Celebrating curiosity, kindness, and lifelong friendships at the 2025 Cum Laude assembly

It is easy to fall in love with Harpeth Hall’s campus in spring. Magnolia trees bloom on Souby Lawn, gardens burst with color, students paint landscapes outside the library and proudly harvest garlic they planted in science class. Harpeth Hall is an idyllic educational home for our students today.

Our alumnae will say, however, that what makes Harpeth Hall a home is more than the scenic beauty — it is the bonds they formed within the halls.

“What is it about this place?” asked Clark Elam Harwell ’90, middle school English teacher and the 2024 Lulu Hampton Owen Chair for Excellence in Teaching honoree, as she gave the Cum Laude assembly address.

“What is it about this place where women return — year after year, generation after generation?” Ms. Harwell pressed.

“Harpeth Hall alumnae gather in pairs and groups all over the world; They gather for coffee, drinks after work, and supper clubs in foreign cities. They network, volunteer, celebrate weddings and retirements, they call each other to congratulate one another about the birth of a child, or a career promotion. They support one another through loneliness and loss. They bring meals to classmates who are sick, and — just several weeks ago — we watched a group of alumnae return to this very stage to open a time capsule they packed 25 years ago.

“So, what is it about this place?”

Ms. Harwell saw the power of Harpeth Hall’s sisterhood through her grandmother, a Ward-Belmont graduate. When her grandmother’s health declined and she was unable to leave her room, two classmates visited her every week to play bridge, share the latest news, or simply be by her side.

“These women knew the ins and outs of each other's lives. They had celebrated endless milestones together and weathered their share of suffering and loss. A powerful unspoken force bound these 80-year-old women together,” Ms. Harwell said.

Looking out to the seniors in the front rows of the theatre, she added, “It is the kind of bond that I imagine many of you are feeling right now. An unspoken powerful force that you would be hard pressed to describe.”

In just over a month, the senior class will cross Souby Lawn to graduate and move on to the next chapter of their lives. They may be leaving the physical space, but the spirit of the school will stay with them through each step of life.

For senior Lily Bowen, her love of this place can be attributed to how the school allows students to explore.

Lily has always been curious. She was the kid who asked every adult around her a million questions. She would spend days poking around her backyard with a toy magnifying glass. When she was given timed multiplication quizzes in elementary school, she would return the sheet with her work clearly shown, offering multiple ways to find the solution, but without the actual answers on the page — she was much more interested in understanding how to do the math than memorizing facts.

Given her inquisitive nature, Lily always loved learning. At Harpeth Hall, she found a place to explore her ideas and engage purposefully with the world around her.

Now, president of the Cum Laude Society, Lily is headed to Brown University in the fall, where she will grow as a scholar and run for the school’s cross country team. Her parting challenge to younger students: Stay curious.

“You will not be a lifelong student, so you need curiosity to be a lifelong learner,” Lily said. “And the necessity of curiosity goes even further than that. Every innovation, invention, or discovery has come from someone being curious about something. … Curiosity is the foundation of progress. Curiosity, not achievement, is what ultimately advances our knowledge and moves the world forward.”

This April, Harpeth Hall’s chapter of the Cum Laude Society inducted 20 students whose curiosity and love of learning earned them recognition. Since its inception in 1906, the society has recognized scholastic achievement of students in secondary schools. The students honored show excellence in their academic success and display strength of character.

Ms. Harwell sees that strong character every day in the kindness and love she witnesses in the halls.

“That, I would argue, is what it is about this place,” Ms. Harwell concluded. “The love and friendship that last a lifetime."

After celebrating the newest Cum Laude inductees, students stood together, arm in arm, gently swaying as they sang the alma mater. In that moment, the strength of their sisterhood was clear.

2025 Inductees

 Juniors

• Narcissa Phillips Broome
• Zoë Eveland
• Erin Motte Fikri
• Kelty Rayne Jones
• Lulu Sheridan Kohler
• Neko Ray Bernard-Mannes
• Allyson Mao
• Charlotte Lily Mikos
• Eliana Slobey
• Harper Ivy Thompson
• Lane Tyler Williams

Seniors

• Sophia Elizabeth Baldwin
• Quinn Virginia Merlyn Erim
• Hallie Graham Gibson
• Addison Lea Heywood
• Anna Elizabeth Lamb
• Kate McNabb Leschen
• Carole Elizabeth Waltemath
• Ferrell Ann Wilson
• Sarah Ann Wojciechowski

Members on Course

 Students

• Lillian Bromfield Bowen
• Lucille Avery Farringer
• Elizabeth Pinner Lefler
• Ashley Anne Maliakal
• Reagan Corinne Nisbet
• Cailin Margaret Rork
• Ava Stewart Rumsey
• Ariadne Christina Vidalakis
• Lily Grace Wang
• Margaret Elizabeth Winston
• Elizabeth Jean Draper Witherspoon

Faculty

• Arthur Reeves Echerd, Jr.
• Ben Curtiss Fulwider
• Keely Ann Hendricks
• Jennifer Jean Jervis
• Michele Lynn O’Brien
• Randall Todd Pippenger
• Jacqueline O’Keefe Powers
• Rebecca Hopkin Smith
• Legare Davis Vest
• Robert English Womack