Student Leaders Chosen
Students Selected to 81st Round Table
The 15 members of Baylor’s Class of 2023 who have been selected for the school’s 81st Round Table are (front row, left to right) Lucy Good, Claire Holtzclaw, Sophia Baleeiro, Ally Creswell, Addison Johnson (secretary), Nora Redding, Shriyaa Srihari (president), Amanda Chen, (back row) Catherine Campbell, Owen McDaniel, Evelyn Stein, Kaan Volkan, Penelope Kwun, Madisen Williams, and Alia Sherrow (vice president). Founded in 1942, the prestigious literary discussion group emphasizes independent thought and lively debate. Selection to Round Table is among Baylor’s highest honors. English instructor Heather Ott serves as the group’s faculty adviser.
Honor Council Elected
Honor Council members elected by the student body for the 2022-23 school year are (front row, left to right) seniors Zachary Ubamadu, Marguerite Pippenger (chair), Mallory Alling (vice chair), Tony Zhang, and Jeb Martin (clerk); (back row) juniors Parker Tipps, Thomas Tipps, and Carter Garrett; sophomores Abigail Angel and Addi Greene; junior Ella Marks (secretary); sophomore Johnny Sutter, and freshmen William Hubbard and Henry Wang. Baylor’s Honor Code was adopted by the student body in May of 1916 and is a cornerstone of the school’s mission and values.
Student Leadership Board Elected
Congratulations to Upper School students who have been elected to the 2022-23 Student Leadership Board. Pictured are (front row, left to right) seniors Cullen Roberts, Helen Webb, KD Hill, Penelope Kwun, Noah Gravel, and Anne Russell Kibbe; (back row) juniors Mae Mae Powe, Julia McCracken, Olivia Cranford, and Sydney Harris; freshman Kate Haney; sophomores Avery Listen, Aly Sohani, and Tyler Rice; and freshman Mary Holmes Phillips. Not pictured are seniors Myers McLennan, Odin Phillips, and Porter Stinson, and juniors Blake Bogo and Elliott Surface.
Student Awards and Trips
Nine Seniors Earn National Merit Honors
Baylor senior Michael Xing has been named a National Merit semifinalist and is joined by eight classmates who have also been named award winners as commended students in the 68th National Merit Scholarship Program. Pictured are (front row, left to right) Shriyaa Srihari, Nora Redding, Penelope Kwun, Mimi Masson, Xing, (back row) Timothy George, Tony Zhang, Lucy Good, and Catherine Campbell.
India Trip Back on Course
The tradition of a Walkabout trip to India is back on course after global travel disruptions due to Covid-19 caused several canceled efforts. Making the trip in December were (front row, left to right) seniors Nora Redding, Jamie Butt, Taylor Butts, and junior Sophia Glover; (back row) seniors Evan Eubanks, Reese Skiles, Madisen Williams, and Lucy Good; and freshman Brody Brooks. Accompanied by faculty members Donna Marie Siegel ’14, Chris Watkins, and Tim Williams, the group visited the girls home operated by the Taraloka Foundation in Gangtok, Sikkim, did a Himalayan trek to the Tholung monastery in the Dzonghu region near the Tibetan border, and visited the tea fields and factories of Darjeeling.
John Harrison Award Winner
Congratulations to Mohammed Wumpini ’23 who is this year’s recipient of the John Harrison ’84 Magnanimitas Award presented on Nov. 18. Wumpini was nominated by peers and faculty and chosen by a committee of faculty members, “as one who embodies Harrison’s qualities of resilience, grace, kindness, dignity, and compassion.” Harrison was Baylor’s 2018 Distinguished Service Award recipient and was Baylor’s director of institutional advancement at the time of his passing in 2020. Pictured (above left to right) are Kerrie Harrison, Beth Harrison ’19, Wumpini, Betty Harrison, and Ponder Harrison.
Fine Arts News
Baylor Players Present Letters to Sala
More than 30 Upper School students were involved as cast and crew members in The Baylor Players production of Letters to Sala in October. Written by Arlene Hutton and adapted from the novel Sala’s Gift by Ann Kirschner, the play is based on the true story of a young woman who volunteers to take her sister’s place in a Nazi labor camp. The play was directed by Beth Gumnick, with set design by Garrett Walsh, and costumes by Laura Smith. Prior to the production, the students met the playwright and author in a special Zoom session.
Dancers in the News
Seniors Cate Fisher, Maggie Smith, Lacy Creswell, and Ally Creswell (above) performed a piece choreographed by Vervé company director Elizabeth Roemer ’05 in Chattanooga Dances at the Chattanooga Center for Creative Arts in October. The show featured dance companies from the Chattanooga area as well as the Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company of New Jersey.
Baylor’s Upper School dancers participated in the first annual Tennessee Youth Dance Festival Oct. 22-23 at The Chattanooga Center for Creative Arts. The dancers attended a variety of master classes and performed in the Student Choreography Showcase. Their piece was choreographed and performed by seniors Ally Creswell, Lacy Creswell, Cate Fisher, Maggie Smith, and Evelyn Stein; junior Cecilia Yuan; sophomores Laura Kathryn Anderson and Maggie Tansor; and freshman Riley Mauldin. Dance instructor and Vervé artistic director Jenison Eduave served as one of the master faculty at the festival.
Concert Choir Members Earn All-East Honors
Ten Concert Choir members earned spots, by competitive audition, in the East Tennessee Vocal Association All-East Honor Choirs and represented Baylor at the ETVA honors event at Maryville College in November. Pictured (left to right) are sophomores Kate Cuthbertson and Julian Ramirez de Arellano; junior Mae Bender, senior Sidney Kiner, seventh graders Nina Lail, Samantha George, Zach Ledford, and Brecken McKenna; eighth grader Owen McKenna, and (not pictured) seventh grader Kate Womack.
Baylor Students in The Nutcracker
Congratulations to Baylor students (pictured above, left to right) eighth grader Ashley Yim, seventh grader Nico Costilow, sophomore Isabella Moore, and sixth graders Audrey Ruth, Yagmur Volkan, and Barrett Kinzler for their roles in the Chattanooga Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker.
Student Art Featured
The talented Baylor students enrolled in visual art classes are seeing some of their work spotlighted in various campus locations. With the expertise of art instructor Greta Mountain and the support of The Baylor Parent Alliance, student-created art is being curated for installations throughout campus, including a new display featuring current Middle School art in Barks Hall and ongoing displays in the Roddy Theater lobby.
More Student Kudos
Fall Ball King and Queen Crowned
Congratulations to seniors Mohammed Wumpini and Evie Culbreath who were crowned king and queen of the 2022 Fall Ball on Saturday, Nov. 5. In addition to Wumpini and Culbreath, the senior court included Noah Gravel, Evan Haynie, Rhet Johnson, Conner Sharp, Zachary Ubamadu, Kylie Henderson, Reese Hullander, Anne Russell Kibbe, Mary Alice Lane, and Baker Young; junior representatives were Rylie Martinez and Crawford Higdon; sophomore representatives were Avery Listen and Nolan Witt; and freshmen representatives were Mary Holmes Phillips and George Coyle.
Christopoulos in the Spotlight
Baylor senior Paraskevi “Vivi” Christopoulos, a boarding student from Knoxville, Tenn., has been in the spotlight recently on two different occasions. In October she attended the Washington Institute of Peace gala, where she was recognized for her first-place essay in the 2022 Philotimo Scholarship Competition presented by the Oxi Day Foundation. At the gala, the Oxi Day Courage Award recipients included Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (via satellite) and Iranian-American journalist, Masih Alinejad (pictured above left with Christopoulos), an advocate for the rights of women and girls in Iran and against gender genocide.
In June, the Girl Scouts of Southern Appalachians announced that Christopoulos was among the 2022 Girls Scout Gold Award recipients for demonstrating extraordinary leadership and making sustainable changes in their communities. Nationally, only six percent of all eligible Girl Scouts achieve the Gold Award, which is the highest honor a Girl Scout can receive.
More Than 180 Turkeys Donated in Annual Drive
Baylor’s Middle School donated more than 180 turkeys to the Chattanooga Area Food Bank on Nov. 11. The annual Turkey Drive has been a Middle School tradition for more than 20 years and was organized by the Middle School Advisory Council. Pictured are (front row, left to right) eighth graders Gaby Glover, Riley Swinford, Matilda Joels, and Mia Kinney; and seventh graders Caroline Young and Anton Pruenster.
