accepted to Columbia Teachers College’s Klingenstein Summer Institute for early career teachers. The Klingenstein Summer Institute, which I attended last summer, is a two-week long “bootcamp” of sorts for young teachers. Now, I’m trying to take what I learned and make it relevant in my classroom.

Klingenstein changed the way I look at education; I left with a renewed sense of responsibility to keep my teaching more “student-centered” and to find ways to help my students become better critical thinkers – how to teach them not just to think analytically about the world, but to analyze their own thinking and ask the right questions to drive their own learning.

T R A N S I T I O N S I N M Y T E AC H I N G Teaching critical thinking skills is difficult, but I learned that one way to tackle it is by showing students how such behavior can open up new worlds to them. Practically-speaking, then, the classroom should be a place in which the teacher is more of a guide – one who asks the right questions and knows where he or she wants the line of inquiry to lead, but doesn’t carry the class to the conclusion. This idea has impacted my teaching in a profound way. While I haven’t completely reinvented the entire way that I do things, I do spend a lot more time coming up with questions so that in each class I’m armed with a series of challenges that guide my students, rather than lectures that list information and provide ready-made answers. I’m trying to get better at teaching in this more Socratic style so that I can get my students to search for their own answers.

a regular basis. As a way of combatting this, we learned about a method called “Critical Friends.” Following a strict, hour-long protocol, one teacher presents a lesson to three or four peers, who then offer positive and negative feedback. I’ve been able to start a group at GPS, and it has been a great success so far. It’s a fantastic way for us to learn from one another and fine-tune our teaching methods, and it also promotes a culture of improvement – why should professional development be limited to the occasional out-of-town conference when we are surrounded by such talented educators every day at GPS?

I’m finding that in teaching, the transitions never really end... and I don’t ever want to be complacent.

The institute also taught us about making professional development a regular part of our routine. The nature of teaching sometimes lends itself to teachers existing in our own little silos, without discussing what we do with one another in a critical manner on

Teaching is hard, but after two years I find it difficult to imagine doing anything else. Every day I learn new things, and I am constantly trying to perfect my craft.

While I’m certainly more comfortable day-to-day, I’m finding that the transitions never really end, which really is a good thing. I don’t ever want to be complacent, which makes teaching the perfect career – and GPS the perfect place to teach. GPS has been an incredibly supportive and intellectually invigorating place to teach, and I can see myself staying here for a long time.

No Limits I Prepared for Life

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TRANSITIONING

FROM GPS TOthe COLLEG E WO R L D

irls Preparatory School creates leaders by engaging the mind, stimulating the spirit, instilling values and self-confidence, and challenging girls to recognize their membership in the global community.

A goal was realized early in her freshman year at Tulsa when Sarah was named one of 16 Global Scholars after a rigorous application and interview process. She describes the opportunity as “almost a think tank” about globalization and its effects. One of the expectations of the program is that members learn the importance

The GPS mission statement couldn’t be truer for recent graduate Sarah Hicks.

At Tulsa University, Sarah Hicks ’13 is experiencing the truth of what she heard through the years from teachers and college-age GPS alumnae: • • • •

You’ll be academically prepared for college; You’ll be able to hold your own in classes, even coed ones; You won’t be afraid to speak up; You won’t be socially impaired.

“Tulsa was a good choice for me,” Sarah says, thanking Assistant College Counselor Claudia Goldbach for suggesting she visit the campus. “It’s full of nice people, just like home and GPS.” AC A D E M I C A L LY P R E PA R E D An international business major, Sarah says she “could talk for days” about how GPS history teachers Linda Mines and Glen Vey sparked her passion for global history. Even her extracurricular activities as a Bruiser – French Club and a year on the Model UN team – supported her interests in the day-to-day lives of people in different countries and cultures.

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Sarah Hicks ’13 has already made a splash at Tulsa University, becoming one of 16 Global Scholars.

the same environment that she enjoyed in her AP classes at GPS in which everyone contributed to a serious discussion. “I see girls shy away from expressing their opinions” in classes at Tulsa, “and sometimes I want to tell the boys to think first and then speak.”

Even the electives at GPS have helped her, she says. Thanks to the environmental science class that she took in her senior year, she was well prepared for her first semester Plants in Society class at Tulsa when the topic turned to sustainability.

When asked what she would expressly thank GPS for after just two months at college, Sarah’s first response was, “Is everything an option?” Then, like many other college-age GPS alumnae, she mentioned the bulleted list that begins this article.

M

eanwhile, at the University of Georgia, Kathryn Bryant ’12 is well into her sophomore year. She says she didn’t realize how much of GPS she carried with her to Athens, GA, until she almost wrote “On my honor, I will not give or receive…..” on her first college test! “There aren’t as many honest people here as there were at GPS,” she says in describing the social and academic transitions she’s made.

YO U WO N ’ T B E S O C I A L LY I M PA I R E D Because of social activities and community service work (Habitat for Humanity) with her peers at McCallie School, Kathryn didn’t have much of an adjustment to boys being in the classroom, but she does notice how much the girls dress up for classes. Unlike GPS, there are few uniforms or bare faces at UGA!

Home for the Seven Bridges Marathon in October, Kathryn Bryant ’12 runs in memory of GPS classmate Christian Bryant.

(Photo courtesy of Tiffany Chadwick Photography)

of global etiquette or non-verbal communication. She’s thankful that GPS provided an alumna speaker in her sophomore year who spoke on that very topic!

As a young woman who appreciated GPS’s single sex environment, she feels equally comfortable in the similar setting in her sorority, Alpha Delta Pi, which, also like GPS, encourages community service. “I mentor a sixth grader from a local elementary school,” she says, and she volunteers for UGA Miracle’s annual Dance Marathon benefiting Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

On the topic of academics, Kathryn good-naturedly observes that many of her new friends “didn’t know how to study” and that she has felt “a bit like a tutor” dispensing wisdom that she received from the GPS Learning Center.

Two recent graduates describe the ways GPS prepared them for their transition into college.

As a Scholar, she’ll also receive $10,000 to spend on a summer trip to Germany and for her mandatory semester abroad. “My business college advisor has set ambitious goals for me,” Sarah says with some trepidation. But she quickly goes on to share advice she gleaned from GPS and her parents: “If you knock on the right doors and do what seems right, you will be set.”

H O L D YO U R OW N I N C L A S S E S Reflecting on the student-teacher relationship at Tulsa, Sarah says, “I think my teachers see a difference in me, a product of a girls school, in the way I talk in class and in discussions, expressing my agreements AND disagreements,” although she also says she’s still waiting for

Perhaps the only difficult transition that Kathryn had to make was in explaining to her new friends the importance of the Christian Moseley Bryant (CMB) team that runs in the annual Seven Bridges Marathon in Chattanooga. The team runs to honor their classmate who died in May of their senior year. Kathryn’s new friends now, however, understand her commitment and even want to participate!

Kathryn Bryant’s transition, like that experienced by college freshman Sarah Hicks, was made easier because of what was ingrained through her GPS years. AE No Limits I Prepared for Life

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REDEFINING LIFE

from a

WORLD

AWAY

A

mong the four values that GPS hopes each student absorbs into her life is discovery.

An oft-mentioned benefit from a GPS education is “friendships for life.”

Both are evident in Ali Mena Loughman ’03.

Ali’s last 18 plus months have involved more than a few transitions, not unexpected for a person her age: marriage, a career change, a return to college, and two moves. She recently celebrated her second anniversary with Kevin Loughman, a JAG officer with the U.S. Navy, whose military base in Norfolk, Va., necessitated the first move from Washington, DC. Prior to their wedding and relocation to Kevin’s base, she left her job with CNN, worked briefly in Norfolk, and eventually decided to pursue a master’s in education at Old Dominion University. The second move, a bit lengthier one, was to Singapore, where she and Kevin are now stationed for at least two and one-half more years. “Marrying a service member necessitates surrendering a lot of decision-making,” she realistically allows.

Ali Mena Loughman At GPS: Student Council president Undergraduate: University of Georgia Graduate: Old Dominion University, 2014 Business: CNN, Washington, D.C. Family: husband, Kevin Loughman, U.S. Navy

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J O I N I N G T H E N AVY Ali does admit to “skepticism” about military wives when she first married a “career Navy” man. That skepticism has been short-lived, however, as Ali now says that since “joining” the Navy with Kevin she has “met and befriended so many amazing women – some who serve in the Navy and some who are spouses – and discovered a community of bright, accomplished women: lawyers, MBA’s, teachers, moms of three children,” even the female Admiral in Singapore, a graduate of the Naval Academy.

Of their logistical and emotional preparation for the halfway-around-the-world journey, Ali says with relief, “Fortunately, we knew nine months in advance!” She’s been able to continue her college courses online and will complete her student teaching at an international school in Singapore that enrolls students from 45 different countries and employs faculty from 18 different nations.

Ali is introspective enough to realize that this journey is a part of “letting myself be redefined.” The girl who had a hard time spending the night with a friend as a child knows she’ll have to pack up and move every two or three years. “In the end, we’ll have friends all over the world,” she says with characteristic optimism, “and I’m becoming far less attached to ‘things.’”

D I S COV E RY She and Kevin have enthusiastically embraced the transition to an Asian nation with distinctly different cultural norms. Everything from manners to restaurant styles to being in a multicultural setting has challenged them, but in good ways.

They’ve taken weekend trips to Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand, where they met up with 2003 classmate Tiffany Simms, a teacher there. “I like to think I’m open minded about other countries and cultures,” Ali says, mentioning her undergraduate degree in international studies. “We’re trying hard not to travel as tourists but to get the local flavor.” Clearly this is not a young woman who stays in Marriott hotels! “Kevin and I enjoy the freedom to travel and find that our experiences here are bringing us closer together.” She’s looking forward to learning methods of teaching in multicultural classrooms and notes that the international school will allow her to “bring life” to papers she’s written and apply some of the things she’s learned in graduate courses.

Among the challenges of the move are, of course, distance from family.

“I think about my grandparents who lived in Greece and moved to the U.S. during that country’s Civil War in the late 1940’s. Their only way of communicating with those left behind was through 17 years of letters!” she says. Now she and Kevin have Skype, and they have installed Viper for free international calls.

GROUNDED “I also think about GPS every day,” Ali says. “GPS grounded me and is a touchstone, especially as I progress toward a career teaching English. I want my future students to have the same experiences I had.”

Ali realizes that this transitional experience is part of “letting myself be redefined.”

Although most everyone in Singapore speaks English, there are very differently accented variations. “I realize that my grasp of the language is vital to building relationships,” she says. “I learned at GPS (where she was Student Council president) to use my voice effectively and not be afraid to speak up.”

So that’s the “discovery” part of alumna Ali Mena Loughman, as she deals with an international transition. The “lifelong friendships” part of her life will involve a planned trip in 2014 by three close friends – classmates and bridesmaids – who hope to have a mini-reunion with her in the Far East. There they will join her in putting into action the GPS value of discovery. AE No Limits I Prepared for Life

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A

LIFE DESIG N by

A professional transition has taken Jennie Brockman ‘94 from Agent to Operating Partner.

hen today’s families are driving down the interstate on the way to the beach, the children in the back seat are likely to be contented watching a movie or playing the latest game on the family iPad. M OT I VAT E D When Jennie Fields Brockman ’94 was a child in the back seat on her family’s vacation trips, she listened with her father to audio books of best sellers by motivational speaker Zig Ziglar or to Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

That may explain why as a senior at GPS she was such a successful chairman of Robin Hood and was not afraid to take charge of the annual school-wide fundraiser. That may also explain why today, in her 30’s, she’s the Operating Partner at Keller Williams & KW Commercial, the #1 real estate office in Chattanooga.

Jennie Brockman GPS: Robin Hood Chair ’93-94 College: College of Charleston Business: Operating Partner at Keller Williams & KW Commercial Family: husband Dave, daughters Lauren and Vivian

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“I said at age 21 that I wanted to own my own company one day,” says Jennie, remembering an adolescence in which she participated with her family in leasing residential property. That persistence and drive landed her in “the front office” with a national company that is, she says, “a fantastic model.” After graduating from the College of Charleston, Jennie jumped right in to commercial real estate – no nights and weekends – with Herman Walldorf & Co. in Chattanooga. In 2010, she offered to buy the company. “Rudy Walldorf (who did not sell the family-owned business to Jennie) was a great mentor,” Jennie says, but when Keller Williams came knocking at her door later that year, she became a commercial agent with them, interviewed for the role of Productivity Coach in 2011, and, after a six-week interview and vetting process, became Operating Partner in July 2012.

Jennie enjoys encouraging the success of others and helping them transition into becoming the best they can be.

Enumerating the qualities in the GPS Statement of Values, Jennie says “We are not a brand-focused business,” Jennie explains. “Instead, we work hand in hand with our agents to help them brand themselves, and we fill the roles of coaches and consultants.” As a franchise that shares profits with agents, or “stakeholders,” Keller Williams, says Jennie, believes in “careers worth having, businesses worth owning, and lives worth living.” She clearly enjoys helping others go through the transition of becoming the best agents they can be. The franchisee for Chattanooga and North Georgia, with market centers in Downtown and East Brainerd and a Business Center in Hixson, has seen her office position itself as the leading office in Chattanooga with $200 million more in sold volume than the secondranked local firm.

ZEST Anyone in need of encouragement or a Zig Ziglar-type pep talk could benefit from a conversation with Jennie. Her husband Dave, a network engineer, must appreciate her zest for life. A woman who is not afraid to take charge, she clearly loves helping people along the path to achieving their goals and dreams. “Don’t ever let anyone tell you you can’t do something you want,” she says, a message she likely shares with her two young daughters. She traces her determination to GPS, saying that GPS “helped me grow as a leader.”

“GPS taught me to be a lifelong learner,” Jennie adds. “I am learning-based and believe that a business grows to the extent that you do.”

she has

respect both for herself

and others. “I feel proud of my everyday choices.”

Responsibility

began early, she says, remembering her years at GPS. “Today, I try to do what I say I’m going to do. I will not over promise or under perform.”

Discovery

comes when a person “never limits where a path may take her.” And

excellence is a part of her “life by design” philosophy and pride in her firm’s market domination.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad is another one of those motivational books from which Jennie has learned. Like the author’s counsel in the best-seller, Jennie has “mapped out where [she] wanted to go and what [she’d] need to do to get there.” Now, she adheres to her own mission and works to fulfill her purpose, all the while encouraging the success of others. AE No Limits I Prepared for Life

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THE TRANSFORMATIVE

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by Weesie Glendenning Cook ’95, Director of Community Service

A speaker, a film, and a celebration guide students in making a difference. t the start of the school year, GPS hosted a screening of Girl Rising, a film about the challenges that girls in nine impoverished countries regularly face and the transformative power of education.

One of the most endearing characters in the film is a Haitian girl named Wadley. In the aftermath of the horrific earthquake that struck Haiti in 2011, seven-year-old Wadley is told she can no longer attend school because her parents nts cannot afford the tuition. Unwilling to accept this as her fate, te, Wadley shows up at school every day anyway and refuses to leave. Her story is one of resilience and hope, and it beautifullyy reveals the triumph of the human spirit.

G E T I N VO LV E D This message was echoed in October, when GPS students had the privilegee of hearing journalist and producer Lisa Ling eloquently speak about the stories that shaped her perspective. She encouraged uraged students to strive to make the most of their education and to also get involved in their communities and really listen to the stories of others. She explained to girls without passports or even drivers’ licenses that one does not necessarily have to travel to find need or to make a difference.

In both of her talks to the Upper and Middle School students, Ling referenced Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who, even after 16

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being shot by the Taliban, continues to speak out and be a proponent of girls’ education.

“Your opportunity is great at an extraordinary school that offers an unlimited future,” Ling told the girls.

The timing of Ling’s inspirational talk could not have been more perfect. The day after her visit, GPS students celebrated their first Robin Hood day of the year in conjunction with International Day of the Girl.

The Community Service Council and the GPS History Department worked together to plan a celebration which included an educational presentation in the theater and an hour-long festival on the patio.

Twelve GPS clubs sponsored tables at the festival where they sold items such as henna tattoos, raffle tickets, cotton candy, and cakewalk tickets. The goal was to raise

P OW E R TO T R A N S F O R M Our students, given incredible opportunities, recognize their education as a true gift. I have been encouraged by their desire not only to learn the material for their classes and excel in academics, but also by their sincere yearning to make a difference.

For example, this past summer junior Anjali Chandra began working on a multi-phased project that will culminate with an internship in India where she will work with a team of medical professionals to reduce the spread of malaria.

Also over the summer, seniors Bonnie St. Charles and Fleming Farrow collected 400 books and donations of $1,600 for a Sequatchie County elementary school library.

Middle School students have inquired about volunteering at local nursing homes, and another group has plans to bring care packages to a women’s shelter. These are just a few of the many stories about how our students are developing responsibility, transitioning, if you will, into active citizens.

How do GPS students regard their own education in light of what they are hearing?

Sixth graders Ella Ensign, left, and Katie Hunter look through some of the jewelry for sale on the patio during Robin Hood’s International Day of the Girl fundraising festival.

enough money to send six girls in Pakistan to school for a year.

Because of the popularity of the booths, and the generosity of parents, students and staff, we raised over $2,800, double our goal.

Girl Rising, Lisa Ling, Malala Yousafzai, and International Day of the Girl. We find in each of these a common thread: girls, their education, and the power through education to transform societies around the globe.

“Learning that girls around the world don’t have the same right to education as I have was really shocking,” said sophomore Zoe Rustand. Her classmate Emma Noles said, “I’ve realized the importance of my own and other girls’ education.”

“I used to take coming to GPS for granted,” said junior Anjali Chandra. “Recently, with our focus on educating girls, I have realized that I need to change my attitude toward an education, because there are girls whose potential is never given a chance to thrive. One can only imagine how successful society would be if each girl was given a chance to unlock her potential, to pursue an education. “ Girls in other countries do not always have the advantages that GPS students have. But as our girls grow into women, they will work to change this, aware that their actions can help others, bold in their efforts to change the world around them.

A link of paper dolls on the patio invited girls to provide their own answers to “Education + Girls =”.

Global Series speaker Lisa Ling was an inspiration to GPS students. Among the lucky girls who had lunch with the internationally-known reporter and producer were, from left, Caroline West, Kelli Marcum, Anjali Chandra, Margaret Martin, Lisa Ling, Kristen Carter, and Emily You.

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FR A M ING F U T U R E: OUR

TRANSITIONAL S T R AT E G I C P L A N

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ecipients of the GPS Annual Report may have noticed the Framing Her Future theme on the cover. The reference was to a transitional strategic plan called Framing Our Future that the Board of Trustees adopted in 2012 to set short-term goals for the school as it entered a transitional year with an interim Head of School and then welcomed our new Head Elect.

The plan positions the Board of Trustees and school to welcome Autumn Adkins Graves in the summer of 2014, with dates to accomplish the Goals in a 2-4 year range, according to Karen Welborn, Trustee and Chair of the Strategic Planning Initiative, who, with Board Chair Nini Davenport, wrote the following:

The Board of Trustees initiated this planning process in the fall of 2012 with the hiring of Ian Symmonds & Associates of Portland, Oregon, a consulting firm specializing in strategic planning for educational entities. The process involved research, personal interviews with identified GPS stakeholders, review of existing strengths and weaknesses, and thoughtful discussions and brainstorming sessions and culminated in the identification of key strategic priorities. These key strategic priorities were then used to organize and draft the following plan.

Some of the Goals appear perfunctory in nature, yet upon implementation are expected to bring vitality and a continued sense of commitment to our fine school and its stated Mission:

The goals, when implemented, are expected to bring vitality and a continued sense of commitment to our school.

Underlying this Transitional Strategic Plan is an intentional shift in GPS’s current strategic planning environment. Presently, GPS employs a 2-plan system whereby an educational strategic plan directs the educational mission of the school and a Board strategic plan directs the governance issues of the school. This Transitional Strategic Plan anticipates that upon arrival of a new Head of School, the school will initiate the process of drafting one, unified strategic plan that will integrate and engage the entire GPS community – Board of Trustees, Alumnae, Faculty, Staff, Students, Parents and Friends. To that end, some of the goals of this transitional plan address specific focus areas that blend Board governance issues with issues deeper and broader than might otherwise be of import.

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Girls Preparatory School creates leaders by engaging the mind, stimulating the spirit, instilling values and self-confidence, and challenging girls to recognize their membership in the global community.

Conversely, some of the Goals require thoughtful introspection and candor from several GPS constituencies. All of the Goals are grounded in respect for our valued traditions, dedication to support visionary leadership in our future, and determination to guide our remarkable school toward an even more meaningful and dynamic future. On behalf of the Board of Trustees and all who participated in the planning process, it is our privilege to follow this Transitional Strategic Plan for an institution whose students, faculty, and alumnae continue to strive for lifelong learning and leadership in our world.

Board members sat for an official photo at the first meeting of the 2013-14 school year. Seated from left are Margaret Wheland Cate ’49, Chris Benz Smith ’72, Board Chair Nini C. Davenport ’77, Interim Head of School Sue Groesbeck, Claire Hunt McVay ’87, Blair Bennington Cannon ’93, and Kerri Martin Bartlett ’75. Standing are Lisa Reynolds Shanahan ’83, the Honorable Marie Williams Cleary ’70, Boyd Cobb, Michelle Ruest, Karen Welborn, Keith Sanford, Lizzer Bright Graham ’77, Betsy Blunt Brown ’92, Jane Kline, Holly Lynch Harwell ’84, Carter Newbold, IV; and Mary Tanner. Not present for the photo were Ashley Averett ’95, Marilyn Sherman Center ’58, Fred Decosimo, Jody Jackson, Mitch Patel, Dr. John Spann, and Randy Wilson.

GOAL 1: Enhance Institutional Leadership

GOAL 3: Ensure Financial Sustainability

• Govern GPS with a strategic mindset in alignment with the strategic plan.

• Assess and improve policies and their application to finance and endowment.

• Successfully secure and introduce the new head of school in alignment with strategic plan.

• Identify opportunities to heighten the school’s advancement program, including annual giving, endowment giving, planned giving and Visions.

• Provide professional development in support of the board of trustees to lead the school through best practices in school engagement, fundraising, diversity, community visibility and outreach.

• Develop a unified and integrated approach to strategic planning.

GOAL 2: Evaluate, Maintain and Strengthen our Cultural Identity, Internal Community and Missional Integrity • Evaluate, discuss and define the school’s cultural identity and begin to strengthen the school’s internal community with collaborative, respectful, trustful partnerships among faculty, students, families and alumnae.

• Maintain our missional integrity in educating the whole girl – mind, body and spirit.

• Provide the hallmark GPS excellent education with a specific focus on compassionate rigor.

• Define the enrollment management philosophy necessary to achieve the proper balance of students, tuition, financial aid and net revenue.

• Evaluate the marketing and communications effort to enhance promotions and key messages in support of GPS. • Monitor, evaluate and plan for physical plant maintenance.

GOAL 4: Create a More Externally-Focused GPS in collaboration with a More-Internally Connected GPS • Identify and cultivate stronger strategic relationships/ alliances in the community that are dedicated to our Mission and Vision.

• Identify and cultivate a key role AE

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very August, the Office of Communications compiles a list of our students’ and teachers’ accomplishments from the prior year and distributes it at the first faculty meeting of the next year. This document, “Here’s to the Girls,” reminds us of our students and teachers who achieved much, who made us proud, who garnered positive publicity for GPS, and who left us with indelible memories. These pages of School News are some of this year’s first semester achievements. Likewise, the art on these facing pages is just a sampling of the artistic talents of GPS girls, guided by the Fine Arts faculty.

Fine Arts Surrounds Us Instrumental music, Terpsichord choreography, fall plays by Upper School and Middle School actors, and the Winter Choral Concert – just some of the performances on the Frierson Theatre stage and elsewhere on campus that were amazing displays of our students’ talents. While much was indeed presented on stage, the theatre lobby held a gallery of extraordinary student art and pottery to be enjoyed by the events’ patrons and by students, faculty, and staff through the season.

Terpsichord president Mary Chandler Gwin won the first place award for student choreography at the Tennessee Dance Festival sponsored by the Tennessee Association of Dance. Although the student competition is called the Cathie Ault Kasch Student Project (after the GPS Fine Arts Department Head and Director of Terpsichord), college professors adjudicated the entries and had no idea that she was Kasch’s student. Performing the work with Gwin were members of Terpsichord and one alumna: Danielle Richardson, Rachel Hadden, Mary Lillian H Tessman, Meg Winchester, T Abigail Owsley, Emma Kirkpatrick, A Maggie Swafford, Madison McClendon, M aand Olivia Townsend ’13.

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Audiences enjoyed fantastic, professional level performances by the Upper and Middle Schools: The Skin of Our Teeth, and Danger at Gravesend: A Bobby Sox Mystery, respectively.

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Around School

Anna Carroll

Rebecca Jenkins

Megan Rohn

Lucy Whitfield

National Merit Recognition to Eleven Seniors Anna Carroll, Rebecca Jenkins, Megan Rohn, and Lucy Whitfield were announced as National Merit Semifinalists in September. An additional 11 seniors were recognized as Commended Students. Anna Carroll and Macy Cox were also selected as 2013-14 National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholars.

The commended students pictured as a group are, from left on the front row, Lauchlan Davis, Meghna Talluri, Taylor Pels, Bonnie St. Charles, and Morgan Ball. Standing are Jackie Kliner, Jessica Erhart, Macy Cox, Madison Bratcher, and Shannon Hon. Included is Eleanor Brock (inset photo), who is spending her senior year in Murcia, Spain.

Philanthropy Honorees Anna Carroll received the Youth in Philanthropy Award in November at a National Philanthropy Day luncheon attended by Chattanooga area donors and volunteers. Anna is the founder and chairperson of the nonprofit Corina Field Carroll Fund, named for her late mother, a pediatrician. The foundation awarded its first gift of $25,000 to the Children’s Advocacy Center of Hamilton County and is funding a new initiative that will offer continuing education to medical residents at Erlanger Hospital on the topic of child abuse.

The GPS table at the luncheon honored alumna and current parent Lisa Shanahan ’83, Trustee and 2012 Chair of the Annual Fund, who has given countless hours over the last year to supporting the efforts of the Advancement Team. Also at the luncheon was PE teacher Kim Leffew, who was an honored guest of the Siskin Children’s Institute for her volunteer efforts and her work with the institute’s Star Night fundraiser.

Pictured at the luncheon, from left, are Tara Shanahan ’14, Lisa Shanahan ’83, Anna Carroll ’14, and Dr. Sue Groesbeck.

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“Best Delegation” Competes in Model UN

A large trophy now resides in the Holland Library to commemorate the victory by the winning team of, from left Lucinda Boyd, Caroline West, Christian Shaheen, Emily You, Megan Rohn, Lauchlan Davis, Anjali Chandra, and Hira Munir. Not pictured is teammate Macy Cox.

A team of students won the “Best Delegation” award at the Southeastern High School Model UN conference in November. Competing against over 300 delegates representing 53 nations, the GPS team representing Australia received the honor for the second time in three years. In addition, four were selected as “All Star Delegates,” eligible to participate in the National High School Model UN Conference in NYC later this year.

NHS Welcomes Scholars and Leaders Twenty-two juniors and seniors were inducted into the Duffy-Jarnagin Chapter of the National Honor Society during the first semester, recognized for their scholarship, leadership, service, and character. On the front row, from left, are Ragan Foley, Katie McDouglal, Hannah Thel, Ann Potter, and Katie Morgan. The second row has Meg Winchester, Anina Mu, and Sarah Richie. From left on the third row are Hira Munir, Lindsey Rufolo, April Forsthoffer, Anjali Chandra, and Najia Humayun. On the top row are Hannah Geerlings, Rachel Hudson, Cami Shands, Anne Miller Welborn, and Abby Jansen. (Ellie Haskins, Taylor Reid, Nia Sanders and Gloria Yan were not present for the photo.)

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SCIENCE STEM Stories Abound The new 3-D printer in the library has drawn the attention of students and faculty alike. An Hour of Code event taught girls to write code to create their own 3-D Bruiser blue Christmas ornaments.

MATH

TECHNOLOGY Engineering ≅#>%+<π

Seniors Meghna Talluri and Christian Shaheen pitched their idea for a start-up business in the “Will This Float?” competition, an annual pitch night showcasing innovators from the Chattanooga area. They were among only 10 finalists and had three minutes to tell the “world” about their concept.

A group of GPS women attended the Southeast Women in Computing Conference, a meeting that brings together women at all stages of their computing careers (high school students, college students, teachers, and professionals) for a weekend of learning, networking, and celebrating women in computing!

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Sophomores Nicki Backus and Story DeWeese are GPS representatives on the Southeast Tennessee STEM Student Council, a group of high school students, “Champions of STEM,” using their passion for science, technology, engineering, and math to solve problems in their communities.

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First Semester Kudos Go To… (and these are just SOME of the great things going on at GPS!) The Class of 2014 for planning and orchestrating a magical Cat-Rat parade.

Senior Bailey Wood, who signed with UCLA to continue her rowing career.

50 current seniors and recent graduates who received Advanced Placement awards.

Bonnie St. Charles ’14, a top 25 national equestrienne.

At the 2013 UT Pro2Serve Math Contest for TN High School Students, sophomore Su Bei competed against 750 students from across the state and was a top 50 finisher on the FERMAT I (Fundamental Exams of Remarkable Mathematical Ability and Talent) examination.

Najia Humayan, the leader of a blood drive in support of a national Muslims for Life initiative to honor victims of 9/11 at the 12th anniversary of that event.

Junior American Citizens and Key Club members for showing us how to honor Constitution Day and Veterans Day. Will Glass and Margaret Granberry, our new librarians who reminded us during Banned Books Week of how many of the listed books are required reading at GPS! Senior English teacher Todd Wells, named one of the Best of the Best teachers in the Chattanooga area.

GPS and McCallie Student Councils for raising $1750 for Airlift for Hope.

Cameron Ford and Caroline West, named to the High School for Arts Leadership group sponsored by the non-profit ArtsBuild.

History Department Chair Linda Mines for sponsoring signing parties for seniors as they turn 18 and register to vote.

Kit Turner and Charlotte Vance, seventh graders who wrote the top two essays in a DAR American History Essay Contest.

The GPS Parent Council, who sponsored a Cookie Fest, Sweet Treats for You, for faculty and staff.

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Athletics 1. Crew Coach Anders Swanson is justifiably proud of his team’s fall season. At the Secret City Regatta, they brought back 13 medals. At the Head of the Hooch, which is fast becoming the largest regatta in the U.S., the GPS highlight was the varsity A-8 boat finishing 16th out of 60 boats and 2nd among the high school teams. With Emily You as coxswain, the boat included rowers Bailey Wood, Haley Haren, Hannah Fager, MaryMadison McBrayer, Morgan Ball, Isabella Biscarini, Nicki Backus, and Jennifer Parker.

The Novice A boat also had a great finish, according to Coach Swanson, ending the race against the clock in 19th place. “Our athletes raced with much success throughout the short fall season,” Swanson said, “and the individual growth of each girl in confidence and fitness was most impressive.” (photo courtesy of Lauchlan Davis ‘14) 2. Young Bruiser golfers competed as a team in their first state tournament since 2008, finishing 4th in the 36-hole championship challenge in late September. Junior Emily Blake and sophomore Mary Melissa Manuel combined for a 360 total. Blake’s 173 score was ninth overall, her second top ten finish of the year. Head Coach Rob Riddle expressed his pride in how the girls continued to battle after facing a few difficult holes. “These young ladies worked very hard this year,” he said. “With a little more work and some good breaks, GPS will return to state and not just participate, but compete for titles in the years ahead.” From left are Scottie Sandlin, Morgan Sanborn, Mary Melissa Manuel and Emily Blake.

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3. Senior Olivia Berger, pictured, a city-wide leader in kills, was on the All-East Region volleyball team and named to the Best of Preps team. With an eighth grader and ninth grader starting (Helen Johnston and Katie Brandao) and two sophomore setters (Gabby Hughes and Jenna Simpson), the very young team enjoyed a season of ups and downs that ended with a loss in the state quarterfinals to the eventual state champs. According to Coach Paul Brock, the three senior leaders, Berger, Kelby Crownover, and Caroline Vance, “showed a lot of leadership directing the younger players and pushing them to give more.”

4. Junior Madison Watson came in 7th at the TSSAA State Cross Country Meet in November. In addition to earning all-state honors for finishing the race in 20:17.00, she led the Bruisers to fourth place overall. Others contributing to the GPS tournament standing were Tara Shanahan, Lucy Whitfield, Lea Mulligan, Tori TomokaneVerville, Anne Miller Welborn, and Murfee Jones. Coach Jeff Gaither said, “It was our best team finish in five years. This year’s team has turned out to be the fastest GPS team I have coached, and I am very proud of the way they progressed this season.”

Standing from left at an earlier season race are Tara Shanahan, Lucy Whitfield, Tori Tomokane-Verville and Madison Watson.

Whitfield and Watson were Best of Preps.

5. Two senior soccer players, Izzy Phillips and Josie Love Roebuck, made the All-State Team, and six players, more than any other school, made All-Region: Phillips, Roebuck, Abbi Harr, Ellie Haskins, Keyle Snyder, and Akia Harris. The soccer Bruisers ended their regular season with a thrilling 3-0 win over Baylor and then won the first round of the state qualifying before falling to Harpeth Hall.

Pictured at Senior Night are, from left, Katie Morgan, Emily Cullum, Haden Gibbons, Taylor Walden, Marshall Rustand, Abbi Harr, Izzy Phillips, Blakley Fine, and Josie Love Roebuck.

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6. GPS Athletic Director Stacey Hill received the A.F. Bridges Award as district Athletic Director of the Year from the TSSAA. The state athletic association considers candidates who have displayed “the high ideals of integrity and ethics and the example of citizenship and sportsmanship.” During Hill’s 24-year tenure, the GPS athletic program has won 31 TSSAA state titles and the 2011-12 Blue Cross Blue Shield Championship Award.

Currently he is also the head coach of the GPS track and field team. “Athletic Directors receive awards when the entire school community achieves outstanding success,” Hill said after the presentation. “I have been blessed over and over again with the opportunity to work with great student-athletes, coaches, administrators, and parents.”

7. The GPS Climbing Team received a special invitation to join elite athletes from around the world and take part in the closing day festival of RiverRocks 2013, a week-long celebration of competitive outdoor sports, including paddleboarding, cycling, swimming, rowing, kayaking, trail running, and others. Onlookers standing on Broad Street near “The Block,” south of the Tennessee Aquarium, could see seniors Kera Stoops, Sharron Bockman, and Emily Clelland as they climbed different routes on the three exterior climbing walls that were open for participants on the final day of the festival.

Middle School News 6 7

8. The Middle School tennis team ended their 8-1 season by defeating Baylor for the first time in several years. Pictured are partners Kate Thel and Corinne Spann, one of three victorious doubles teams.

• Eighth grade pitcher Shelby Walters threw a twohitter and helped her softball team defeat Baylor 7-1 and bring a near perfect 11-1 season to a close. The team also was champion of the ASA Middle School Tournament at Warner Park. “This has been one of the most enjoyable coaching experiences in my 20 plus year career!” said Coach Susan Crownover. “These young girls have a real love for the game of softball and have parents who are equally excited to see them succeed.”

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• Middle School cross country wrapped up the season with a trip to the state meet at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville. The team of 16 girls, 10 of whom had never run cross country, experienced great improvements during the season, and each girl finished with her personal best at the region qualifying meet at Woodland Park. Murfee Jones, an 8th grader, extended her running season by participating in the state meet with the varsity cross country team.

• “The GPS Middle School soccer program was full of growth this season,” said Coach Cori Grant Hagan ’98.

“We have a few substantial players who will be in the upper school, and a large number of returning middle school players for next year. We hope to build from our experiences this year in order to be successful in the soccer program as a whole.”

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Alum News

Stay Connected Stay informed about what’s going on at your alma mater by being among the growing numbers of GPS alumnae who use social media to stay in touch. Join our 2,700 fans on Facebook, our 1000 followers on Twitter (@ GPSBruisers), or our 650 followers on Instagram (GPS Bruisers) to read all the latest news, find out what’s happening, and enjoy our photos! t l off our website b it ((www.gps.edu). d ) Stay in touch with your classmates and GPS friends by using our NEW alumnae directory, found in the Alumnae Portal Click on the “Alumnae” link on the home page, then enter your user name and password. You’ll find the directory on the left-hand side of the page.

Search by class year or key word. If you need a username and password, please email deanna@gps.edu.

The GPS iPhone/iPad app has been updated! Get all the latest news, browse photos, and access the directory all in one place. Search the iTunes store for “Girls Preparatory School” to get the free download.

Stay connected with GPS. Email anexum@gps.edu to share your latest news and photos.

50s - 60s A host committee met at the Founders House in preparation for the October Founders Luncheon for alumnae who graduated 50 or more years ago. At the luncheon Interim Head Dr. Sue Groesbeck and Advancement Consultant Jeannie Norris gave informative and well-received talks on the state of the school and “the essence of the experience of a girl at this wonderful school.” Members of the committee included, first row, from left, Margaret Wheland Cate ’49, Becky Evans Soileau ’62, and Sandra Martin Weeks ’55. On the second row are Graham Walker Burns ’57, Carol Jewell Browder ’52, Starlet Light Speakman ’59, and Betsy Chisolm Silberman ’63. From left on the third row are Maria Kain Matthews ’75, Dir. of Development for Capital Campaigns and Major Gifts; Judy Finley Stone ’54, and Dr. Groesbeck. In the back row are Bess Steverson, Dir. of Annual Giving; Frances Street Smith ’48, Katherine Holland ’45, Jean Battle Richardson ’59, and Katherine Betts ’76, Dir. of Alumnae Relations and Special Events.

Not present for the photo were host committee members Peggy Trotter Lane ’50, Gin Johnson Johnston ’53, Marilyn Sherman Center ’58, Joan Haley Frierson ’60, Carolyn Bridgers Jackson ’61, and Betsy Martin LaPoint ’61.

Friends from the Class of 1961 celebrated their “monumental survival,” according to one participant, with a joint birthday gathering for seven of their classmates at Elizabeth Pointe Lodge in Amelia Island, FL. Sarah Franklin Wilson says the weekend was “fun, awesome, joyous, and every happy adjective imaginable” and they plan to celebrate again in two years. Standing on the beach are, front row from left, Johanne Dixon Albright, Vickie Freeman Blanton, Patty Keister Lewis, Suzie Claytor Montgomery, Nancy Auer, Linda Ricketts Knobler, Carolyn Bridgers Jackson, and Rosemary McWhorter Oliver. On the back are Karen Duffy Kromer, Ann Ward, Diane Guinn Lawton, Phyllis Gifford Pepin, Susan Porzelious Spurgeon, Jane Helton Fischer, Sara Franklin Wilson, and Betsy Martin LaPoint.

Barbara Neidhardt Moore ’50 teamed with a friend to win gold medals for tennis in their age group at the Chattanooga District of the Senior Olympics 2013.

Board of Trustees Chair Nini D. Davenport ’77, third from left, was singularly surprised when she was honored in mid-September with the Linda Standefer Chapin Governance Award, given annually to a current or past GPS trustee who has shown a commitment to board training and governance, standards that longtime Trustee Linda Chapin held dear. The award, announced by Dr. Chris Smith ‘72 Vice Chair, Board of Trustees, was presented at a gathering of current and past Board members at the Founders House. On hand to celebrate with Nini were, from left, daughter Alice Davenport ’03, husband Elliott, sister Susan Brock ’74, mother Hedy, son Elliott Jr., sisters Sissy Tarumianz ’66 and Margy Oehmig ’72, and daughter-in-law Rebecca.

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70s

Claudia Swafford Haltom ’73 has written a book, The Single Parent Referee Workbook, with practical solutions and step-by-step exercises for divorcing parents.

Melanie Young ’77 was in Chattanooga at the beginning of the school year, signing copies of her new book, Getting Things Off My Chest: A Survivor’s Guide to Staying Fearless and Fabulous in the Face of Breast Cancer. She donated the proceeds of the book signing at a local Barnes & Noble bookstore to the GPS Holland Library. Melanie also spoke at GPS and advised students to “sharpen your writing skills, thank people who help you along the way, ask questions, and open your mind to new adventures.”

In early November, Melanie was notified that she was named one of three Grand Prize winners in the U.S. for the inaugural HandCraft Heroes Breast Cancer Campaign competition for women who are doing inspiring work to raise awareness for breast cancer and early detection.

Ellen Parry Neufeld ’78 is a librarian at Oxford College of Emory University, and two Oxford students who work at the library are also GPS alums. She sent along this photo because she thought it was “amazing to have three alums working together in the same department at Emory University.” From left are Maurielle Artis ’12, Ellen, and Nicole Coffey ’13

80s

Several branches of one family tree traveled to Pawley’s Island this past summer. On the bottom row are, from the left, Eleanor Bright ’09, Margaret Thatcher Thompson ’72, Lizzer Bright Graham ’77, Anne Vance Bright ’78, and Amy Albright Thatcher ’84. On the top row are Lucy Bright Griffin ’86, Nicki Graham ’14, Marshall Bright ’07, Carson Thatcher ’19, Mary Lyddon Thatcher ’16, and Lucy Graham ’11.

Elizabeth Berrier ’87 has received her master’s in nursing education.

Susan Taylor Cobb ’88, who teaches sixth grade at St. Paul Christian Academy in Nashville, has also been given the title of Dean of Girls in grades 3-6.

Jennifer Vickery ’88 is the mother of a kindergartner and works fulltime from home for IBM in New York City.

Peg Brock Rustand ’88 was one proud mother during the soccer team’s senior night. She told us the story of how her mother, Dottie Goree Brock ’65 went with Martha Chalkley Whitmire ’67 to ask the McCallie headmaster to consider cheerleaders from GPS. Those girls ended up being on the first squad of McCallie cheerleaders. When Peg was in the 9th grade, she was on the first varsity soccer squad, and she tried out for cheerleading in the spring and was first an alternate and then a full member. Now the fourth generation of Goree/Brock girls attend the school. “All three [of my daughters] made the soccer team, but none have chosen to be cheerleaders,” says Peg. From left are Effie Rustand ’17, Peg, Marshall Rustand ’14, Dottie, and Zoe Rustand ’16.

Courtney Weil

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The owner of Crafts and Love Jewelry, Courtney Pare Weil ’07 has loved creating all her life, whether it be a win on the GPS tennis courts or a career in public health.

Armed with a master’s from Emory University, Courtney knows that an entry-level job in her chosen career will involve a lot of Excel spreadsheets and numbers, and although she’s still searching for a job in that field, she is happy to have a creative outlet.

“I seem to be more creative when the analytical side of my mind has been worked out,” she says.

Her “hobby” transitioned into a business when she “started paying taxes and focusing on profit margins.” Living in Atlanta and finishing her thesis, she was “living and breathing data software, and [jewelry making] was a breath of fresh air.”

During this past summer, she had time to build her avocation, jewelry making, into a successful one, and the beautiful necklaces, bracelets, rings, and earrings are now carried in over 20 stores across the country, including Blue Skies on the Northshore of Chattanooga.

Commenting on this new “adventure,” as she calls her growing online and storefront business, Courtney says, “I never thought I would be able to share my craft with so many wonderful people and make a living off of it at the same time.”

In five years, Courtney hopes to feel fulfilled in what she’s doing, whether that be data crunching for a health-based non-profit, fulfilling jewelry orders for clients, or raising a family. “If family, serving others, and staying creative is in the picture, I will be one happy girl.”

Check out the Crafts and Love website; you may recognize one of the models…Courtney’s GPS classmate, Susan Spicknall.

Alum News Michaela “Kay” Keefe ’89 was named president of Keefe Plumbing & Heating Co., Inc. in Chattanooga last May. Kathryn Primm Gressett ’89, a veterinarian in Chattanooga, has recently published a collection of her firsthand experiences with cats and dogs. Tennessee Tails: Pets and Their People has received five-star reviews online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble for her funny, sad, and moving stories. Proceeds from the first year of sales go to animal rescue. Friend and “client” Anna Katherine Buckner Camp ’96 describes Kathryn as “the very essence of what a GPS girl is and can become…smart, a business owner, and a philanthropist.”

90s The 2012 Elise Chapin Moon Sustainer Service Award from the Junior League of Chattanooga was presented to Missy Griggs McKenna ’93.

Amber Cavanaugh Dyson ’95 is pursuing her master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy in the Cratis D. Williams Graduate School at Appalachian State University. She was awarded the Chancellor’s Fellowship, one of the school’s top awards for which only a small number of entering graduate students are selected.

Katherine Giles ’96 is an assistant editor and freelance social media director at Bas Bleu, Inc. Agusta (Cassie) Calloway ’97 has moved to Nashville from Hattiesburg, MS, where she taught at the University of Southern Mississippi. Agusta has a master’s in health science from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Katie vonWerssowetz Gooden, MD, ’98 has joined the Galen Medical Group in Chattanooga as a family medicine specialist.

’00-’05 Lauren Bishop Howard ’00 graduated from UTC in 2012 with her MSN degree and is a family nurse practitioner at the Chattanooga Kidney Center.

Rachel Boston ’00 has a new starring role in the television drama “Witches of East End” on the Lifetime network. She has had guest appearances on a number of television shows, including “Grey’s Anatomy,” “The Closer,” and a featured role in “Plain Sight”; and been in several movies, such as the Golden Globe-nominated “500 Days of Summer.”

After several years coaching at Brown University in Providence, RI, Channing Kimball ’00, a graduate of the University of Wyoming, was looking for a way to move back to the West.

In July she accepted the position of head diving coach at the University of Denver, where she reports that the university community there is “a great fit.”

Betsy Pinchak Gentzler ’00 is supervisor of product development at Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins in Chicago.

Laura Webster ’00 earned a biomedical engineering degree from UTK and works for Fillauer LLC, an orthopedic and prosthetic company where she designed prosthetic and orthotic devices before being promoted last year to Production Engineering Manager. Now she checks the work of the design engineers, keeps manufacturing operations running smoothly, and fixes any problems with existing products. Laura was scheduled to receive her MBA this past December.

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In Memoriam Grace Jarnagin Cooley ’39 Maxine Block Alper ’42 Elizabeth Blane Petroutsin ’42 Hilda Taber Davis ’43 Martha Jean Hill Haynes ’43 Edith “Warren” Blackard Meadows ’44 Carol King Baker ’46 Patricia “Pat” Mills Hutcheson ’49 Martha Hackney Pennybacker ’49 Eleanor Dixon Macy ’54 Joy Wesenauer Mercado ’54 Judy Finley Stone ’54 Kay Lively Hansen ’58 Mary Charles McPhail Forshay ’60 Mary Gail Robinson ’68 Joellen Wood, former faculty (2000-2006)

Brooke Hixon Pribble ’01 was promoted last May to benefit program manager for MAU Workforce Solutions in Augusta, GA, a staffing and recruiting company for which she’s worked for over three years.

In her new role as regional director, external affairs, for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Tyler Thurston Jeffrey ’02 had the honor of being photographed with Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam. “It’s an honor to represent the State of Tennessee and serve under his administration,” says Tyler.

Jennie Berglund ’02 was recently hired as an exhibit developer for the Harvard Museums of Science and Cultures. Jennie continues her work creating documentaries for Prehensile Productions and recently contributed an article to Discover magazine on Antarctica’s dry valleys.

Joanna Church Finch ’02 has moved to the Minneapolis area and taken a job with Target Corporation as a specialist in FRS product design.

Mae Cooper ’02 is now a trainer and project coordinator with CISV International.

Emily Montague Ellis ’02 is a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management in Atlanta.

Michelle Repici ’02 is a freelance photographer in the Washington, D.C., metro area specializing in residential and commercial real estate listings, products, portraits, event and corporate photography. Check out her website: www.michellerepiciphoto.com Mae Mae Barnes ’03 graduated from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business and is putting her MBA to work as a consultant at Bain & Company in Atlanta.

Kate Brennan ’03 is the marketing manager at Remington Industries in Chattanooga.

Anne Rushing ’03 received her master’s degree in fine arts, glass, from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and installations of her glass sculptures have been shown in several European cities.

Katie Estes Taylor ’03 has moved to Newnan, GA, and is the assistant director of Transfer Admissions at the University of West Georgia. She and her husband are building their first home, and she says they enjoy the ease of access to the country and lake areas in Newnan, comparing the outdoor activities to those available in Chattanooga.

Katherine Crews Pitman ’04 was promoted last year to assistant vice president in the Healthcare Corporate Banking Group at Regions Bank in Nashville.

Teaching math in an inner city all-girls’ school in New York City and working as a dance and fitness instructor for Doonya, the Bollywood workout, isn’t a busy enough life for Natasha Panda ’04. She is also pursuing a Ph.D. in developmental psychology and math and special education.

Reality Tours and Travel in Mumbai, India, has a connection to Chattanooga. Stephanie Hays ’04 is the CEO of the company that was runner-up for the prestigious “People’s Choice Award” in November at the 2013 World Responsible Travel Awards. The company offers a number of city tours that show a unique side of Mumbai not found in travel guidebooks. Profits from their tours are used to fund Reality Gives, a “sister-NGO” that develops social projects and micro-enterprises in the fields of education, environment, and health.

Lauren Harvey Barlew ’05 graduated from Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in December, 2012, with dual specialties as a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner and an Adult Nurse Practitioner. Currently she is working at Chattanooga Family Practice, seeing patients “for everything from rashes to chronic disease management,” says Lauren, adding that she’s “thrilled to have landed in a career that is extremely rewarding and that makes going to work enjoyable every day.”

Lindsey Frost Cleary ’05, left, is the development director at engage 3D, a non-profit “founded on the belief that technology literacy and computational thinking are essential elements of a complete, modern education.” This past summer she supervised Chappel Sharrock ’13, right, in a project that looked at ways to minimize energy consumption at UTC’s SimCenter. Chappel worked with another local student to modify existing open software to reduce the energy used and to display the savings on a monitor in a program called GREENING (Greatly Reducing Excess Energy using Next Generation Intelligent Network Groupware).

JeNita Partridge ‘05 is a third year medical student at Meharry Medical College. “I’m still open minded about my specialty as I’m rotating through various clinical rotations this year,” she says, “but I definitely want to work with children.” She received the the “Real Men Cook” for Education Scholarship and made Dean’s List this year. Jenita says, “I’m excited about the path ahead of me and hope to finish strong in my medical education and become the best physician that I can be.”

Sayle Milne

Friends from the Class of 2003 held a baby shower for Molly Ziebell Jackson, second from right. From left are Victoria Holt Tilley, Katie Estes Taylor, Carrie Frame Kleiber, Mary Wright Salyer, and Blaes Schmissrauter Green.

“Wine is the universal language.”

What subject can be studied that covers history, cultures, food, geography, and science? Sayle Milne ’97 has the answer, and it’s her new life path….wine!

“GPS taught me so many things, but overall, to be well rounded,” Sayle says, and with a decision to become a certified wine educator, she “has become the student” again. “Maybe it’s because the idea of traveling the world through a bottle of wine… lights a spark within me,” she says with obvious enthusiasm. Her goal is to earn a WSET diploma, a three-year course of study.

After passing her level 2 Awards Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Exam with distinction, Sayle has begun teaching classes in NYC and branched out into the corporate world, a world in which many business deals are closed around a dinner table. “Having wine knowledge gives you an edge,” she believes, “to take that wine list and show a more ‘polished’ you.”

In Sayle’s one-hour classes, participants taste three whites and three reds and learn some “wine speak” that she says, “will enable anyone, with confidence, to leave class and go into any store or restaurant and play the wine game.”

Faith McCormick ’99 hosted a class in New York, and Kathleen Milazzo ’00 is planning a class in December.

Sayle is still a producer and editor at West End Productions in New York City, and she continues to work with a travel marketing firm, but according to Sayle, “Wine is the universal language,” and she looks forward to the day she can “hop a plane south and give a string of classes in the Chattanooga area” to people who want no longer to be intimidated by wine.

Alum News Meredith Sellers ’05 graduated from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine last May, receiving the Glasgow-Rubin Certificate of Commendation, the Albert Weinstein Prize in Medicine, and the David Orth Award in Endocrinology. She is in her first year of residency in internal medicine at McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University in Chicago, IL. Addison Spencer ’05 is working as a document specialist at Ft. Belvoir in Virginia while she pursues her master’s in biodefense at George Mason University.

’06-’13 Margaret Brock ’06 is the manager of sales coordination & content management at Worthy Publishing in Nashville.

Kelly Spencer ’06 has been promoted to director of marketing and communications for CapitalMark Bank & Trust in Chattanooga.

On a six-month leave of absence from Bain & Company in Atlanta, Priya Boyington ’07 is working for GoldieBlox, a start-up in San Francisco that makes toys to inspire young girls to become engineers. Priya is working for the CEO doing market research and business strategy.

After working at the Coca-Cola Company for a little over two years, Katherine Cherry ’07 is now the company’s project manager for International Government Relations & Public Affairs.

Armed with a master’s degree in architecture and health from Clemson University, Judith Crews ’07 currently works as an architectural coordinator for HDR Architecture, Inc., in Charlotte, NC. Judith is part of the international team for designing healthcare facilities.

Katie Farrar ’07 is currently a business intelligence analyst at Unyson Logistics in St. Louis, MO. Ginny Henry ’07 is a master’s candidate in the creative writing program at Ole’ Miss.

Ginny says she’s primarily studying poetry but also teaching and writing. “I’m currently enrolled as a student in a graduate seminar and a course on Geoffrey Chaucer,” she wrote in the fall, “so reading several hundred pages in Middle English every week keeps me sympathetic to my students who struggle with texts from the 18th Century.” With dinners, readings, and performances, Ginny says there is “always something happening in Oxford that either enriches my literary life or becomes another kind of great story.”

Brittany McKenna ’07 is now working as the social media marketing manager for Fishbowl Spirits, Inc., owned by Kenny Chesney. She is also writing freelance for The Bluegrass Situation, a website begun by actor Ed Helms of “The Office”.

Emily Spear ’07 was selected for Law Review as a second-year student at Ave Maria School of Law in Naples, FL. After graduating from UTK in 2011, Emily served as an intern for Tennessee Congressman Chuck Fleischmann.

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After earning a degree in materials sciences and engineering from UTK, Alex Webster ’07 decided that she wanted to be involved in the solar industry “to help make a difference in the dirty energy scene,” she says. Now one of 100 designer engineers with SolarCity (and one of ten women on the design team), she recently relocated from Denver to Oahu, Hawaii. One of the top performers in Colorado, Alex broke multiple records and designed so much residential solar that she was the state’s 14th largest energy provider! As a parting gift, the team in Denver created a poster recognizing her as the 14th largest power plant in the state.

Sarah Galphin ’08 graduated cum laude from Clemson University last May with a degree in biosystems engineering and two minors, business administration and environmental engineering. She completed a cooperative internship with Renewable Water Resources in Greenville, SC, and also obtained by EIT license. Sarah is working for Hazen and Sawyer, an environmental engineering consulting firm, as an assistant engineer in Charlotte, NC. Her primary projects are in pipeline and storm water.

Monica Harvey ’08 graduated magna cum laude last spring from the University of Tennessee College of Architecture and Design.

Prior to her graduation, she studied abroad in Krakow, Poland, where she spent six months at the Politechnika Krakowska and traveled around Europe “to cultivate [her] interest in well-integrated urban design at a public level.” Her thesis was a 3’ x 15’ hand-rendered/computer drafted, watercolor composition that displayed her design of a regional airport located in Boulder, Colorado. Monica credits Mrs. Carrithers and her AP Art class for that ability.

She recently accepted a position in Atlanta, GA, at multidisciplinary architecture firm Praxis3 as an intern architect. Besides the new job, another addition to her life is her golden retriever, Lola.

Mary-Lillian Johnson ’08 is a fixed income analyst with Bloomberg LP in the San Francisco Bay area.

Sally Morrow ’08 is working for architect and former GPS faculty member Andy Smith, at Duality, a non-profit architecture firm with a “design-for-the-people mentality,” according to Sally. In using revenue generated by the firm’s paid professional work infused with grant dollars, they are able to explore new opportunities in neighborhoods not traditionally served by their profession. Currently they are operating two design-build studios with middle and high school students in partnership with CGLA and Goodwill, focusing on urban gardening, and they hope to add programs related to home safety/accessibility and temporary shelter as the firm grows.

Jessica Phillips ’08 is a physical therapy technician at Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehabilitation Hospital in Nashville.

From East Tennessee State University to Burlington, VA, Crissy Singer ’08 has begun what she calls an “amazing opportunity” as the new associate art director at EatingWell Media Group. She graduated magna cum laude last May from ETSU with a BFA, concentrating in graphic design and a minoring in marketing. “I took advantage of the graphic design courses offered at GPS, so when I started working on my degree in college, the software was not an obstacle for me, and I was able to concentrate on developing the principles of design in my work.”

Brittany Williams ’08 has been working as a Southeastt Asia intern at the Henry L. Stimson Center in Washington, D.C. ing next Soon-to-be architect is Natalie Berg ’09 will be graduating spring with a master’s in interior architecture and productt design from Kansas State University. Natalie spent a semester abroad in Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy, last year.

This past summer Natalie was in Kansas City working at Burns & McDonnell as an architectural intern.

Emily Blevins ’09 graduated summa cum laude last May from University of Richmond and was honored with several awards at graduation for leadership and community involvement. “There is no way that I ever would have been so successful without the education that I received at GPS,” Emily says. “The fact that much of my success was in the areas of leadership (leading other women) and social justice specifically attests to that. I mazing school.” Currently Emily thank God every day that I was able to attend such an amazing is working as a research assistant at the University of Maryland conducting behavioral activation therapy for low income, minority substance users in D.C. and designed to prevent depression and relapse after leaving rehab. Next on her list of goals are the Peace Corps and graduate school.

Logan Davis ’09 graduated last May from George Washington University with a B.A. in Asian studies. She is working at the Peace Corps Headquarters in Washington where she has been interning since March 2012. Logan is in the Office of Inspector General as an outreach coordinator and administrative assistant. She has done some rebranding for the office, internal site development and runs the @PCOIG Twitter account.

Since graduating with honors in May with a bachelor’s degree in nursing, Megan Givens ’09 is now a registered nurse on the cardiology floor at University of Tennessee Medical Center and has already bought her first home. “I miss GPS like crazy,” she says, “and so wish that I could still be running around the front lawn in my uniform! I really took it for granted when I was in school there…such great memories!”

Whitney Hammond ’09 and Tory Lewis ’10 were among nine University of Tennessee softball players named Division I All-American Scholar Athletes for grade point averages of 3.5 or better.

As part of a 10-month study abroad experience in Brazil with the Portuguese Flagship Program, Maggie Johnston ’09 finished a semester of classes in São Paulo and fulfilled a four-month internship at a retirement home in Florianópolis, the capital city in the state of Santa Catarina.

Ama Amanda Wheelock ‘09 graduated magna cum laude from Dartmouth with a major in geography modified with eenvironmental studies. “GPS prepared me incredibly well fo for college (special thanks to Mr. Wells, Ms. Berotti, Ms. Good, and Ms. Exum - I arrived at Dartmouth a better writer than many of my peers).” Amanda reports bett that she even did some editing work for several tha Dartmouth professors. Now on the West Coast, she Da lives in La Honda, CA, and works at San Joaquin live Outdoor School, teaching environmental science to Ou visiting 5th and 6th graders from all across the Central vis Valley of California when they live at the outdoor Va school for a week as part of their elementary sch science curriculum. scien

Rachel Smith ‘09 is current currently employed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the High Flux Isotope Reactor. After graduating from UTK, she plans to pursue a master’s degree in mechanical engineering.

Carolyn Pearigen ’10, a rising senior at Sewanee, was an intern at the Metropolitan Museum of Art last summer. She met classmate Laura Laughlin for a Sunday brunch during the time that Laura was also an intern, but at the Lincoln Center. Carolyn’s dad Rob, a former member of the GPS Board of Trustees, sent GPS the photo of the two in front of the restaurant. Notice the French name…Les Deux Amis, which means “two friends.” Rob also complimented GPS on the education that his daughter, and all girls, receive: “GPS is a great springboard to leadership, achievement, and lifetime friendships.”

Chelsey Smith ’09 graduated from Vanderbilt last May with a degree in biomedical engineering and has moved to Houston, TX, to pursue her doctorate at Rice University.

Keli Shipley ’10, a senior at Maryville College, was crowned the school’s Homecoming Queen in September. Keli, who was nominated by students in the senior class and voted queen by the entire student body, is a political science major.

GPS dance teachers are bursting with pride over the news that Chloe Spitalny ’09 was awarded the Connecticut College Dance Department award for “demonstrating with excellence the scope of dance as a poetic and communicative art form.”

Chloe graduated with honors in the field of dance.

MerylAnne Dexter ’10 will be competing at the Miss Tennessee pageant next June by virtue of her being crowned the 2014 Miss Country Sunshine in McMinnville this past August. MerylAnne is a senior at Brigham Young University, where she is a genetics and lotechnology major. She won the talent portion of the contest with the song “La Vie En Rose” and received a scholarship for her win.

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Alum News

Alumnae Weekend 2014 April 11-12 Morgan Elliott ’11, in addition to making a difference in the world, has made an alumna connection in St. Louis. A junior at St. Louis University, she successfully organized Feed the Starving Children, a campus event that filled more than 55,000 food bags to be shipped to third-world countries. Assisting Morgan, right, in the volunteer effort were Rosemary McWhorter-Oliver ’61 and her nine-year-old granddaughter, Kate Oliver.

Louise McCallie ’11, a junior at Lehigh University, is a student of Murray Itzkowitz, the head of the school’s biology department. She was part of a team of students who spent a 10-week internship near Big Bend National Park in Texas devising ways to protect the habitat of two endangered species of fish.

A Tar Heel at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Tory Kemp ’12 was named Freshman of the Year from the Women’s Track and Field team of 2012-13. In just her first year at UNC, she was a NCAA first round qualifier in the high jump, ranks fourth all-time in the UNC record books for the pentathlon, was named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll, and competed in the heptathlon at the USA Junior Championships, collecting 4,959 points to finish eighth and the second-best collegian for the event.

Rachel Davis ’13 received the first Leary Jones Scholarship from the Kentucky, Tennessee Water Environment Association. A freshman at Quinnipiac p University, y, Rachel received the scholarship at the Water Professionals Conference inn Louisville, KY, this past summer.

The award is named for the founder of Tennessee’s nnessee’s Clean Water program, whose research rch was instrumental ntal in the Tennesseee General Assembly’s passage of the nation’s first water pollution law.

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GPS…where you learned to conjugate French verbs and trust in yourself. That place where you made haiku out of seventeen words and friendships that have lasted your whole life long. That place that gave you insight and understanding and the confidence to be yourself. That place that taught you how light is reflected and the importance of believing in your dreams.

Return for Reunion… to reconnect, remember, and recall why

This was and still Is Your School.

Alumnae Gatherings

“ W H E R E V E R Y O U W H O M A K E Y O U R

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A R E , I T I S Y O U R F R I E N D S W O R L D . ” – W I L L I A M J A M E S

1. Members of the GPS Alumnae Council attended their annual meeting in early November. The 25 alumnae representing graduating years 1980 to 1994 met Dr. Groesbeck, sat in on GPS classes, and heard from six seniors about life at GPS today. Discussions focused on the value of the GPS experience, understanding why it is important to give back, and ways to enlist other alumnae in cultivating ever-expanding circles of support.

On the front row from left are Amanda Austin Miller ’94, Margaret W. Cate ’90, Dion Roland Flynn ’91, Nandy Hurst ’84, Elizabeth Hurst Branch ’88, and Dana Rogers ’82. On the second row are Kerry Creel Slattery ’92, Margaret Dean ’93, Laura Williams Pierce ’85, Johnel Angel Evans ’92, Allyson Bowman ’84, Catharine Bahner Daniels ’83, Sally Lyons-Michaud ’86, Blair Bennington Cannon ’93, and Lisa F. Wamack ’89. On the back row are Danna Bailey ’89, Jennie Fields Brockman ’94, Anne Woodworth ’80, Michaela E. Keefe ’89, Melissa Woodall Curtis ’85, Hilda King Jemison ’81, Camille Harris Daniel 91, Jarmin Steffner Johnston ’84, and Polly Brooks ’84.

2. A two-day visit with alumnae in New York City began with a dinner at the home of Richard and Kerri Martin Bartlett ’75. A brunch the next morning involved many younger alumnae, including current students attending New York University. At the Bartlett’s home were, from left, Betsy Battle ’72, Maria Kain Matthews ’75, Barbara Simmons Eustis ’68, Dr. Sue Groesbeck, Melanie Young ’77, Joy Allen Altimare ’95, Kathleen Milazzo ’00, and Kerri Bartlett.

3. Bess Steverson, Director of Annual Giving, and Dr. Groesbeck took a quick trip to Houston to visit with a few alums. They are pictured with Mary Eleanor Woodruff Holloway ‘55, right.

2 3

4 4. A dinner with alumnae attending the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is always on the calendar for Director of Alumnae Katherine Betts ’76 and Bess Steverson, Director of Annual Giving. From left on the first row are Kaitlin Myers ’11, Valerie Galloway ’11, Hannah Morrow ’13, Ellie Gaffney ’13, and Rachel Durham ’13. In the middle are Haley Smith ’13, McLean Miller ’13, Rebecca Rose ’13, Kayleigh Hudgins ’10, Alex Cavitt ’10, Julianne Wilson ’10, and Sarah Gossett ’10. Standing on the back row are Ashlyn Keef ’11, Kelsey Keef ’12, Finley Bandy ’12, Katherine Nanney ’12, Margaret Easterly ‘12, Mary Copler ’12, Paige Carmichael ’12, Libby Givens ’12, Madison Smyth ’12, and, visiting from Auburn, Joanna Hudgins ’12.

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5. Interim Head Sue Groesbeck, standing at right, enjoyed a brunch in Nashville with, seated from left, Allyson Heard ’04, JeNita Partridge ’05, and Jill Leger ’05. Standing are Alice Pettigrew Heywood ’93, Shannon Stinnett Serie ’93, Amanda Bradford Roberts ’94, and Lisa Ray Greer ’85.

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“ L O V E

I S

T H E

G R E A T E S T

G I F T

W H E N

G I V E N .

I T

Brides

1994

1

Presh Killebrew to John Braxton Ashe

1998 May Burns to Jeff Burke

1999 Lindsey Meeks to Brian Edwards

2000 Jenny Caughran to Ricky Webb

2

2001 Erin McKown to Joshua Adam Worthington

3

2002 Amy Katherine Vetter to Lt. Jim Fulton Hinds Anne-Marie Wheelock to Jay Jolley

2003 Brennan McMahon to Brent Parton Shelley Schmissrauter to Christopher “Chris” John Kay Caroline Snow to Brandon Coates Kirsten Vernegaard to Linc Verlander

2004 Elizabeth Campbell to William Kennedy Griffin IV Leanne Gross to James Kevin Brackin Alyson Rollins to Jake Charles Krix Jennifer Torrence to Timothy Richard Vacek

4 1. The Parthenon in Nashville was the setting for a reception for newly married Neha Patel ’07 and Guru Harshad Shah. Their wedding on May 17, the previous day, was at the War Memorial, also in Nashville. Classmates Lauren Barth, Marshall Bright, Brittney McKenna and Leah Vance were in the wedding party. 2. Caroline Cofer ’06 married Hugh Faust this past June. Alumnae at her wedding included, from left, Lauren Meisel Masak, Mary Katherine Colquitt, the bride, Lauren Smart, Rachel Wharton Shurbutt, all from the Class of 2006; Emily Nagle Thrasher ’04, Jennifer Torrance Vacek ’05, and mother of the bride Cynthia Hames Cofer ’79. 3. A joyful Shelley Schmissrauter ’03 immediately prior to her wedding to Christopher “Chris” John Kay. 4. Erin McKown ’01 was married in August to Joshua Adam Worthington. Many GPS and McCallie alums and current students attended the wedding at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.

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I S

T

T H E

H I G H E S T

H O N O R

W H E N

R E C E I V E D . ”

– F A W N

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W E A V E R

2005 Honor Hostetler to Wes Mohney

2006 Caroline Cofer to Hugh Faust Rachel Wharton to Michael Shurbutt

2007 Rachel Barron to Daniel Morrison Anna Connell to Benjamin Harry Daugherty Katie Cooper to Atalay Cokberkit Kristen Holloway to Houston Phillips Gray Anna McCurdy to Wade Alexander Kephart

6

Carly Allison Morrow to Miles Douglas Moss Neha Patel to Guru Shah

2008 Sarah Ann Axley to Tyler Bartlett Christen Chambers to David Ellison Margaret Johnson to Karl Kell Callie Sholl to Drew Burns

2009 Laura Carroll to Jessie Taylor Lauren Lawrence to Isaiah Swanson

7

Lauren Ward to Nate Clark

From left are Mary Madison McBrayer ’14, Jonathan McKown, Bethany Scott Gray ’01, the bride and groom, Matthew Hitchcock, Wil Stiles, David McKown, Robert Stiles, Grant McKown, and Lane McKown, father of the bride. 5. When Lauren Lorberbaum ’04 married Sean Donohue, many GPS alumnae were in attendance. In front are Andrea Saul ’00 and Anna Young Adamson ’03. Standing around the bride, from left, are Allyson Heard ’04, Virginia Gregory ’01, Halley Caldwell, Elana Gulas, Hannah Johnson and Emily Huntzinger, all from the Class of 2004. 6. Anna Connell ‘07 married Benjamin Harry Daugherty in mid-October. Many members and coaches from past GPS track teams were among her guests. 7. Kirsten Vernegaard ’03 married Linc Verlander. They live in the Pacific Northwest.

No Limits I Prepared for Life

37

“ I

H O L D

T H A T

A

S T R O N G L Y

M A R K E D

P E R S O N A L I T Y

Babies

1992 Jenny Allison Perry a son, Charles Samuel “Charlie”

1993 Kendall McKenzie Cordina a daughter, Anne Sullivan

1994

2

Darcy Power Glasgow twin sons, Robert Houston and Ronan Charles

1996 Emily Templeton Webb a daughter, Katherine “Kate”

1997 Elizabeth Viall Napolitano a daughter, Emma Cate Brook Whitfield Trible a son, Clayton Whitfield

1

1998 Margo Pierce Krogulski a daughter, Savannah Jewell

1999 Millie Henry Sanders a daughter, Vera Sue Maggie Templeton Shutters a daughter, Anne Tyler Joy Vetter Kaeser a son, Robert Alden

3

4

2000 Angel Jacobs Schrader a son, Charles “Charlie” Edward Katie Lockerby Goss a daughter, Sophia “Sophie” Kate

2001 Rikki Bost Craven a son, Dallas Lincoln

6

Jennifer Kreis Sikes a daughter, Claire Chapman Stacy McCord Sartoris a son, James David

38

W i n t e r I 2 0 14

5

C A N

I N F L U E N C E

D E S C E N D A N T S

F O R

G E N E R A T I O N S . ”

– B E A T R I X

P O T T E R

2002

7

Lee Ade Stout a son, Charles “Charlie” Barnes Heather Scarbrough Ewalt a daughter, Ella Austin Lesley Fisher Moore a son, Edward Fisher Jency Franklin Shirai a daughter, Zia Shalom

8

Anna Hildebrand Guessetto a son, John Caleb Megan Lewis Stimpson a son, Jed Emily Montague Ellis a son, James Elizabeth Vance Randolph a daughter, Isla James

2003

9

Laura DuPre Sexton a son, Sawyer Hunt Cassie Moss Boyd a son, Jackson Seth Sydni Peeples Paris a daughter, Rylee Lane Molly Ziebell Jackson a daughter, Ella Jane

2004 Morgan Andreae Howard a daughter, Clara June Katherine Crews Pitman a daughter, Lauren Katherine Jane Gibson Erwin a son, Henry William

10 11

Lindsey Loyd Stover a daughter, Isabelle “Izzy” Charles 1. Carson and Clayton Trible are the children of Brook Whitfield Trible ’97. 2. Izzy, the now six-month-old daughter of Lindsey Loyd Stover ’04, will soon be wearing her GPS Bruiser bib. 3. Cassie Moss Boyd ’03 welcomed Jackson Seth this past June. 4. Right in the middle of this family photo is infant Paul Joseph, son of Nicole Cupo ’06 and her husband James. Nicole notes that also in the middle is her GPS ring, proudly on display! 5. A soft blanket is the perfect resting place for Charles “Charlie” Samuel, the son of Jenny Allison Perry ’92.

6. Lauren Katherine Pitman seems to be enjoying all the attention. She is the daughter of Katherine Crews Pitman ’04. 7. Emma Cate, according to mom Elizabeth Viall Napolitano ’97, is “a future Bruiser.” 8. Darcy Power Glasgow ’94 says her twins, Robert Houston and Ronan Charles, are “looking forward to joining their mom at her 20th GPS reunion in 2014.” 9. Claire Chapman is the cuddly daughter of Jennifer Kreis Sikes ’01. 10. A cute pink bundle, Savannah Jewel is the daughter of Margo Pierce Krogulski ’98. 11. Sophia “Sophie” Kate snuggles in what must be her first cradle. Sophie is the daughter of Katie Lockerby Goss ’00.

2006 Nicole Cupo Joselyn a son, Paul Joseph

2007 Allison Schoolfield Burk a son, Griffin Andrew

2009 Lauren Lawrence Swanson a daughter, Sanai McKenzie

No Limits I Prepared for Life

39

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Visit www.biddingforgood.com/gps to join the auction

REIMAGINED

THE ONLINE AUCTION Â&#x2021; )(%58$5< 0$5&+

THE SILENT AUCTION Â&#x2021; 7+856'$< 0$5&+ 5:30-8:00 p.m. at GPS

This event is free, open to the community, and a tandem event with COLLECT.

5:30-8:00 p.m. at GPS This event is free, open to the community, and a tandem event with BID.

S P DW WKH +XQWHU 0XVHXP RI $PHULFDQ $UW For tickets, please visit www.biddingforgood.com/gps

For more information, please visit ZZZ JSV HGX 9,6,216 or www.facebook.com/GPSVisions

REVEALED

THE LIVE AUCTION Â&#x2021; 6$785'$< 0$5&+

5(9$03('

THE $57 $8&7,21 Â&#x2021; 7+856'$< 0$5&+

CORNERSTONE

SOCIETY

PROFILE:

Kimberly Pettyjohn A member of the GPS Class of 1997, Kimberly (Kim) Pettyjohn is ahead of the curve! Still in her early thirties, she has already made financial plans for her future – including a

planned gift to GPS. A business specialist for Unum, specializing in short-term disabilities, she has seen people go through catastrophes that have greatly affected their financial situation. These experiences have helped her see the value in planning early. Kimberly’s inclination to think ahead has also been reinforced by her family situation.

“When my dad had heart by-pass surgery a couple of years ago, it really hit home,” she says. An only child, she helped her mom support her dad through his recovery. “That started me thinking about the future,” she says. “I thought,

‘Now is the time.’” When she met with her financial planner, they created a comprehensive plan that will take her into retirement without unnecessary worries.

As part of that process, Kimberly has included GPS in her estate plans, becoming one of the youngest members of the school’s planned giving society, the Cornerstone Society.

Her steps were relatively simple. She was advised to purchase a whole life insurance policy, and when choosing the beneficiaries, she included GPS to receive a percentage of the total award.

So why include GPS? “GPS is still a huge part of my life,” she answers. “My family had to make great sacrifices for me to attend. I know that I was there for a reason. I could not have had the same experiences elsewhere.”

She adds, “After over 15 years, I am still in touch with many current and past faculty and staff who continue to be an influence in my life.”

Kimberly named GPS as a beneficiary of her insurance policy designating the gift to the Annual Fund. Kimberly realizes the importance of

supporting her school

every year. Her dedication to her alma mater is exemplary!

To include GPS in your estate plans, contact Maria Matthews, 423-637-7614.

G I R L S P R E PA R AT O RY S C H O O L P.O. Box 4736 • Chattanooga, TN 37405

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage

PA I D

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Chattanooga, TN Permit No. 110

L E A D I N G

Dated Material

G P S

S U C C E S S F U L L Y

I N T O

T H E

F U T U R E

THE GPS BOARD OF TRUSTEES ANNOUNCES OUR NEXT HEAD OF SCHOOL

AUTUMN ADKINS GRAVES I am excited to join a school community that truly believes in educating the whole girl and values the teaching of respect and responsibility through discovery and with excellence.

– Autumn Graves