GPS Magazine | Winter 2012

W i n t e r ’12 Volume 25, No. 1

From the GROUND

UP

new programs @ GPS

t he headmaster ’s desk

Nothing New under the Sun? Not at GPS! I

just knew I’d heard everything a headmaster could possibly hear in the way of student proposals. And so I sat in my office as the time approached for my meeting with the four rising seniors who wanted me to approve their pitch for a student-run radio program, confident in the knowledge that I could make them understand that their idea simply wasn’t tenable.

The hour of recorded music, interviews, and news posted each Wednesday evening on GPSRadio has become a source of real pride for the students and school.

After all, at various points in my career, I had successfully fended off no less than a half dozen similar proposals. I knew all the right questions to ask — questions for which they would have no answers. Surely these four girls, like those eager students who came before, would see the holes in their plans, and I would be spared the nearly impossible job of monitoring what teenage girls might say, and what music they might play, over the airwaves.

But Laura, Taylor, Kathryn, and Tanner got me. They had thought things through, and they had all the answers. And the hour of recorded music, interviews, and news they post each Wednesday evening on the GPSRadio blogspot has become a source of real pride for the students — and thus the school.

This issue’s feature article highlights their efforts, along with the work of some faculty who this fall initiated an evening education program for adults, and the persistence of a class and a teacher that have overcome all obstacles to plant the GPS garden.

Just when you begin to buy into the maxim that “there is nothing new under the sun,” you realize that... there is indeed. And these little epiphanies, which happen frequently when you spend your time with students and faculty as innovative and driven as those who populate this campus, color my days with wonder and excitement.

GPS is truly a remarkable place.

Randy Tucker, Headmaster

GPS

pg. 16

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

Stanley R. Tucker, Jr. Assistant Head, Upper School Principal

Jessica Good Assistant Head, Middle School Principal

Elaine Milazzo

pg. 2

Assistant Headmaster/ Institutional Advancement

Thomas P. Hudgins Jr. Controller

Liz Thompson Admissions Debbie B. Young ’79 Alumnae/Events Katherine Betts ’76 Annual Giving Bess Steverson Capital Campaigns Maria K. Matthews ’75 Communications Anne N. Exum VISIONS Ann Burton Evans ’75 Girls Preparatory School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin in any of its policies, practices or procedures.

pg. 26

pg. 22

Editorial Staff

General Editor

Anne N. Exum

Writers:

Katie Archambault

Anne N. Exum

Virginia Gregory ’01 Photography: Katherine Betts ’76 Jimmy Burgess Anne N. Exum Stacey Hill David Humber Kendall Jacobs ‘04 Lifetouch Photography Gina Wells

features

departments

2 FROM THE GROUND UP

8 Alum News

GPS welcomes three new programs.

16 WOMEN OF THE CLOTH Alums in the ministry speak of challenge and encouragement.

2 2 38th YEAR OF GPS CAMP Summer pairs fun with friendships,

26 Athletics 29 Around School 34 Weddings 36 Babies

service, and character building.

37 THINK YOU KNOW GPS? Take the trivia quiz on the inside back cover.

Cover: An organic garden tended by members of an Environmental Science class has sprouted across the street from GPS. (Photo by David Humber)

A harvest of new programs has sprouted from the rich soil of GPS. 2

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c over story I new programs

by Anne Exum

W

ho knew the soil under the tract of land purchased by the GPS Board of Trustees in 1945 would be so fertile? Over 60 years after the new campus in North Chattanooga opened its doors, the wholesome ground on which the school was built is still blossoming with opportunities for GPS girls.

Since the move in the late 40’s to Island Avenue, GPS has expanded the curriculum, added student activities and even a new 6th grade, grown with new facilities, adopted a coordinate relationship with McCallie School, become the first laptop school in a tri-state region, and made changes in everything from the uniform to the demerit system!

From the

GROUND UP

“

The best part of the

garden is watching the girls’ faces light up with excitement when they see what’s become of a small seed planted a mere ten days prior. That level of excitement over learning is hardly ever quite as profound in a traditional classroom setting!

”

Jenise Gordon

The ground on which this school was built is still blossoming.

This year, GPS has both literally and figuratively broken ground on three new programs, fresh ideas generated by students and faculty alike. The most visible is the GPS Garden, planted, tended, and nurtured by the environmental science class. The most audible is GPS Radio, brought to the airwaves by a group of four seniors who just wanted to share music, provide a venue for others to listen to chapel talks, and interview GPS and community leaders. The most mission-driven is GPSedU, which offers the best of the GPS classrooms to parents and alumnae and gives them the chance to live the school’s belief that “learning is a lifelong process.”

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2 GPS Garden

With every plant we’ve planted, I continue to have that aha moment – it is a circle of life.

Blog Post Oct. 25, 2011

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Senior Mary Margaret Groves knows she’s learned life lessons in her environmental science class.

Expecting the same kind of typical classroom, with textbooks and tests, she and her classmates were surprised the first day to be offered the opportunity to bounce around ideas for what the class would be like. Oh sure, they’d learn about soil, water, and air, but when they heard their teacher Jenise Gordon’s vision for creating a garden, they were hooked.

Getting the garden “off the ground” took more time and money than they’d imagined. While they were nurturing seeds into small plants in the science lobby, they conducted research for a presentation to the Headmaster that he afterward deemed “pretty professional.”

So professional a grant presentation did they make that he agreed to help fund the garden. Other funds came from the Community Service Council and the ECOS club.

1. Members of the Environmental Science class who have researched, planted, mulched and blogged about their class project are, from left, Lizzie MacLennan, Kaycee Ensign, Annie Paden, Rachel Kelly, Emily Hayes, Laura Brock, Megan Greziak, Vivian Shi, Sarah Cobble, and Mary Margaret Groves.

2. Thriving broccoli plants enjoyed the sunshine before being covered in a hoop house to protect them from the cold weather.

With the desire to make “something that can be sustained,” said Kaycee Ensign, they took several field trips, to the Chattanooga Food Bank’s garden, to Crabtree Farm’s organic farm, and to Baylor School’s garden. They researched the kind of soil, raised-bed materials, composting, seeds, and hoop houses they’d need to construct.

After J & J Construction donated their services to level the plot of land at the corner of Island and Sterling Avenues across from the school, they worked with evening crew manager Terry Lawson and Ms. Gordon to build the raised beds.

GPS Agro-Ecological Garden, the girls’ blog (www.gpsgarden.blogspot.com), is their “record of the process in which our garden is created and maintained.”

One entry speaks for the class when it reflects upon spending time after school in the rain and hot sun, “hours wheeling 11 yards of soil from a pile and filling up the beds with about 1 yard each. This may seem like a fairly easy job,” they write, “but there have been times we have had to persevere through a foot of mud during a rainy day or work while sweat poured down our backs. Regardless, this was a fun experience for us all to see just exactly how much work is put into just getting the beds started. Now, all of the beds are full of soil and the plants are ready to be grown! All of the beds have a different plant growing in them, such as broccoli, cabbage, turnips, romaine lettuce, and carrots.”

They’ve learned the importance of patience, planning, and how much fun it can be to “get dirty,” says Kaycee. With Randy Tucker’s insistence that the produce be returned back to the community, the seniors are looking forward to sharing their bounty with the Food Bank and other area organizations.

A blog post on Oct. 25 read, “With every field trip we’ve taken and every plant we’ve planted, I continue to have that aha moment - it is a circle of life.

Getting my hands dirty in this garden has made me realize just how connected every living and breathing thing is. The soil is dependent on the water and the vegetables are dependent on the soil and we are dependent on the vegetables...

I could go on and on. It is so nice to have a class where we set our computers and phones and projectors aside to actually get our hands dirty in the Earth.”

No surprise that one student summed up the class as “one of the best parts of my senior year.”

GPS Radio Did you miss the chapel talk that your neighbor’s daughter gave last week? Want to record a Public Service Announcement for a community need? Or are you in the mood for music that you don’t always hear on mainstream radio?

Assistant Headmaster for Advancement Tommy Hudgins was known as “Tommy in the Morning” when he was a DJ at Washington and Lee College. With that knowledge gleaned from his daughter, Joanna, four of her senior friends approached him last summer to ask if he’d be an “advisor” for their idea: GPS Radio. With a nod from the Headmaster and a small budget to purchase music, twins Laura and Taylor Brock, Kathryn Bryant, and Tanner Peterson began their hour-long student-run radio podcasting shows in early September.

“

It’s a great opportunity

to allow students and teachers to get to know their fellow classmates, teachers, and

”

co-workers better.

Taylor Brock ’12

Using the Apple program Garage Band, the girls record musical preferences of theirs and their guests – often matching the music to the week’s theme – insert a guest interview, and download their show onto their blog, www.thegpsradio. blogspot.com, which also has a link on the library’s page on the GPS website.

Among those who have been interviewed for the show are Mr. Hudgins and Mr. Tucker, College Guidance Director Susan McCarter, and two of the new faculty members, the husband and wife duo of Lindsey Permar and Brooks Imel.

One of the girls’ favorite shows had a theme of “oldies” and featured an interview with local television personality Jed Mescon, in which he talked about his work in broadcasting and his choice of song, “Shout” by the Isley Brothers.

“It’s been a great experience,” says Taylor, “and a great opportunity to allow students and teachers to get to know their fellow classmates, teachers, and co-workers better. It’s also so interesting and fun to see which song our guests are going to play!”

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The adult Conversational Spanish class experienced more than just academics;

While they’re hoping to recruit sophomores and juniors to carry on the radio tradition in the future, they’ll also warn them about listening to all the lyrics of a song before airing it. Mr. Tucker’s song selection was a song by the Dixie Chicks, and the girls told him they couldn’t play it because of an objectionable word in the lyrics! Another issue which they’ve dealt with has been volume inconsistency, but overall the radio show has been a popular addition to a line-up of new programs at GPS this year.

it ended with a field trip to a local restaurante mexicano.

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3. DJ’s Laura Brock, Tanner Peterson, and Taylor Brock work on a show for GPS Radio. Not pictured is Kathryn Bryant.

4. Claire Haynes, center, and her husband, physics teacher Bryant Haynes (in straw hat), got their hands dirty on the first night of classes along with their students as they added water to potting soil and prepared to plant lettuce seeds. Bryant says harvest was expected in 12 weeks, “so hopefully some students enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner with lettuce from their own gardens!”

5. GPSedu classes ranged from Conversational Spanish to Presidential Politics. In Calligraphy, freshman Kayla Krueger showed up every Tuesday to assist instructor Debbie Glasscock, who says Kayla was “one of my most talented calligraphers last year and a much appreciated pair of helping hands.”

GPSedU “This class changed the way I think.” When Learning Center specialist Rebecca Davenport and I sat down last spring to plant the seeds for a new adult education initiative, we never imagined this comment from a participant. Our goal was just to offer our faculty, campus, and some unique classes to parents and alumnae. We realized that GPS classroom teachers receive regular praise for their commitment,

knowledge, and enthusiasm. Why not share their excellence with some of our GPS parents and alumnae, we wondered.

Like the GPS Garden, the program was not designed to be a revenue stream for the school but as a way for the faculty to share with a larger community of

4 adults who valued lifelong learning. We wanted the program to start small, like the garden’s seedlings, and it did.

A brochure describing eight classes went out in August, and by the end of September, almost 40 people had signed up for seven of the classes: Presidential Politics, Do Unto Others (a study of the life of Gandhi), Calligraphy, Organic Gardening, Leaving Your Legacy, Conversational Spanish, and Twitter, Tumbler, Facebook: How Do I Keep Up? The classes met every Tuesday evening of October for 90 minutes at a cost of $50 for the whole month. The faculty – Linda Mines, David Cook, Debbie Glasscock, Bryant Haynes, Jane Henegar, Kyle Morris, and Elizabeth Resnick – included many Distinguished Faculty honorees from past years. Hands-on learning, technology, and guest speakers all played a part in the month-long evening classes, just as they do during the regular school day.

A few ended the month with more than just the academic classroom experience. The Spanish class spent their last Tuesday at a local restaurante mexicano, ordering their repast in Spanish, of course.

The organic gardening class started their last class meeting on a field trip to the Food Bank garden and then made their way to their GPS instructors’ home, where prepared homemade

pizza, spinach squares, green salad, and homemade cheesecake with raspberry sauce were on the menu. The lion’s share of ingredients came from the owners’ organic garden, chickens and goats. A student in the class said, “I got more than I paid for.” Indeed!

Although the classes were small, the survey results showed the adult students thought the process, amount of time, cost, and benefits were “wonderful.”

A GPS parent said he was surprised, “to see that my daughters took such an interest” in his class experience. A GPS alumna rejoiced in how much fun it was “to be in a semi-academic environment” again. The faculty were described as good communicators, remarkable, thorough, and positive… all words that we hear from their GPS students as well.

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The ever-evolving new programs at GPS exemplify this school’s belief that learning is a lifelong process.

A student’s reflection that her class was “Among the best uses of my time in the past 10 years” has us looking forward to a new lineup of faculty and courses for April, and we’re opening the classes up to more of our GPS constituency, including current and past parents and grandparents. We hope you’ll join us for a new series of GPSedU. Meanwhile, come visit the GPS Garden and be sure to listen on Wednesday evenings to GPS Radio!

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a lum news As more and more of our alumnae create personal Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, we hope you’ll be among the many that use social media to stay in touch with their alma mater. We’ve grown to 1,500 fans on Facebook and 370 on Twitter (@GPSBruisers).

GPS alumnae are an interesting, accomplished, friendly group, and in this issue we’ve chosen a few women to interview for longer profiles. As you read the short news items and look at the photos, take some time to get to know the five alumnae interviewed for the features.

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

Correction: In the summer 2011 issue of the magazine, the award received by Mary Anna Caldwell ’11 was incorrectly identified. She received the Sandra Martin Award for “achievement in athletics, scholarship, and citizenship.”

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1. Margaret Wheland Cate ’49 was honored last fall at a 2. luncheon of past GPS trustees with the Linda Standefer Chapin Governance Award.

As Betsy Chapin Taylor ’88, left, said when presenting the award to the surprised recipient, “This year’s recipient is known for her complete loyalty and her unwavering commitment to the school. Her devotion to GPS is truly beyond compare, as she actually chaired the Board for four years – two years longer than most. A past recipient of the Distinguished Alumna Award, this year’s recipient also co-chaired the $16.4 million capital campaign to build and endow the Elizabeth Lupton Davenport Middle School. Since she rotated off the Board as a voting member in 2002 after 13 years of service, she has remained as an ex-officio member, representing all Past Trustees.” Pictured with Betsy and Margaret is Marilyn Sherman Center ’58, recipient of the inaugural award.

In Memoriam Mary Brooks Barnhart Carlton ’29 Marjorie Haller Crigler ’33 Mary Stewart Becking Smith McClain ’38 Nelson Whitaker Campbell ’38 Donna Field Bullen ’48 Virginia Ann Winger McAllester ’48 Mary Ann Bunn Crantford ’49 Joan Godsey Record ’56 Judy Garner Willoughby ’58 Geraldine Rae Bailey ’60 Louise Edwards Davenport ’68 Laura Faucette Pitts ’69 Cindy Brooks McCann ’70

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Last October, Corinne Anderson Adams ’69 expanded her repertoire in art and photography with a 96-foot-long “visual poem” entitled “I’ll Fly Away.” The installation of 75 images at Pace Academy as part of Atlanta’s citywide photography festival included images taken over a 20-year span. “They speak to me about beginnings, growth, flight, and the process thereof,” said Corinne in the invitation to the show.

2. The name of the book penned by Anne Clarke Sanders ’70 that was written about in last summer’s magazine is Biologically Bankrupt. Written under the pen name Adair Sanders, the book is available on Amazon in paperback and kindle and at Outskirtspress.com in paperback. Anne also keeps a blog on her author website (adairsanders.com) in which she comments on life in general, themes found in her book, and events that range from rafting the Ocoee to great places to eat. She is pictured with her husband Mike near their home in North Carolina.

3. Claudia Swafford Haltom ’73 and Margaret (Peg) Palmquist Wahl ’74 are pictured with their husbands as they prepared to hike to the top of Mt. LeConte last summer. “What an experience,” she wrote. “We hiked back down the mountain in a driving rainstorm and looked like drowned rats.”

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Gay Reilly ‘80 is currently working as an Educator in Residence at the National Institute of Aerospace in Hampton, VA. Gay, who is “on loan” from the Hampton public schools, works within the Center for Integrative STEM Education to identify and share resources with K-12 teachers and students.

Robin Still Wintringham ’81 is the Executive Director of the Habitat for Humanity of Alamance County in Burlington, NC Linda Duvoisin ’84 will be a featured film artist in the April 2012 Southern Circuit Tour, the nation’s first regional tour of independent filmmakers. She is being recognized for her documentaries on the topic of the lunch counter sit-ins of the early 1960’s Civil Rights Movement. Linda is a partner with her husband at Mindflow Media in Chattanooga.

Adrienne Greer Foley ’84 has been named president-elect of the Minnesota Health Strategy and Communications Network, which is made up of hospital and healthcare marketing professionals across the state. Since launching her business in 2004, Adrienne has provided marketing, communications and writing services primarily to hospitals, physician practices and other companies who need assistance with their marketing efforts. Adrienne and her family have lived in the Twin Cities since 2006.

It’s a full house in the home of Kathleen McGregor Collins ’81. She and her husband have adopted four young boys from an orphanage in Ghana, Africa. In an article in the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Kathleen describes her family as “blessed.” The boys, she says, play soccer for Chattanooga United and hope to play in the World Cup one day. “They have given us far more than we can ever give them,” she says. In mid-November, Kathleen’s family was profiled by Ellen DeGeneres, above, on her nationally syndicated talk show.

90 s 4 Three alumnae are serving as mentors to GPS seniors this year in the Career Mentor program. Pictured at the kickoff luncheon are, from left, Elizabeth Hebert Day ’87, Ankita Sheth, Morgan Lane, Bea Rutledge Lyons ’60, Cathryn McGill ’05, and Klarissa Tolf.

Mary Alice Haney ’89 is editor-in-chief of www.thisnext.com, a social shopping website featured in Lucky magazine last summer.

Kristy McManus ’91 graduated last May from the University of Georgia with a Ph.D. in business administration and marketing. She started a new career last fall as a member of the marketing faculty at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. In an email to GPS last August, she described the people as “amazingly friendly,” but knew that the equally amazing weather wouldn’t last long.

LEED certified, Meena Shanmugusundurum Krenek ’92 is a senior project designer at Perkins+Will design firm’s Atlanta office.

Lara Counts Magellanes ’92 has moved to Pacific Grove, California, to pursue a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering at Naval Post Graduate School with plans to eventually teach at a university.

Betsy Burton ’77 Farm-to-table refers to a movement concerned with producing food locally and delivering that food to local consumers. Betsy Burton ’77 and her husband are becoming experts on the trend and have developed their four-acre farm in Lyons, Colorado, to provide elegant dinners where diners can interact with them, eat their meal out of doors, and enjoy the best that area chefs have to offer, from the fields to the table.

With acreage that is devoted to a large, organic garden; a flower farm that provides for local florists, and space for goats, chickens, and llamas, Betsy works with six Boulder, CO, chefs to incorporate cooking classes along with the dinners. “I guess it’s my Southern upbringing,” she says, “but I make sure we use good silver, china, crystal, and cloth napkins” to feed crowds of up to 125. They offer classes in beekeeping, gardening, composting, beer-brewing, and permaculture certification, and their acreage has been the site of several weddings.

Always very involved with issues concerned with the environment and sustainability, Betsy started raising chickens a few years ago and has seen that initiative multiply from her initial 12 to over 200.

With a waiting list of egg buyers, she helps others learn the fun and the practical side of the venture through an annual “Tour de Coops” educational tour. Check out her website at www.LyonsFarmette.com

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Alice Pettigrew Heywood ’93 is a Senior Legal Counsel at Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) and works in the legal development group. She and her husband, who live in Nashville, recently opened Brilliant Sky Toys and Books, a franchise specializing in educational toys.

Ann Dickerson Zack ’82 Starting their own business, say Ann Dickerson Zack ’82 and her husband Bill, is hard work, but the rewards have been in returning back to her roots in Chattanooga (after 18 years in Atlanta) and the opportunity for her son to attend McCallie. Ann says that every time they visited hometown family, the city was more and more appealing.

Now they’re among the city’s many entrepreneurs.

Their business, Legends of the Game Cookie Company, offers gourmet sugar and chocolate brownie cookies iced with images of everything from legendary sports stars like Jackie Robinson to football conference and corporate logos or cartoon characters. According to those who have ordered their cookies, they are as delicious and unique as they look on the company website, www.legendscookies.com “We wanted to do something with sports,” says Ann, “something different that wasn’t already being done.” She describes the icing as the “canvas for the print,” which is created with food coloring, no preservatives, and is FDA approved.

Marketing is one aspect of starting their business that has taken up most weekends, as they attend local markets and festivals. They’ve been a vendor at UTC football games, in Turner Field suites, and at Auburn, among other venues, and “business has been great,” says Ann. Don’t be surprised if you see Legends of the Game cookies in GPS concession stands and even at April’s reunion.

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Birmingham, Alabama, is the new home for Brooke Everley ’96 and her new law practice, Everley Law, LLC. According to Brooke, she has joined a group of solo practitioners and is continuing her focus on gift and estate planning, estate administration and probate, and small business matters.

Lesley Stiles Scearce ’96 is the president and chief executive of On Point, a nonprofit that works locally and nationally to prevent risky teen behaviors. Leslie is focusing on building partnerships that help youth thrive.

Mark Your Calendar

Alumnae Weekend T U C K s, B u tt o n s and the bow A P R I L 13 - 14 2012

Darria Long Gillespie ’96 finished her residency in emergency medicine last summer and is now on the Harvard emergency medicine faculty. The move to Boston with her husband, an orthopedic surgeon, has her not only working clinically but also on some business development and strategy for the hospital system.

The Reverend Rebecca Nelson Edwards ’97 is Assistant Rector at Good Samaritan Episcopal Church in San Diego, CA. Crispin Mathias+Fisher ’98 wrote GPS to let us know that she’s taken a detour from traditional architectural practice and is a “free agent.” Crispin is a LEED certified architect but also enjoys photography, graphic design, and video.

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5. Actor Rachel Boston ’00 stopped by GPS in August during the first weeks of school. In town for an American Cancer Society event, she and her publicist, Nancy McCarty Iannios ’82, visited with students and faculty on the school’s patio during a cookout that followed the Cat-Rat parade.

Julianne Chung ’00 has started a tenure-track assistant professor position in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Texas at Arlington.

5 6. Charleston, South Carolina, resident Katherine Giles ’96, left, was headed out to Johns Island to volunteer at a book sale this past summer when she spotted another volunteer sporting the GPS ring.

Caroline Igou ’01, in law school at Wake Forest, was in Charleston for the summer, working at a law firm. “Sales were pretty slow during lunch,” said Katherine, “so she and I spent the morning swapping GPS stories and generally discussing life.

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Deanna Gardenhire Brown ’02 is a resident physician in dermatology at the MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, in affiliation with Case Western Reserve University.

Sophie Johnson Taintor ’02 is in the middle of a two-year tour in El Salvador as an engineering Foreign Service officer with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Sophie is working with programs on regional environmental, disaster risk reduction, and infrastructure rehabilitation. “I get to interact with regional organizations, host-country government officials, and NGOs,” she says, adding “I absolutely love it!”

Jessica Meehan ’02 is compiling quite a resume. She moved to New York City this past September to work in digital marketing for John Mayer’s management team, which includes clients such as singer/songwriters Sarah McLachlin, Ray LaMontagne, and Justin Townes Earle.

Lisa Hendy ’90 When the National Park Service honors its most exemplary Park Ranger with the Harry Yount National Park Ranger Award, the service singles out the person who “epitomizes the ranger ethic,” the one “who tackles the toughest assignments, protecting park resources and the nearly 300 million people who visit our national parks annually.” This year’s 2011 award was presented to Lisa Hendy ’90 in a recent ceremony in Washington, DC. Lisa has worked at some of the iconic National Parks: Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain and Arches. Now, as a Supervisory Park Ranger at Grand Canyon National Park, she is responsible for everything that happens below the rim of the famous Canyon.

Whether rappelling over a high ledge or from a hovering helicopter to rescue an injured hiker, performing a whitewater rescue, assessing an archeological site, or educating visitors about the hidden wonders and dangers of one of America’s most amazing places, Lisa brings a calmness, respect, and humbleness to her position. Lisa still gets excited about the fact that she frequently has the opportunity to work in areas of our National Parks that the average person will never see.

Passionate about her job and enthusiastic about the projects she works to protect and preserve, Lisa truly understands that she holds a unique and amazing position in the Park Service, and for that, she has received the highest honor from the National Park Service.

– Patrice Hobbs Glass ’90

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Kelly Rothberger ’02 is living in Los Angeles, where she’s working as a screenwriter.

The Savannah-based company custom designs, creates and executes wedding and social events.

After graduating from the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business with a master’s in business administration, Julia Schaffeld ’02 moved to Boston for a job at Talbots’ headquarters in Hingham, MA. As a project manager with the strategy and business development department, Julia encourages all GPS alumnae to “shop at Talbots!”

Holly Howell ’03 has moved to the Washington, D.C., area for a position as research specialist at ICF Macro, a company that works within the United States and around the world to “support federal, state, and international programs relating to health, housing, education, science, energy, nutrition, and related areas.”

Photo courtesy of Karen Thomas

Jennifer Scott Garrett ‘96 Clean lines and strong, simple shapes give sculpture designed by Jennifer Scott Garrett ’96 its distinctive style.

With a BA in Fine Arts from UGA and a master’s in interior design from the Univ. of Florida, Jenn today displays her artwork in outdoor shows throughout the Southeast.

One unique “gallery” of Jenn’s work is in the yard of her home that she shares with husband Tim, a medical researcher, and two children. After the birth of their first child, Jenn realized that she missed working in sculpture and delved back into her work with renewed passion. She began exploring computer programs that allowed her to experiment with a larger-than-life scale.

When she and Tim bought a midcentury modern home on a busy street near the UF campus in Gainesville, Jenn began displaying her sculpture in their gardens and attracted the attention of art lovers and UF art professors. Now sculpture students from the university display their works there too.

A phone call from a proud grandmother brought news of the Vance sisters. Elizabeth Vance Randolph ’02 is in her first year of a pediatric residency at Vanderbilt after graduating from the University of Virginia Medical School with honors. Katherine Vance ’05 graduated from the University of North Carolina’s School of Journalism and works for the Piedmont Environmental Council of Virginia in Charlottesville. Leah Vance ’07 graduated from the University of North Carolina’s School of Public Health, spent last summer working with Engineers Without Borders in Peru, and is currently taking a year off before medical school.

Laura Cleary ’03 had a showing of her recent art at The B Complex in Atlanta. “An Arbitrary Hypothesis” was on display the first week in December.

Stephanie Baker Montgomery ’03 received her Doctor of Optometry degree last May from the School of Optometry at the University of Alabama, Birmingham.

She is practicing in Fairhope, Alabama.

- Maria Kain Matthews ’75

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After working for two major design firms in NYC, Alice Davenport ’04 succumbed to the lure of her hometown and is living in downtown Chattanooga, where she is in much demand as an interior designer for area residents.

Megan Galbreth ’04 graduated from Oxford University last June with a master’s degree in Medieval English literature.

She is continuing her studies in the same subject at Cambridge University, working toward a doctorate and planning a June 2012 wedding in London.

Also in England is Stephanie Hays ’04, who is a master’s candidate at London Metropolitan University and researching the use of social/new media among top national tourism organizations. Stephanie is also working as a marketing intern at Gap Adventures, a world leader in the adventure travel industry.

Taylor Warren ’04 is in Africa, working in Nairobi on disaster responses for the Kenya/Somalia refugees.

A financial aid specialist at Savannah College of Art and Design, Katie Estes Taylor ’03 has tapped into her creative side as the lead assistant at Anne Hagin Events.

Her children think that having artwork around the house and in the yard is normal! When her son asked about the fiber-board models she uses to plan her larger pieces, she explained the process to him by comparing it to the way he builds houses with his Legos. Raising her children to incorporate the love of art into their daily lives, Jenn is actively developing their creative spirit. Find more about her work at www.jgarrettgallery.com.

Mary Katherine Roark Harbin ’03 is an adjunct developmental English professor at Mitchell Community College, in addition to her job as area manager at Maymead, a construction company in Statesville, NC.

Dreams as a fulltime singer/actor on Broadway have shifted into part-time singing and dance classes for Emily Dake ’05, who seems to have found a greater calling. A part-time job as an assistant at the Service Women’s Action Network

7. Sydney Woods ’04 was working as a speech therapist near Nashville when she felt “called to do something more.”

Wanting to see the world and engage in mission work to love the broken-hearted and less fortunate, Sydney joined World Race, a unique mission trip that takes participants on a pilgrimage around the world to work in 11 countries in 11 months. Sydney’s mission began in October at an orphanage in Chimaltenango, Guatemala. Out of her comfort zone and having sold her worldly possessions, Sydney is keeping a blog of her personal world race at www.sydneywoods.theworldrace.org

a lum profile (SWAN) has turned into a full-time job as executive assistant, blog editor and social media strategist. The organization, which serves women in the military and women veterans, provides advocacy and direct services to women who have suffered rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment in the military. Emily’s work has helped to win a few grants and created high-level media, political, and military contacts. She hopes to go to law school next.

Emily Gatlin Halcomb ’05 has received a five-year fellowship to work on her doctorate in forensic anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. During Emily’s last years at UTK, from which she received her master’s degree, she worked and studied at the Anthropological Research Facility, known internationally as “The Body Farm.”

Cody Simpson ’05, who received her master’s in public health from George Washington University, is now an EHR (Electronic Health Records) implementation consultant with MBA HealthGroup in Washington, D.C. Taylor Leonard ’06 is working as a publications and media coordinator at Oxford University in England.

Lindsey Gruwell ’07 is continuing to pursue her bachelor’s degree in nursing at BYU. After her own battle with leukemia (a relapse two years ago resulted in a bone marrow transplant), Lindsey wants to specialize in pediatric oncology.

She reports that a check up this past summer shows an immune system that is “fully recovered.”

Ashley Johnson ’07, the first women’s lacrosse player to graduate from Birmingham-Southern College, is now an assistant lacrosse coach at Georgian Court University, an NCAA Div. II all-girls’ university in New Jersey. At BSC, Ashley ended her senior season leading the SCAC conference in assists. She was named all-conference and a USA College Lacrosse Women’s Division III All-American 3rd team selection. “I am beyond excited for this opportunity to help other student-athletes make their college lacrosse experience as great as the one I had,” she says.

With a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Belmont University’s Honors Program last spring, Brittney McKenna ’07 is now marketing coordinator at Big Machine Label Group in Nashville. The group comprises three record labels and represents country artists including Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts, Martina McBride, and more.

She will be tracking record sales and developing social media strategies, among other responsibilities.

Courtney Pare ‘07 received her bachelor’s in environmental engineering at Georgia Tech last spring and has started a master’s in public health at Emory University.

Allison Schoolfield Burke ’07 passed her boards in July and is now working as an RN in the Pediatric ICU at TC Thompson Children’s Hospital.

8 8. Priya Boyington, right, and Abby Hill, both from the Class of 2007 and President’s Scholars at Georgia Tech, graduated last May. Priya is involved in management consulting for Bain & Company in Atlanta. Abby has begun a Ph.D. program in biomedical engineering at MIT.

Susan Spicknall ’07 graduated from the University of Georgia last spring and is now in Atlanta working for Pardot, a software company. Susan’s role is one that involves communication with and training of clients.

Sarah Updegraff ’07 is currently living and working in Florida at Big Cypress National Preserve as a “bioscience tech.” An environmental science graduate of Belmont University, Sarah interned at Big Cypress in 2010 and after being asked to return to the preserve, is now focused on hydrology (water quality testing) and wildlife (telemetry with endangered species).

Neha Patel ‘06 Although Neha Patel, pictured with her mother, moved farther away from Chattanooga when she graduated from Vanderbilt and enrolled at Harvard Dental School, GPS is never far from her mind. As a matter of fact, she knew just whom to ask when looking for someone to proof her Dental School application essays… senior English teacher Todd Wells and classmate Brittney McKenna.

One of 35 in the four-year program in Boston, she takes medical school courses in the morning and dental school classes in the afternoon. “Dentistry is a branch of medicine; we have to know the whole body,” she explains.

In Vanderbilt’s undergraduate biomedical engineering program, she was one of five who worked as a group on a senior project inspired by a vascular surgeon who wanted an arterial clamp that decreased damage to the artery and yet still stopped the flow of blood during procedures. The surgeon also wanted something simple to use because surgeons often have to apply the clamp with their non-dominant hand.

The clamp that her group designed may now receive a U.S. patent. “The patent is expected to go through,” she says, “but it may take up to five years, and we may have to redesign some parts.”

Neha’s glad that she pursued engineering before dental school. “I may want to continue in that field as I pursue redesigns for instruments in dentistry.”

No Limits I Prepared for Life

13

a lum news Carrie Wolf ’07 graduated in 2011 from UTK with a bachelor’s of science in child and family studies. She is working toward her master’s degree in school counseling at UTC. Sarah Axley ’08 reports that she will graduate from the University of Alabama in December 2012 with a bachelor’s in physics and a minor in women’s studies. “I’m a coxswain for the Alabama crew team,” she says, “and my boat won gold at the John Hunter Regatta in April, and my four varsity rowers and I combined forces with an unlikely ally, Auburn, to win 3rd place in the collegiate relay at the Tennessee Indoor Rowing Championships in January.” Sarah is the crew team’s fundraising chair and historian/alumni relations person.

Mary Margaret Sanders ’08 was selected for the University of Central Florida’s President’s Leadership Council. Those chosen for the council are selected for their “excellence in leadership, scholarship, and service to the university and the Orlando community.” They serve as ambassadors for the university.

Shateria Smith ’09 had an article printed in Ledge, an HIV/AIDS e-zine. The article, “In Her Own Words,” details her family’s experience with an HIV-affected member.

Haley McDougal ’10 finished up her freshman year at Lipscomb University by spending more than a month working in orphanages in Ghana and Uganda.

Eller Mallchok ’11 was elected a freshman Senator at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA.

Answers for Trivia: 1. Black & Blue, 1906; 2. Starting Habits to Attain

Physical Excellence; 3. Mary Hannah Tucker and Katherine Spears Clark 4. 1972 5. 8th Lassies, 9th Friendly, 10th Sweet young, 11th Jolly, 12th, Grand Old 6. 1985 7. Glenna Goodacre 8. 1954, Peggy Thomas 9. 1999 10. Roberta Moore 11. Basketball 12. 1924, 1988 13. Peri-Welkin 14. Senior with longest hair 15. The Static 16. Jessica Good, Assistant Head and Upper School Principal 17. 2011 18. Six; 19. Founders Club 20. Welfare Club

Michelle Bangson ’11, a freshman at Auburn University, was named the Crawford T. Johnson III Scholarship recipient from the Chattanooga Coca-Cola Bottling Company.

a GPS Dress Ornaments A These mini 2 ¾ inch tall dress ornaments have been designed to commemorate the dresses worn by students at Girls Preparatory School. Created by Landmark Creations and produced in Poland, birthplace of hand-blown and hand-painted glass ornaments, each piece is individually blown and decorated by artisans carrying on their age-old European folk art tradition.

Sets of 3: pearl shiny finish or opal matte finish $58.95 plus 5.60 TN tax Purchase at the GPS store and avoid shipping costs.

Single ornament $21.95 plus 2.09 TN tax limited choice of colors

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W i n t e r 2 0 12

Order by e-mail at: ornaments@gps.edu Identify your choice of color and finish and give your shipping address.

You will receive a return e-mail with the total charge and the payment link.

If you prefer, you may send a check payable to GPS GPS Ornament 205 Island Avenue Chattanooga, TN 37405 Shipping costs will be determined when the ornaments arrive. A maximum of $12 S&H will be charged on any order. All orders will be sent via USPS Priority Mail.

a lum visits 2

1 3

October visits with alums 1. Birmingham: The lovely home of Fluff Killebrew Roberts ’90 and her husband Atkins was the setting for a GPS alumnae gathering in Birmingham, coordinated by Katherine Betts ’76, GPS Director of Alumnae, and attended by Headmaster Randy Tucker.

Meeting with old and new friends were, from left on the bottom row, Mary Holland Novkov ’10 and Fluff Killebrew Roberts. On the second row are Abby Morgan ’10, Caitlyn Barringer ’06, Tenley Garvich Armstrong ’98, and Brooke Everley ’96.

On the back row are Elizabeth Campbell McElroy ’83, Ginger Latham Mayfield ’01, Nancy Bicking Hartselle ’00, Whitney Webb Nall ’03, Lauren Waters Rice ’03, Leah Williams Smith ’96, Christina Papa Center ’90, and Lenora Coghlan McCalley ’40. Also in attendance from Chattanooga were past GPS parents Candy and Johnny Killebrew. Not pictured are Emmy Warner McGowin ’57 and Katie Kent ’03.

2. UTC Dinner: Katherine Betts met several GPS alumnae for dinner at Champy’s restaurant near the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, campus that the alums attend. From left are Saba Munir ’11, Anamarie Ateca ’10, Suzanne Johannes ’11, Abby Davis ’11, and Margaret Quinn ’09.

4

3. UTK: A college alumnae dinner at P.F. Chang’s is tradition in Knoxville. Hosted by Katherine Betts, Bess Steverson, and Randy Tucker, this year’s event drew a crowd.

Seated from left are graduate student Karianne Chung ’04, law student Karrah Leary ’05, former faculty member Amy Harold Brown, Jessica Rogers ’07, Ashlyn Keef ’11, Reagan Costa ’11, Annie Smith ’11, and Colleen Mahn ’10. In the middle row are Kelli Matulich ’10, Ryn Fager ’11, Valerie Galloway ’11, Sarah Gossett ’10, Lauren Williamson ’10, Alyssa Matulich ’10, Alex Cavitt ’10, Staci Thompson ’10, Meghan McDonald ’09, Lashley Webb ’09, Savannah Shuford ’09, Millie Earhart ’10, and Perri Fine ’08. In back are Ariel Resnick ’11, Keely McDonald ’11, Randy Tucker, Anna Henson’10, Julianne Wilson ’10, Emmy Welsh, Christian Smith, Gabrielle Sobel, Alex Smith, Cady Jones, Channing Adkins, and Janell Jackson, all from the Class of 2008. Not pictured but in attendance were Jodi Agee ’10, Lizzi Rhoton ’10, Kayleigh Hudgins ’10, and Caitlin Davidson ’10.

4. Sewanee: A quick trip to Sewanee, the University of the South, kept GPS alumnae connected to their school and the alumnae office. From left are Carolyn Pearigen ’10, Maria Stratienko ’10, and Bronte Goodhue ’11.

No Limits I Prepared for Life

15

Common threads are found among the stories of three GPS alumnae in the ministry.

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a lumnae I the ministry

by Virginia Gregory ’01

I

t’s a dark and stormy night when the Reverend Geraldine Granger arrives at the small English village of Dibley. Just inside, the parish council is anxiously awaiting their newly appointed vicar. As soon as she walks through the door, however, Geraldine realizes that she – as a woman – isn’t exactly what they had in mind.

Thus begins the first episode of The Vicar of Dibley, the incredibly popular sitcom that debuted on the BCC in 1994, shortly after the Church of England’s General Synod voted to allow women to become priests in 1992.

Women of the

CLOTH

“

The stories of

these three GPS alumnae who serve in the ministry paint an encouraging, empowering picture of how women are making bold strides into what was for so long a maledominated field.

”

Virginia Gregory ’01

While the show is light hearted, with eccentric parishioners, clever writing, and even a joke to end each episode, it successfully and endearingly captures the trials and tribulations of a woman of the cloth, something few films or televisions shows have endeavored to address.

Across religions, and even between denominations, the perception and acceptance of women in the ministry vary dramatically. The stories of these three GPS alumnae who serve in the ministry paint an encouraging, empowering picture of how women are making bold strides into what was for so long a male-dominated field.

No Limits I Prepared for Life

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a lumnae I the ministry

1 Rebecca Spooner ’85

“

I was raised in a

home that set no limits on what a woman could

”

achieve.

Rebecca Spooner ’85

“As the child of a pastor, I never wanted to be a pastor myself,” explains Rev. Rebecca Spooner ’85, who currently serves as the Director of the Laurence E. Schmidt Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. So just how did Spooner find herself recently ordained by Princeton Seminary School and tending a flock of about 600 in rural Arkansas? As Spooner puts it, “Apparently God had other plans.”

“I entered college to get a degree in psychology but left with a pre-seminary degree in Biblical and Religious Studies.

I entered seminary to be a therapist and left seminary as a small, rural church pastor,” recounts Spooner. “So yes, my vocational journey has been full of surprises through the years. Each experience has led me to where I am now.”

“I was raised in a home that set no limits on what a woman could achieve,” explains Spooner, who also credits GPS for instilling in her a sense of empowerment as a woman. “It was a powerful reinforcement to see that taught in

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2 1. Rebecca Spooner ’85 is Director of the Laurence E. Schmidt Center in Little Rock, Arkansas.

2. Suzanne Smitherman ’70 is present for the Blessings of the Animals, an annual event at her church. She is pictured on page 16 at a baptism at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Chattanooga.

classes, lived out through my teachers and school administrators, and then for it to become a reality in the life of the graduates I followed,” she recalls.

Unfortunately, the Church was not quite so confident that women should take a prominent role in the ministry.

“When I entered seminary in 1991, the Committee on Preparation for Ministry in my Presbytery had some concerns about my finding a job after seminary because I was a woman; my being hired as a pastor dividing a church because I was a woman; and my attending such a ‘liberal’ seminary ‘way up north.’”

Luckily, Spooner dismissed their concerns, spending 13 years in the ministry before returning to school to obtain a master’s degree in counseling.

Reflecting on her time as a parish

a dvice minister, Spooner actually found being an outsider in a small town more of a challenge than being a woman. “In small towns,” Spooner aptly observes, “there are invisible lines that everyone else knows to step over. I think I tripped over every single one of them at some time or another.”

“I learned very quickly that it is not appropriate for the pastor to wash her car outside the manse while wearing a bathing suit top. I also learned that it was not okay for the pastor of a small rural church to purchase or imbibe anything alcoholic in a public place.

While in South Arkansas, beer, when I rarely purchased it, remained hidden in my vegetable drawer, but I still think the congregation knew about it.”

During this time, Spooner came to the realization that seminary did not fully equip her for counseling her parishioners to the extent that she would like. She also noticed a distinct lack of support for the clergy itself.

“Pastors are also typically pretty isolated. As an ordained pastor, I became aware through experience and through interacting with colleagues that pastors needed a special place to come to that understood their issues.

We all carry tremendous expectations of ourselves that are often unrealistic, not to mention our congregations.

Just like we want to be the person our dogs think we are, we also want to be the pastors our congregations believe us to be. Often, their expectations are unrealistic but we strive to meet them nonetheless,” Spooner explains.

To remedy these issues, Spooner returned to school to become a Licensed Professional Counselor. In 2006, she joined the staff of Vera Lloyd Presbyterian Home & Family Services to establish the Laurence E. Schmidt Center. Now, as the director of the center, Spooner counsels clergy and their families from the Presbytery of the Pines, Presbytery of Arkansas, the Arkansas United Methodist Conference, and several other churches in Little Rock.

Spooner, whose denomination supports women in the ministry, hopes that one day all Christian congregations will do the same, citing the epistle of Paul to the Galatians, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Still, she has encounters from time to time that remind her that not everyone in the Christian Church is there yet. “We offer Clergy Support Groups, and one new male member who pastored a non-denominational church was surprised to learn that I could lead a Clergy Support Group ‘all by myself ’ without the assistance and leadership of a man. Experiences like these remind me of the life of women in more conservative denominations and make me grateful for my own denomination,” says Spooner.

Suzanne Smitherman ’70 When Suzanne Smitherman ’70 and her husband Gene both entered seminary at The School of Theology at the University of the South in 1993, they knew they had their work cut out for them, especially with three children.

Luckily, says Smitherman, “God doesn’t call one out on a limb and cut if off. In retrospect, our lifestyle change, moving and going to school worked out incredibly well.”

Now the Assistant Rector at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Chattanooga, Smitherman affirms that her leap of faith – so to speak – has certainly proven to be worth it. “I love the variety in the work of a parish priest. No day is the same.

The most fulfilling work is with people coming to new faith or newly finding their place in our church after feeling out of sync with another church that doesn’t fit their understanding of God and how God works in the world.

And it is a privilege to be asked into people’s lives at critical points in the joy of birth, the challenges of life, the uncertainty of sickness and the finality of death. People honor us as they allow us in to represent God and

For students and alumnae considering a path in the ministry, these women offer sage advice.

“The church is in a challenging and unique place right now. We are being challenged to seek new and innovative ways of doing ministry in this new century. I would encourage [students] to find a mentor that can pray with and for them as they discern their life calling. If their denomination ordains women, I would encourage them to begin the conversation with the leadership of their particular church as well as their higher governing body,” counsels Spooner.

“To all students I would say follow your love of learning in high school and college and study a variety of disciplines.

You cannot know where life will lead,” says Smitherman. “Also. in any profession a woman needs to know how to write a good paragraph, think critically, look at a budget, negotiate a salary, and find her own voice.

That’s a lot to learn, but you don’t want to depend on other people to do these things for you. Trust your voice and be open to other voices leading you into new places. You may be led by the Holy Spirit of God to serve in ways that you never imagined. Find your place where your joy meets the needs of the world. If you feel called to ordained ministry at this point, keep saying your prayers and see where God and life will lead you to serve.”

Above anything, these women’s experiences illustrate what can be achieved simply by believing in yourself and going where one is called with no regard to naysayers. “I love remembering being told I couldn’t be a pastor and seeing where I am now, and I love remembering the many people who supported me along the way,” Stephens-Reed concludes.

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a lumnae I the ministry

the Church in prayer and holy listening during these critical times of life,” explains Smitherman.

When reflecting on women in the Church, Smitherman affirms that the disparities and challenges in the ministry have undoubtedly diminished in her fifteen years of service in the Episcopal Church. She does not, however, dismiss that salaries and opportunities for senior positions, such as rector of a large church, are not always equally obtainable. “It happens, but still in small numbers. In the Church it is called ‘breaking the stained glass ceiling.’ It gets broken, but not often enough,” Smitherman says.

“

In the church

salaries and opportunity advancements are called ‘breaking the stained glass ceiling.’ It gets broken, but not often

”

enough.

Suzanne Smitherman ’70

Smitherman relishes the opportunity to be a female voice in the pulpit.

Earlier in her career in the ministry, Smitherman served as a Sunday Supply Priest, preaching in various churches in East Tennessee. “I found that I was the first woman priest to preach and celebrate the Eucharist at some of these churches,” recalls Smitherman, who found for the most part that congregations were extremely accepting. “Some women were very moved. They came to me to say that they had waited all their lives to hear a woman’s voice preach the Gospel.

“I have enjoyed finding my voice and rhythm of preaching,” says Smitherman. I do not apologize for my images and illustrations from a woman’s world. For most of my life, I heard the Gospel proclaimed with images from football and foxholes, and it is okay for me to speak from a woman’s world as well.”

Smitherman acknowledges that not all Episcopalians embrace women being ordained. “I have had men walk out of a service when I am to celebrate the Eucharist. One challenge in that is not

20

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to take it personally. I think of it as a general opposition to the concept of women’s ordination and not a personal affront to me. Fortunately it is by far the exception among congregations I’ve served.”

Speaking of adversity that exists outside of her own denomination, Smitherman recalls, “I have had spoken opposition and exclusion from conservative Protestant denominations within local ecumenical settings. In one local effort, not in Chattanooga, it became clear that as the only ordained woman in that county, I would not be allowed to serve alongside the men on a certain project. My Episcopal clergy colleagues stood with me by refusing to participate under such restrictions to my ministry.”

While it certainly comes with challenges, paving the way for women in the ministry, particularly in small rural towns, has not come without laughable moments. Once while Smitherman was checking out at the supermarket, the young fellow bagging her groceries, obviously a bit perplexed by her clerical collar and black garb, asked, “What are you, a nun or somethin’?” At least he was in the ballpark.

Laura Stephens-Reed ’95 As an Intentional Interim Associate Minister, Laura Stephens-Reed ’95 has served in myriad churches over the past nine years across several denominations, including Baptist, United Methodist, Presbyterian and Disciples of Christ. But no matter which pulpit she is preaching behind, Stephens-Reed, who stands just under five feet tall, can always be found atop a box that a family friend handcrafted for her chapel talk 16 years ago.

At GPS, Stephens-Reed competed in forensics tournaments, traveled with the basketball team as a statistician, and played one of the lead roles in The Odd Couple with co-star Meghan O’Hara Murray ’95. Later as an undergraduate at the University of Tennessee, Stephens-Reed found it difficult to narrow her diverse academic interests. “In college it was murky for a while - I was so curious about so many different areas of study. When I landed in the College Scholars program at UT - a program that allowed me to design my own interdisciplinary major of psychology, religious studies, classics, English, and history - I started to get clarity,” Stephens-Reed explains.

Stephens-Reed, who first sensed a call to the ministry in high school, initially pushed it to the back burner when a leader at her church quickly dismissed her attempts to explore and discuss that path because she was female.

“I buried the feeling for a while, but ultimately I couldn’t deny it. The College Scholars program allowed me to develop the theological, political, and cultural understandings of ministry and its challenges so that my head and heart eventually go to the same place,” recalls Stephens-Reed.

This clarity led Stephens-Reed to the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, and she was ordained on June 1, 2002. Nine years later, Stephens-Reed currently serves as the Intentional Interim Associate Minister at First Christian Church, a congregation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), in Huntsville, Alabama.

to “focus more on the work of ministry than fighting the battle to be in ministry. I will say that I have been very fortunate in my experiences - both finding positions and acceptance by the congregations that I’ve served,” she reflects. That being said, StephensReed feels that the playing field still is not entirely level. Specifically, she explains, “it is more difficult for women to secure solo and senior pastor positions, especially at larger churches.”

Beyond gaining acceptance and rising through the ranks of the ministry, Stephens-Reed emphasizes that balancing ministry and family is particularly challenging. “The old model of ministry was to be available 24/7/365, no matter what was going on in your personal life. The newer, healthier model is to be available but to set personal boundaries as well, thus being an example for your parishioners on taking Sabbath and listening to the needs of your body and spirit. Plenty of people still expect the old model, though, and I find I expect it of myself and have to be very intentional about my schedule and working through guilt when I leave work ‘early’ or choose not to attend a meeting,” Stephens-Reed explains.

“Ministry is difficult work, exhausting on every level, but I can’t imagine doing anything else,” Stephens-Reed affirms. Despite its innate challenges, she finds her vocation incredibly rewarding. “People let you into their lives at their most vulnerable point and trust you to provide care and the assurance that God is present in celebration and grief. It’s a great privilege,” she observes.

Photo Courtesy of Patricia McCarter

“

A leader at

my church quickly dismissed my attempts to explore a call to the ministry because I was

”

a female.

Laura Stephens-Reed ’95

Reflecting on the subject of women in the ministry, Stephens-Reed credits earlier generations of women for blazing the trail for her contemporaries

No Limits I Prepared for Life

21

p rograms I summer camp

by Katie Archambault, GPS Assistant Librarian

Summer CAMPS Celebrate 38th Year New class offerings in the works for June 2012

W

hen you think back to the summers of your youth, what comes to mind?

Were you tromping through woods, building forts, wading through creeks?

Maybe you were riding your bike until your Mom called you in for dinner or the streetlights came on, whichever came first. Or maybe, just maybe, your fond memories take you back to a special summer camp that you attended.

Recently, I asked my colleagues what came to mind when they reflected on their own summer camp experiences. Many of them recalled giggling around a campfire, telling spooky stories, singing songs; some even slept out under the stars.

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“

Camps truly

do leave a lasting

There were bunk mishaps, rainy days, crafts, and canoeing. Really, though, there was one universal response: camp was where friends were made, independence was established, and a sense of self was created. Counselors were fun, songs were sung, new skills were learned (who knew we had so many skilled archers on campus?!), but the lifelong friendships that were forged is what folks are still recalling with a smile that can be felt even through email.

The excitement that GPS Reading Specialist Rebecca Davenport exudes when asked about her memories of summer camp is palpable. She recalls songs starting down at the lake and being picked up by groups doing various activities across the campgrounds–an unintentional round of song. She also recalls getting to experience a phenomenon known as “gutter sundaes”–fifty feet of roofing gutters filled with ice cream and all the fixings. She writes, “Each girl had a spoon and we all made ourselves sick!”

As an adult, she still maintains several friendships that were forged at this camp.

Eighth grade science teacher Pamela Wilson grew up in Canada and recalls the variety of camps she attended.

“Horseback riding, basketball, art, swimming, and soccer camps galore, but my favorite was a summer singing camp in Camrose, Alberta.” The assortment of camps that Wilson attended will come as no surprise to those who know her best and who appreciate the Renaissance woman – the science teacher, soccer coach, 8th grade team leader, SACS committee member, Faculty Committee and Science Olympiad coach – that she has become!

The theory that camp experiences do much to shape who we become as individuals was confirmed by a study conducted by the American Camp Association (ACA) in 2005. A first of its kind, this study included over 5,000 families within 80 ACA-accredited camps.

The results, shared here from the acacamps.org website, were astounding.

impression on our kids, and GPS camps are no exception.

”

Kim Leffew Summer Camp Director

Check out the 2012 Summer Programs choices on the GPS website.

No Limits I Prepared for Life

23

p rograms I summer camp

Camp experiences do much to shape who we become as individuals.

Parents, camp staff, and children reported significant growth in:

• Self-esteem • Peer relationships • Independence • Adventure and exploration • Leadership • Environmental awareness • Friendship skills • Values and decisions • Social comfort • Spirituality

Do the aforementioned skills sound familiar to you? They should! To me, they describe the portrait of a GPS graduate. Not only are we working on these very things throughout the school year on this campus, but Kim Leffew is leading the charge to do this every summer with children who may one day become GPS girls.

In addition to our usual Camp Kaleidoscope, Bruiser Camp, and athletic camp offerings, there are some amazing experiences in the works over here. Picture the infamous Mrs. Bolden leading a troupe of aspiring

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actors, from nine-year-olds to college age, in what’s sure to be an amazing theatre workshop. Renee Romero, Math Specialist in the Learning Center, is leading a “Ready, Set, Go…Math!” camp where rising 1st through 4th graders will move from classroom centers to activities around campus really experiencing math. They might study measurements through cooking or the radius of a sprinkler while frolicking through one. If anyone can make math fun, it is Mrs. Romero!

Is your daughter’s nose always in a book? My Reading Around the World camp was so much fun last summer, I am offering it again! Rising 5th, 6th, and 7th grade girls will get to explore countries through fiction set there, and they will learn about their culture, make crafts, and enjoy snacks all inspired by that day’s country. Last summer we even got to visit the Teen Stacks of the public library, we had a sparkling grape juice and cheese party when we studied France, and we learned a fun Bollywood style dance from Nisha Boyington ’11 when we explored India!

Is there an American Girl fan in your family? Rising 1st through 3rd graders will meet in the morning, 4th through 6th in the afternoon, for a remarkable camp experience where they will explore friendship, giving back, and providing service to their community.

Girls will be invited to bring a doll of their choice and will be building a biography for that doll throughout the week. They are going to love this!

For those service-oriented older girls, History Chair, County Historian, and Hamilton County Habitat Chair Linda Mines will be taking a group of rising 9th-12th graders to work on a Habitat Appalachia project in Scott County, Tennessee.

For the crafty, there is card making with Pamela Wilson. Rising 7th grade girls through adults will delve into the craft of card making: from hand-drawn to stamping to painting. Another class that will appeal to both daughters and mothers is a planned Hunter Safety Course certification and archery class.

Maybe your child is already an athlete?

Many of our athletic camps are led by State Championship-winning coaches.

Susan Crownover has won with both softball and basketball; Paul Brock, with volleyball; Sue Bartlett, our tennis coach, is also a Great Britain Senior World Champion. An experienced runner will be leading a running camp, and Leland Strang, an awesome soccer coach in her 2nd season with GPS, will be offering a soccer camp.

“

GPS always felt like home. In

fact, I am sure that my days of summer camp made it much easier to transition

”

to GPS in the 7th grade.

Jill Pala ’97

Celebrating her 38th birthday this year, the GPS Summer Camp Program is in no way suffering a mid-life crisis… in fact, she’s picking up speed. The campus is literally crawling with action and excitement all summer long. We welcome campers from near and far, having hosted girls from France alongside

ones from our surrounding neighborhood.

Will your grandchildren be coming to stay with you this summer? Would you like to share with them a slice of your GPS experience? Consider sending them to one of our day camps! They are sure to leave happy, though exhausted.

Camps truly do leave a lasting impression on our kids, and GPS camps are no exception. Tech teacher Jill Pala ’97 grew up attending our camps and recalls that “GPS always felt like home. In fact, I am sure that my days of summer camp made it much easier to transition to GPS in the 7th grade.” If your child’s goal for the summer is to have fun and your goal is to pair fun with character building, selfesteem, friendships, and a sense of service, then GPS camps are the place to be!

Registration is online at: www.gps.edu/pages/Summer-Programs *Academic classes listed online as well.

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a thletics Four GPS Athletes Ink Scholarships Two basketball and two softball standouts have committed to play at the college level.

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1. A number of seniors will be signing to continue their sports in the college ranks next year. Already this past fall, four with multiple state championship credentials in softball and basketball have made their plans official with athletic signing celebrations. Jeneh Perry, a three-sport athlete, signed to play basketball for Division I Loyola University, Maryland, on the same day that teammate Chadarryl Clay made official this past summer’s verbal commitment to play point guard for Auburn University.

2. Madison Boyd, a center fielder for the Bruisers, signed

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papers to play softball at East Tennessee State University. Amy Campbell ’08 and Jackie Baird ’10 currently play for ETSU. 3. Softball infielder Morgan Lane will be joining the Covenant College Lady Scots next year. Both Lane and Boyd were named to the 2011 Tennessee Sports Writers Association all-state softball team.

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“Two words that I believe adequately sum up the 2011 soccer team would be competitive and relentless,” says Coach Leland Strang. Simone Busby, pictured above, was a force as a goalkeeper for the 8-7 Bruisers that advanced to the first round of the state playoffs.

Busby, a senior, was chosen for Guyana’s U20 Women’s National Soccer Team and competed in the World Cup

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Qualifying Stage I. Other seniors on the team were Olivia Fine, Mary Woodruff Griffin, and Kelsey Keef.

4. “The golf team finished a season of hard work and dedication with a well-deserved trip to the state golf tournament,” says Coach Ryan Kopet. After tying the final round of the region tournament, the girls won a playoff to advance to state. Celebrating their teamwork and positive thinking are, from left, Ashley Landguth, Parker Mallchok, Coach Kopet, Caroline Novkov, and Caroline Stitts.

5. The first weekend of November, the crew team competed in the Head of the Hooch, the second largest regatta in the nation. At the Hooch, the Varsity 8 finished 23rd out of 60 schools from across the country, and the Varsity 4s placed 28th and 49th out of 80 boats. All of the boats beat all of Baylor’s boats, setting up an exciting race for the Carney Cup in April. “I am proud of how far the girls have come this season,” says Coach Christine van der Meer. Varsity begins indoor rowing competitions at the end of January. Members of the Varsity 4 boat are sophomore Morgan Ball, seniors Tru Taylor and Sarah Shaw, sophomore Bailey Wood, and senior Emma Brooks. Rissa Tolf is the other senior on varsity.

6. With a team quote of “In It to Win It,” the volleyball team won the 25th Choo-Choo Volleyball Classic and finished 5th in the state, beating Baylor twice. Junior Sadie Lett, pictured left, and senior Tory Kemp, to her right, were named All-Region, and both also made the Best of Preps team, Kemp on the first team and Lett on the second. Coach Paul Brock won his 700th volleyball game as the Bruisers’ coach. Finishing their volleyball career this fall, in addition to Kemp, were Finley Bandy, Jeneh Perry, and Mary Margaret Taylor.

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a thletics

7. The cross country team finished ninth at the state cross country championships in early November. Led by sophomore Lucy Whitfield and junior Courtney Eden, the team’s hopes for a higher placing were compromised by injuries in the last three weeks of the season. “Leading up to the epidemic, the team made consistent and steady progress during the course of the season,” says Coach Jeff Gaither, naming the second place finish at the A. F. Bridges Classic the season’s highlight. Pictured from that meet are, front row from left, Ragan Foley, Lucy Whitfield, Maddie Ward, Raven Broom, Rebecca Jenkins, Katherine Estep, and Hannah Thel. On the back row are Madison Watson, Madeline MacLean, Tara Shanahan, Corbin Cullum, Nicki Givens, Maddie Bratcher, Mary Portera, Jordan Malone, Courtney Edens, and Jane Jestus.

News from the Middle School

News from the College World

Cross Country coach Tony Horton attended the Middle School state championship meet with the two Bruisers who qualified. On the left is sixth grader Mary Margaret Arrowsmith, and on the right is seventh grader Lea Mulligan.

Coach Nelia Sage sums up the Middle School soccer program as a great fall season.

“We had 40 girls come out for try-outs and had three teams: Black, Blue, and White,” she says. The Black team finished the season with a winning record of 7-1-4, and the Blue team finished with a record of 2-7. Akia Harris was the Black team’s number one goal scorer with a total of 20 goals for the season. Lucy St. Charles was the most valuable defender and scored several goals of her own. Sage says that the girls “gave 110% in our first matchup against Baylor.” Down by two goals at half time, they came back to tie the game. “I could not have been prouder of their performance and commitment that day. Even though we had a young team, our three 8th graders provided the necessary leadership to bring the team together.”

Middle School softball coach Lindsey Permar credits her young team with “earnest determination throughout the season.” With a season record of 5-7, the team was made up of more sixth graders than seventh or eighth. Coach Permar reports that Brooke Parrott pitched every inning of every game except for the ASA Tournament at Warner Park, where Emily Burns—the first basemen—helped out on the mound.

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At press time, the University of Tennessee volleyball team had wrapped up the SEC championship. One of their players, junior Jasmine Brown ’09, notched a career-best against the University of Alabama with three aces of the six total made by the Lady Vols. (Photo courtesy of the UTK Athletic Dept.)

Promotional material for the Sun Belt Conference Soccer Championship featured a photo of MTSU player Charity Blair ’08.

At the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs, Johanna Gartman ’11 is a member of the Elite Triathlon Academy and trains with the best runners in the country. At the USAT Junior Elite National Championship in San Diego in early August, she finished third, allowing her to claim the final ITU Junior World qualifying spot and race in Beijing, China, which has been her goal for three years.

a round school Hats, Habitat, and Halloween Wherever one looked this past fall, she could see GPS students serving the Chattanooga community. Whether collecting hats for cancer patients at T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital or joining the city’s Clean and Green team sprucing up the streets on a Saturday, making a difference seemed to be the theme.

Senior Paige Carmichael won for best costume in the Upper School when she dressed as the Cow Who Jumped over the Moon. The Halloween Contest required an entry fee, a new or gently-used children’s book for the youngest readers at Shepherd’s Arms Rescue Mission for homeless women and children in Chattanooga’s inner city.

Even the faculty got into the act of raising money for Habitat for Humanity.

Kyle Widmer Morris ’98 left the safety of her Spanish classroom to be a target for pie throwing at the Robin Hood fundraiser supported by both McCallie and GPS. The coordinate build this year is the 13th constructed jointly by the schools.

Kudos to Faculty

Problem Solver Katie Archambault, GPS Assistant Librarian, received the 2011 Innovative Library Media Award from the Tennessee Association of School Librarians at the TASL annual conference in October.

Archambault’s award was for her “outstanding, creative” program related to The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

by William Kamkwamba.

Archambault says she developed last year’s award-winning program around the book because she believed the story “gives the reader a global perspective, touches on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects, and demonstrates how non-fiction can be equally as enthralling as fiction.” Last August, she had the opportunity to meet the author when he visited GPS.

A Stand Out in Math Xiaoshuang (Cheryl) Yin, an international student completing her senior year at GPS, placed as a top-50 winner in the multiple-choice portion of the Pro2Serve Math Contest sponsored by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

She competed against students from across the state (24 from GPS), and by virtue of her placement, continued in the competition that, according to UTK, demands “uncommon creativity and originality in problem solving.”

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a round school

Super

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Six seniors were recognized as Semifinalists or Commended Students in the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Program which recognized their exceptional academic promise.

Seniors Hannah Mask and Sarah Shaw were named National Merit Semifinalists and continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarships that will be offered next spring.

Honored as Commended Students were Raewyn Duvall, Katherine Johnson, Anne Jestus, and Maggie Venable, pictured left to right in the group photo.

GPS Headmaster Randy Tucker recognized the seniors at assembly for their “natural gifts, grit, and hard work.”

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natural gifts, grit, and hard work.

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n ew to

G PS

Five new faculty members joined the GPS community this fall, one fresh out of college and others with varying years of experience.

Guiding students in and out of the classrooms are, seated, Brooks Imel, history; Sally Harwell Spraker ’89, science; and Brianne Roddy, world languages. Standing are Lindsey Permar, English; and Doug Moser, math.

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GPS – A Family Place Faculty and staff are hoping that fall’s Ice Cream Social for their families will become a tradition. Joining their moms this year for multiple flavors were babies through GPS juniors.

English department head Katy Berotti attended with her daughter, sixth grader Blythe May ’18.

Jennifer McClelland, math teacher, brought her new baby, Reese.

Science teacher Tracie Marlin Durham ’80 helped scoop with her daughter Rachel ’13.

Busy Season for Model UN Among the many girls active in Model UN, this group traveled to Georgia Tech to participate in one of the year’s first events. The two-day conference included 1000 students from 43 schools. At Model UN events, the students focus on diplomacy, really understanding global issues, and knowing how to work in committee.

Their ambitious schedule last semester also included the Southeastern High School Model UN conference in Chattanooga, in which GPS senior Mary Margaret Groves was the Undersecretary and the GPS delegation representing the UK won the coveted Best Delegation Award among 43 other groups.

Pictured on the front row, from left, are Christine Lau, Lauchlan Davis, Meghna Talluri, Beenish Kamran, and Unsa Shafi.

In the back are Libby Givens, Rachel Davis, Megan Rohn, Lia Stamey, Becky Gardner, and Malia West.

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a round school

Expanded Horizons Eight 7th graders attended a STEM conference for girls last October and came home with what one mom said was a “renewed excitement.” Sponsored by the National Girls Collaborative Project, National Science Foundation, MTSU’s Women in Science and Engineering, and the Women in STEM Center, 24 hands-on workshops for middle and high school students were designed to motivate young women to become interested in future careers in science and mathematics.

Each girl participated in three of the workshops offered at the conference on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University. They received glimpses into STEM careers through workshops such as Adventures in Animation, Colorific Chemistry, Electrifying Fun with Circuits, Menacing Microbes, The Math of Project Runway, and Moon Buggies, among many others. Hundreds of Tennessee girls attended the event designed to inspire future passions in a STEM career. One organization, GRITS – Girls Raised in Tennessee, believes that science, technology, engineering, and math are a “new Southern tradition.”

Attendees included, left to right on the front row, Jennifer Brockman, Emma Rowell, Hannah Brotton, and Lillith Allbright. On the second row are Amelia Land, Isabella Cornea, Leah Baxter, and Lori Baxter.

Veterans Day Tributes In honor of Veterans Day, GPS always decorates the campus with American flags lining the sidewalks. This year, 11/11/11, there were a number of activities that honored servicemen and women. Students designed and decorated door signs for veterans at several area nursing homes and over 800 cards were sent to VA hospitals in Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. A star-spangled Wall of Honor in the Rotunda listed the names of students’ and faculty’s family members who served in the military. Thanks to the efforts of Key Club and Jr. American Citizenship club members, Chattanooga churches rang their steeple bells at 11:11 a.m. in honor of the veterans. GPS history classes also honored the moment in class with silent prayers of thanks. Over 100 veterans joined students for lunch in the Caldwell Commons and GPS’ own Vietnam veteran, Headmaster Randy Tucker, was a guest speaker for the 11th and 12th grades.

Salutes Top: Seventh grader Mary Jane Clower brought her father, Lea Clower, Jr. and grandfather, Lea Clower, Sr. to the luncheon.

Bottom: Mary Lillian Tessman, president of the Junior American Citizens, and Meg Winchester didn’t have family members in the service, so they asked Headmaster Randy Tucker to be their guest veteran.

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• Flag-lined sidewalks • Nursing home decorations • Cards, prayers and church bells • Lunch with veterans

m emorium tribute: Mary Becking Smith McCain ’38 A former student’s memories of Mary Stewart Becking Smith McClain ’38 I vividly remember Mary Stewart Smith standing at the front of my Ninth Grade Latin II Class, bright-eyed and upbeat. She was always “dressed to the nines.” When one of my classmates commented that she never wore the same outfit twice, she cheerfully explained that her husband owned a clothing store and she was able to get some great deals. I thought she was so “with it.”

A GPS graduate in the Class of ’38, Mary Stewart often shared stories of her days at GPS both as a student and young teacher. The year before she married, she taught music and directed Glee Club, with my mom as a member. In a recent interview with Rickie Pierce, Mary Stewart shared that school was dismissed so that everyone could attend her wedding to Alfred Smith. She was the first teacher I had who regularly recited Miss Duffy’s favorite saying about gum chewing: “The only difference in a gum-chewing girl and a cud-chewing cow that fate will allow is the intelligent look on the face of the cow.”

Mary Stewart brought the real world into her classroom, sharing the birth of her grandchildren and stories of Signal Mountain, where she lived her entire life. When Judy Willett ’69 came to visit her one day, Mary Stewart turned over the classroom to her. Judy had just graduated from Vanderbilt and told us how well prepared she was for college and how Latin had vastly improved her vocabulary – something I definitely needed to hear, as I muddled through “amo, amas, amat.” I will never forget the extra time that Mary Stewart spent with me that year. I simply could not get Latin. My good memory had She clearly loved GPS and was willing gotten me through Latin I, to give her time to it – far beyond her but the next year I was simply twenty-one years as a teacher. unable to grasp the full usage of the language. I remember reading a progress report that said that I was “conscientious,” however my Latin grade was not reflecting how much she knew I was trying. Thank goodness she understood! During help class much more than once a week and even after school, she gave me the extra attention I needed. I miraculously squeaked through the year.

After Mary Stewart retired from GPS in 1986, she stayed very connected to the school, attending activities in which her four granddaughters participated, serving as her Class Agent when it came time for annual contributions, and playing the piano for the Founders Club. A few times she played the GPS Commencement response “O come let us sing” for which she had written the words. She clearly loved her school and was willing to give her time to it – far beyond her twenty-one years as a teacher.

Class Act Graduated from GPS in 1938 Married Alfred Smith Taught Ninth Grade Latin II Dressed to the nines Wrote: “O come let us sing” Contributed to the community

When I sat in the pew at Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church this past September and listened to all the funny yet loving stories about this remarkable woman, I realized just how much she contributed to her community, her church, and her friends and family, as well as to GPS. It was clear to me that I was not the only person to whom she had given so much of herself and her time. There was a church packed to the brim with them! Appropriately, her family had planned for the service to close with “O come let us sing.” Although I was the only one in the back section of the church who knew the words and the tune, sing I did, thinking of my friend Mary Stewart!

– Maria Kain Matthews ’75

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weddings 1994 Sarah Whitney Durand to Peter Harrison McGuigan

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1996 Hope McCracken Howick to Michael William Shelton 1998 Betsy Caldwell to Ben Cake 1999 Helen Kay Joujan to Marian Claudius Mertens Keli M. Turner to Antonio M. Haynes 2000 Briana Kathleen Howard to James Robert Vastano

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Meredith McKay Whitaker to Drew Reid Kinney 2001 Annie Eluned Hale to Jimmy Swansbrough Brooke Allison Hixon to Jonathan Hugh Pribble Stacy Lynn McCord to Andrew Hillhouse Sartoris Brittany LeAnn Ragsdale to Shaun Michael Patterson Emily Sheridan Woods to Robert Daniel “Dan” Schultz 2002 Barbara Ann Sumrall to Eric Michael Sanders Megan Williams to Alan Webb Stimpson

3 1. Emily Gatlin ’05 was married last summer to Andrew Halcomb, a fellow UTK graduate. (More on Emily in Alum News.) 2. When Molly Molina ’94 married Taylor Crawford in Atlanta last year, McCallie and GPS graduates attended. Pictured with Molly are Julian Kirk ’92, Elizabeth Berman Lovell ’94, Sendil Krishnan ’92, and Beth Gaston Moon ’92. 3. Stacy McCord ’01 and her new husband, Andrew Sartoris, married last fall at the same church where her grandparents took their vows over 50 years ago. The couple is now in Atlanta, where she works at Emory University. In a photo with GPS friends and classmates are, from left, in front, Mandy Morgan Colvin ’00 and Lauren Worley Knauth ’00. In the back are Tiffany Simms ’03, Lindsay Hancock Elliott ’00, the bride, Rachel Donahue ’01, Jennie Bowers Stevens ’01, and Priscilla Simms ’00. (photo compliments of Erin Lee) 4. On a beautiful June day in upstate New York, Sarah Durand ’94 married Peter Harrison McGuigan. “We had a small country wedding,” said Sarah, “and we even had a bald eagle sitting high up in a tree watching the ceremony.”

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2003 Stephanie Baker to William Montgomery Alexia Mena to Kevin Loughman Blaes Marie Schmissrauter to Matthew Peter Green Kristen Schmits to Ernesto Gavilanes Trisha Shah to Raymond Dudlo

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2004 Ann Renee Royal to Thomas “Tom” Jay Cupo 2005 Elizabeth Connor Brooks to Pete Overbeek Amanda Kate Hetzel to Ryan Lawrence Wallace

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5. Lauren Rogers ’05 and Zac Cavitt (McCallie ’05) wed in July with many of their classmates in attendance.

From left are Elle Wiggins ’10, Heather Daniel ’11, Jack Williamson ’08, Travis Bond ’06, Lizzy Gregory ’07, Jessica Rogers ’07, Gabrielle Sobel ’08, Kelsey Williams ’05, Alex Cavitt ’10, the bride and groom, Tyler Evatt ’06, Sarah Evatt ’11, and Meredith Neal ’05. 6. In October Trisha Shah ’03, second from left, and Raymond Dudlo were married in Evansville, Indiana, where they both practice law. Classmates present for the nuptials were, from left, Amanda Youell, Lauren Smith, and Rebecca Taylor. 7. Tyler Thurston ’02 and Will Jeffrey’s wedding last March was at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Chattanooga. Courtney Gray Donley ’03 was one of

Julia Alison Ramsey to Andrew Donald Tharp Lauren Elizabeth Rogers to Zachary Andrew Cavitt Katie Youell to Brian Andrew Sloan 2006 Elizabeth Cahill Morton to Alan Doak Mary Carlie Vaughn to Braun Price Corbitt

her bridesmaids. Tyler’s hoping to gain her master’s of science in applied meteorology this year and has been a great substitute in some GPS science classes.

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babies 1

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1993 Frances Moore Graham a daughter, Parker Ellis 1996 Rachel Monroe Cohen a daughter, Reagan Elizabeth Anna Schwartz Eady a daughter, Wynn Schwartz 1997 Betsey Evans Kates a daughter, Eleanor Evans

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Suzanne Mize Hallman a daughter, Lucille “Lucy” Suzanne Emmie Wayland Treadwell a daughter, Margaret “Mamie” Wayland 1998 Dara Davis Bechtol a daughter, Tallulah Marie 1999 Millie Henry Sanders a daughter, Constance “Connie” Ann

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Jordan Robinson Yarbrough a daughter, Randall Robinson Claudia McCall Polancich a son, William McCall 2001 Aden Rogers St. Charles a daughter, Mabry James Emily Yates Nelligan a son, Reid Warrenfells

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1. Brother Gus welcomed Margaret June into the family of Beth Creswell Wilson ’96 and husband Zac. 2. Lucy Mize was born at the end of August to Suzanne Mize Hallman ’97 and her husband Ben. Suzanne says that when she “runs out of lullabies,” she sings GPS songs to her. “She loved the alma mater,” she reports. 3. Conrad Hudson Wingfield was born last March to Meg Settle Wingfield ’02 and husband Jared, making it three boys for the young couple who’ve only recently moved back to Chattanooga. Hudson’s brothers are Kingston and Alder. 4. This precious gift is Randall Robinson Yarbrough, daughter of Jordan Robinson Yarbrough ’99 and husband John. 5. Tegan Margaret, baby daughter of Karisa Johns Smith ’03 and husband Johnmark, was the youngest grad student in her mom’s clinical psychology program. She attended classes with Karisa at two weeks to three months. Mom, not daughter, is currently in a doctoral program. 6. Millie Henry Sanders ’99 and her husband Adam took both of their girls, Connie and Beatrice, shopping for pumpkins.

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2002 Meg Settle Wingfield a son, Conrad Hudson 2003 Kristin Elizabeth Morrison a son, Griffin Clark Wendy Newton Nesmith a son, Benjamin “Ben” Eli Karisa Johns Smith a daughter, Tegan Margaret 2004 Ashley Michaels Lewis a son, Kevin Kitman “Kit,” Jr. 2010 Nina Marie Criscuoli a daughter, Ava

t rivia

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Test Your Knowledge of GPS The GPS Facebook page has been running Tuesday Trivia questions about the school on a semi-regular basis. For all of our alumnae who aren’t on FB and want to see how much they know about their alma mater, see if you can answer these questions. (Answers found on page 14.)

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What are the school’s colors and when were they adopted?

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What was the first athletic team to be established at GPS?

The acronym SHAPE stands for what?

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What two women stepped in as interim headmistresses upon the retirements of Miss Duffy and Miss Jarnagin?

What was the original name of the River Review?

What was the original standard for electing the May Queen?

When was the Senior Lounge established?

What are the class nicknames? We’ll give you a hint, Sixth Grade Babies & Seventh grade Darlings...

What year did GPS start a coordinate program with McCallie?

What was the name of the school’s 1st newspaper?

Who is the most tenured current faculty member?

When was the last time GPS won a TN state basketball title?

Who was the sculptor of “the Naiads”?

When was Terpsichord founded, and by whom?

In what year did GPS become the 1st laptop program in TN?

What year did GPS adopt the traditional uniform… winter uniform?

How many buttons are on the front of the summer uniform?

Once your class reaches its 50th reunion, of what club do you become a member?

Who was the interim Headmistress between Dr. Paul Bode and Nat Hughes?

What club was the origin for today’s Robin Hood fundraiser?

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Dated Material

Where does she go from here?

Anywhere she wants.

GPS…a setting that challenges college-bound girls and provides a path for academic success.

G I R L S P R E PA R AT O RY S C H O O L 4 2 3. 6 3 4 . 76 4 4 • W W W. G P S . E D U Girls Preparatory School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin in any of its policies, practices or procedures.