Students Selected to 78th Round Table
Sixteen seniors have been selected to the school’s 78th Round Table. According to retired English and history instructor Bill Cushman ’59, the Round Table was founded in the fall of 1942 by Headmaster Herb Barks, Sr., English instructor Jim Hitt, and Latin instructor James A. Pennington, who distinguished himself as its leader and deserves the credit for the Round Table reaching the stature that it has enjoyed for decades as one of Baylor’s highest honors. Round Table members for 2019-20 are (front row, left to right) Leah Kessler, (president); Zoe Ubamadu, Max Montague, Thomas Nimon, Ridley Browder, (secretary); Ben Sparkman, and Sophie Workinger; (back row) Sarah Rutledge, Anika Iqbal, Grace Bostock, Maggie Clark, Gabriella Lemus, Rachel Kleban, Maggie Kerley, Charlotte Wang, and Maddy Toledano, (vice president). English instructor Heather Ott serves as the group’s faculty adviser.
Honor Council Members Elected
In May 1916, the Baylor student body unanimously adopted the Honor Code and established the Honor Council. Members of Baylor’s 104th Honor Council, pictured above, are (front row, left to right) seniors Gracen Ford, Ridley Browder (secretary), Connor Duffy (chair), Lea Hunter (vice chair), and Leah Kessler; (second row) juniors Eli Bowen, Ashleigh Huang, Frances Brantley, and Emrick Garrett; (third row) freshman Shiloh Chamberlain, sophomore Spratt Allison, freshman Jeb Martin, and sophomores Angeli Romero and Brett Cooper.
Student Leadership Board Members Named
Congratulations to the 2019-20 Student Leadership Board members that include (front row, left to right) seniors Maddy Tindall, Grace Bostock, Kate King, Claire Austin, Rachel Kleban, and Lauren Hill; (second row) juniors Sam Christensen, Barry Yang, Haley Rice, Sierra Haberhern, Felipe Freitas, and Lydia Bohannon; (back row) sophomore Caleb Nunes; freshman Nora Redding; sophomores Maya Wiisanen, Couriyah Stegall, Caroline Renegar, and Georgia Wilson; and freshman Marguerite Pippenger.
Nine Seniors Earn National Merit Honors
Nine Baylor seniors have been named award winners in the 65th National Merit Scholarship Program by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC).
Thomas Nimon (pictured above, back row, far right) has been named a semifinalist, joining an elite group of over 80 Baylor students named National Merit semifinalists since 2007. Nimon was chosen based on his performance as a junior on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) that placed him among the 16,000 highest scorers nationwide of the 1.6 million students who took the test. Nimon will have the opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million that will be offered next spring.
In addition, eight Baylor seniors have been named NMSC Commended Students. Pictured above (front row, left to right) are Jade Liu, Sarah Rutledge, Mary Ma, Maddy Toledano; (back row) Kenny Zheng, Carson Brinn, Rex Zhu, and Connor Duffy, all of whom placed among the top 34,000 scorers throughout the U.S. and were recognized for their exceptional academic promise.
Baylor Players Present Pride and Prejudice Adaptation
Forty Baylor students made up the cast and crew of the Baylor Players’ fall production of Pride and Prejudice, a fast-paced and lively adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic story. The production featured seniors Elizabeth Van Deusen as Elizabeth Bennet and Nick Skonberg as Darcy. Seniors Charlotte Wang and Samara Crouse, sophomore Kara Anne Smith, and freshman Amanda Chen as her four sisters. Junior Elisabeth Lau starred as Miss Bennet’s match-making mother, and senior Sam Lustig, junior Steven Yao, and sophomore Ezra Marler appeared as an array of questionable suitors.
Vervé Presents Emerging Choreographers Showcase
Baylor dancers (pictured left to right) Maxime Werk ’20, Mary Alex Bachus ’21, Zoe Ubamadu ’20, Kendyl Baker ’22, Georgia Wilson ’22, and Melissa Armstrong ’22 performed choreography by guest artist Louis Marin-Howard at Chattanooga Dances! at the Center for Creative Arts in October. Chattanooga Dances! features the Chattanooga area’s non-profit dance companies and schools with full-time dance programs.
Baylor dance troupe Vervé presented its annual Emerging Choreographers Showcase in November, featuring choreography by students Bachus, Baker, Ubamadu, and Werk. The show also featured performances by the Baylor Dance Collective and the Upper School Choreography and Dance Studies class.
Baylor Choir News
(Left) Seven Upper School students participated in the Fall 2019 East Tennessee Vocal Association All-East Honor Choir. Pictured above are (front row, left to right) seniors Samara Crouse and Charlotte Wang; juniors Creighton Arrington and Dana Mays; (back row) freshmen Alexander Moyer, Shriyaa Srihari, and Meg Trammell.
(Right) Six Middle School students were part of the All-East Honor Choir. Pictured above are (left to right) eighth graders Gabe Daugherty, Pierce Grantham, and Abigail Teruya and seventh graders Katie Eller, Julia Gardner, and Bruna Monteiro.
Susan Miller Retires After 33 Years
Administrative assistant Susan Miller retired in November after serving the school for more than 33 years in multiple roles.
Her Baylor career began in 1986 in the development office where she served as the director of the annual fund for seven years and the director of parent and special programs for four more.
In 1997, she was appointed administrative assistant to assistant head of school Ned Murray ’79, and she continued in that role for assistant heads Michael McBrien and Shaw Wilson ’84. In addition to covering a myriad of behind-the-scenes tasks and responsibilities that kept Baylor running like clockwork, her constant warmth and welcoming presence in that office inspired students to nickname her the “hot chocolate lady,” referencing the cups of cocoa that she had ready on dreary winter days. In 2014, she transferred to a part-time administrative assistant position in the counseling office.
Perhaps Upper School dean of students Sharon Wang sums up Miller’s years at Baylor best. In a 2016 convocation speech, Wang described Miller as her personal hero and an individual of many talents. “Over the years, she has held many important positions at Baylor in many different areas. Besides the duties of her office, she managed an impressive array of projects…and kept many aspects of the school running smoothly for all of us – most of the time without others even being aware of what she was doing. Her mantra has always been ‘let me do that.’ Her motivation is never recognition or personal gain.”
In an email to faculty and staff, Miller stated that she considered it a blessing to work at Baylor. “The friendships and support that I have received (in sickness and in health) have meant more to me than my words can ever describe. I plan to find something to do that will be helpful to others, just as the school has been helpful to me over the years. A part of my heart will always be with Baylor.”
Miller’s daughter is Rosemary Kemp Gwin ’94.
Grounds Superintendent Lance Parker Retires
Lance Parker, Baylor’s superintendent of grounds for 22 years, announced his retirement in November.
An arborist by trade, Parker left a thriving landscaping business to take the job at Baylor where his responsibilities have ranged from preparing athletic fields to tree surgery. He has left an indelible mark on Baylor’s 690-acre campus with his care for existing landscape and the addition of some beautiful new features, culminating in the installation of grass and a new willow oak tree in the recently renovated Bullard Family Quadrangle in the heart of Baylor’s campus. During his career, Parker also became the de facto caretaker of wildlife on the campus, from Canada geese to wild deer, and has been the resident ornithologist for years.
His presence at Baylor football games, holding court on the bench in the west end of Heywood Stadium, makes it clear that his love for the campus has spilled over into a love for the school. “It never once bothered me to come to work,” Parker told Baylor magazine in 2014. “And it seems like I just got started.”
