Based on extensive judging from both internal faculty and external scientists from Case Western, Cleveland Clinic, and NASA Glenn, the top three projects from the Poster Session were selected as finalists to attend the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) May 12-17 in Phoenix, Arizona. This is largest pre-college science event in the nation and more than 1800 student finalists from local and regional fairs from roughly 75 countries and territories arrive to compete at ISEF for scholarships, tuition grants, internships, and scientific field trips and have an exciting week of networking and activities.

In addition to these high stakes awards, HB students won a number of special awards at the Poster Session in recognition for their research efforts. Each winner received a certificate and many awards were also accompanied by cash awards, gifts, or medals of recognition.

Intel ISEF Finalists:

• Tejal Pendekanti '20: Thrombus-Directed Drug Delivery Systems For Targeted Fibrinolysis with Dr. Anirban Sen Gupta and Michael Sun at Case Western Reserve University

• Shruthi Ravichandran '21: Site-Specific Delivery of Immune Adjuvants for Antitumoral Response of the Tumor Microenvironment with Dr. Efstathios Karathanasis and Peter Bielecki at Case Western Reserve University

• Alison Xin '19: Computational Predictions in the Design of Affinity-Based Drug Delivery with Dr. Horst von Recum and Dr. Edgardo Riviera at Case Western Reserve University

Intel Computer Science Award Winner:
Sinead Li, '20: Building an Automatic Methodology for Meta-Analysis Using Web-Scraping on PubMed with Dr. Cheryl Thompson at Case Western Reserve University

US Air Force Awards: (top background and starting project boards):

• Hiba Daud ‘21
• Anjali Dhanekula ‘22
• Avery Simon ‘22
• Madeleine Williams ‘22

Office of Naval Research Awards:

• Sahej Bindra ‘19
• Ainsley Bradbury ‘19
• Lina Zein ‘20

American Psychological Association Award: Carolyn Homolka ‘19

American Material Society (ASM) Award: Greta Cywinska ‘19

Mu Alpha Theta Award: Anya Razmi ‘20

NASA Earth System Science Award: Megan Qiang ‘19

Ricoh's Sustainable Development Award: Selby Vaughn ‘20

Society for In Vitro Biology Award: Hannah Basali ‘20

US Metric SI Award: Jennifer Wang ‘19

Yale Science and Engineering Award: Helen Sun ‘20

The Intel ISEF unites the top young scientific minds, showcasing their talents on an international stage, where doctoral-level scientists review and judge their work. Each year, approximately 1,800 high school students from more than 75 countries, regions, and territories are awarded the opportunity to showcase their independent research and compete for on average $5 million in prizes at Intel ISEF. The competition focuses on identifying, inspiring, and engaging the world's next STEM generation. The finalists of 420 regional and state events go on to participate in Intel ISEF. Intel ISEF alumni have gone on to receive some of the world's most esteemed academic honors, including one Nobel Prize, one Breakthrough Prize, three National Medals of Science, and six MacArthur Foundation Fellowships. They're involved in some of the most groundbreaking scientific research.

HB's Speech and Debate IPPF Team B— Sejal Sangani '20, Ryan Brady '20, and Sinead Li '20—has advanced to the Sweet 16 in the International Public Policy Forum debate competition. They will now debate a team from Georgia to reach the Elite 8 for a chance to earn an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City for a live debate. The IPPF is an international competition of “written debate” in partnership with New York University. It is the only contest that gives high school students around the world the opportunity to engage in written and oral debates on issues of public policy. In this year’s competition, students write detailed essays based on the following prompt: RESOLVED—U.S. abdication of international leadership creates dangerous global instability.

Kudos also go to HB IPPF Team A, Alison Xin '19, Jennifer Wang '19, and Megan Qiang '19, who wrote amazing essays as well. Team B will submit their next round of work during Spring Break. Please join us in wishing them luck!

Of the 340,000 works of art and writing submitted this year to the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, only about 10 percent were awarded regional Gold Key status and moved on to national judging. Of those Gold Key works, only 10 percent received national awards, and this year an incredible nine HB students have been recognized with 10 national medals in writing.

Jessica Chang '21, Stephanie Kaiser '19, Anna Keresztesy '20, Rebecca Oet '20, Sejal Sangani '20, and Vala Schriefer '19 were awarded medals in Poetry; Yardena Carmi '19, Galia Madfis '20 and Harleigh Markowitz '20 in Personal Essay/Memoir; and senior Stephanie Kaiser is one of only 11 students in the country to receive the Silver Medal with Distinction award for a Writing Portfolio. Stephanie's portfolio, Boundary, consists of poetry, personal essays, and an introductory writer's statement. She is the first HB student to receive this prestigious award. In addition to being recognized at Carnegie Hall, Stephanie will receive a $1,000 scholarship for her achievement. Stephanie has also been awarded the American Voices medal, a special best-in-region award selected by the national judges.

From the classroom to the Osborne Writing Center to our annual Young Writers and Artists Festival and forums with visiting writers, Hathaway Brown students have an unparalleled number of opportunities to develop their voices and explore the world through writing, and they take advantage of it all to produce extraordinary pieces of writing. Congratulations to all of these students and to their teachers who support and guide them in their work. 

On April 17, nineteen Hathaway Brown seniors were inducted into the Cum Laude Society, an organization established to recognize academic achievement in secondary schools for the purpose of promoting excellence, justice, and honor.

Greater Cleveland Partnership's Director, Business Growth & Development Elizabeth Falco '01, delivered the ceremony's keynote address. She described how Hathaway Brown prepared her to learn for life. She shared her journey and how experiences from college, collegiate athletics, studying abroad, and a career in business and finance all played a vital role in enriching her life. 

The 2019 Cum Laude Society inductees are: 

• Ainsley Bradbury
• Amaia Calhoun
• Greta Cywinska
• Caitlin Esteves
• Carolyn Homolka
• Stephanie Kaiser
• Carrie Kaufman
• Cassandra Lis 
• Julia Lisboa
• Claire McKenna
• Farah Sayed
• Kayla Schwartz
• Natalie Thorton
• Jennifer Wang
• Kathy Wang
• Alison Xin
• Jessica Young
• Yasmine Zein and 
• Angela Zhu

Families of the inductees attended the assembly as well. After the ceremony, the newly inducted Cum Laude Society members gathered for a celebratory reception.

Two members of the Hathaway Brown School Class of 2019 are among the candidates under consideration for the 2019 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. Alison Xin and Yasmine Zein are semifinalists for their outstanding academic achievement. Participation in this program is by invitation only. These HB students were identified for the program based on their high ACT and SAT scores. 

Approximately 600 students are semifinalists; Alison and Yasmine are two of only 18 semifinalists from Ohio. The seniors now have the opportunity to be among a prestigious group of American high school seniors who are named Presidential Scholars.

The U.S. Presidential Scholars Commission will further review the semifinalists' qualifications and up to 161 will be named U.S. Presidential Scholars. All Scholars are honored for their accomplishments through the National Recognition Program, held in June in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Presidential Scholars are guests of the U.S. Department of Education, and they enjoy an all-expenses-paid trip to the nation's capital to meet with government officials and educators. To commemorate the achievement, the Scholars will be greeted by the President of the United States, and they will receive special Presidential Scholars Medallions at a ceremony sponsored by the White House. 

The United States Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964 by Executive Order of the President to recognize and honor some of our nation's most distinguished students graduating from high school. The program is one of the nation's highest honors for high school students.

Hathaway Brown is proud to be the alma mater of ten U.S. Presidential Scholars: Regan Brady '17, Lina Ghosh '17, Kavya Ravichandran '16, Isabella Nilsson '16, Alyssa Bryan '13, Laney Kuenzel '08, Amy Hollinger ’05, Edith Hines Williams '00, Caroline Campbell '98, and Genevieve Mathieson Kilmer ’96.

Hathaway Brown School’s eighth-grade musical, Once on This Island JR., is showing this week in the Ahuja Auditorium. The performances are free and open to the public, Friday, May 3 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 5 at 2:30 p.m.

The eighth-grade musical is an HB tradition and culmination of the Middle School Performing Arts curriculum combining music, dance, and drama. Each eighth-grade student participates in the production as performers, choreographers, stage crew, student directors, and designers.

About the Show:

Adapted from the celebrated Broadway musical, this rousing Calypso-flavored tale follows one small girl who finds love in a world of prejudice. With its poignant story and catchy Caribbean-flavored score, Once on This Island JR. is a highly original theatrical adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s popular fairy tale, The Little Mermaid, and the Tony-nominated Broadway musical by the legendary writing team, Ahrens and Flaherty.

Through almost non-stop song and dance, this full-hearted musical tells the story of Ti Moune, a peasant girl who rescues and falls in love with Daniel, a wealthy boy from the other side of her island. When Daniel is returned to his people, the fantastical gods who rule the island, guide Ti Moune on a quest that will test the strength of her love against the powerful forces of prejudice, hatred and even death.

Poster art by Saija Shah, '23

Junior Anya Razmi is the first place high school winner of Case Western Reserve University’s Research ShowCASE exhibit. Anya will receive a $20,000 renewable undergraduate scholarship to CWRU. Her research and presentation was on the “Impact of Haltere Removal on Gravitational Perception.”

Twenty-five high schoolers, 13 of whom were HB Science Research and Engineering Program students, presented at Research ShowCASE. The event is an exhibition of real-world applications, critical insights, and creative and intellectual activity that highlighted the range of research at CWRU. Ph.D. judges evaluated the high school students who competed for the scholarship.

Jessica Chang ’21, Ella Kazazic ’20, Emily Qian ’21, and Kaisal Shah ’21 also competed at Research ShowCASE and earned Honorable Mentions for their research and presentations.

From the Ohio Academy of Science

Each year, The Ohio Academy of Science selects the 19 top pre-college students who presented at our Annual Meeting. These students are recognized as Melvin Scholars, and they have the opportunity to represent Ohio at the national American Junior Academy of Science (AJAS) meeting. This meeting is held in conjunction with the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting, and AJAS provides Ohio students an opportunity to interact with the best students from across the country as well as scientific professionals from around the world.

In addition to interacting with student scientists and professionals, there are activities for the students to participate in throughout the week. These activities include interactive laboratory experiences, field trips, plenary lectures, and small group meetings with world-renowned scientists and engineers.

Congratulations to HB’s 2019 Melvin Scholars: 

• Jessica Chang ‘21

• Michelle Dong ‘20

• Ella Kazazic’20

• Sophia Laye ‘21

• Tejal Pendekanti ‘20

• Shruthi Ravichandran ‘21

• Anya Razmi ‘20 

• Sejal Sangani ‘20

• Lina Zein ‘20

Twelve Hathaway Brown seniors were selected as National Merit Semifinalists for their high scores on the preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Less than one percent of high school seniors across the country are part of this prestigious list. 

Of approximately 16,000 Semifinalists, 7,600 Class of 2020 students will advance as Finalists and compete for more than $31 million in National Merit Scholarships. Roughly 90 percent of Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing and about half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title. To learn more about the National Merit Scholarship Program, visit www.nationalmerit.org.

Authored by Hathaway Brown School Head of School Fran Bisselle

In recent months, HB educators and administrators have engaged in important and meaningful conversations about who we are and what we value as an institution. We’ve also welcomed a number of professionals to HB who have shared their perspectives with us. 

We were enlightened by the points of view of Rachel Simmons, author of Enough As She Is, and Adam Weinberg, president of Denison University—both of whom reminded us that stress and anxiety are at an all-time high for adolescent and pre-adolescent girls. They also offered advice on how we might continue to counter that at HB. 

Additionally, we’ve been paying close attention to the news and mining the landscape when it comes to the high-stakes world of college admission and how it affects students across the country. And we’ve been in regular consultation with our school psychologist Dr. Mark McConville and continuing our own school-wide initiatives to bring a healthy balance to students’ lives through the Center for Leadership & Well-Being.

All of this introspection and outward analysis of the terrain our girls navigate has prompted us to clearly articulate the student-centered philosophy that guides and animates our work at HB as we prepare girls for the world beyond our campus. While I’m writing this month about issues that mainly affect our Upper School students, research demonstrates that girls are feeling these very real stressors at younger and younger ages, so it is important for everyone in our community to be cognizant about our students’ life experiences and how the adults in their lives can support them. HB is dedicated not only to the academic development of our students but to their social-emotional growth too. 

Although it might not always appear to be the case, teens pay close attention to what the adults in their lives do and say. And, it is because of this that at Hathaway Brown School we are very deliberate in how we show what we value and how we celebrate our students’ many successes and achievements.

In a competitive independent school market, we often feel compelled to share with families quantifiable metrics to convey the value of their investment in an all-girls education. Typically, we share milestones such as National Merit Semifinalists and National Merit Commended Student designations (this is based on the junior year performance of the College Board’s PSAT) and the college matriculation list, which identifies where the graduating class has decided to attend college. We are proud to honor our students not only by recognizing these markers, but also in the wide array of other weighty accomplishments they earn during their time at HB including, but not limited to: Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholars, Tri-M Music Honors, Melvin Scholars, Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, Speech and Debate All-Americans, performing arts, service, entrepreneurship, and other types of specialty program recognition, and championships in athletics. We are also deeply proud of our students’ achievements that don’t have a medal or score to go along with them: spearheading advocacy and awareness initiatives, organizing voter registration drives, showing years-long dedication to after-school tutoring, volunteering for area nonprofit organizations, or even managing large responsibilities for younger siblings and chores at home.

Schools, by and large, create an "output" that can be tough to measure. While it is less messy to quantify content knowledge and subject-specific skills through measures like standardized test scores and class grades, what is the metric for confidence? Intellectual curiosity? Open-mindedness? Adaptability? Enthusiasm? Self-Discipline? Integrity? Determination? Creativity? Resilience? Work Ethic? Bravery? Time and again, employers across the nation speak of “soft” skills such as these to be the traits they are looking for in a workforce. An excellent school that is truly dedicated to educating the whole student cultivates all of these traits in an individual, and HB’s dedication to this is like no other. In fact, we intentionally designed our signature Institute for 21st Century Education, established in 1998, and the 11 distinct Centers it comprises as a reinvention and reimagination of the traditional academic architecture, giving our students room to develop these important soft skills and character traits in authentic, supportive environments. 

Hathaway Brown students work exceptionally hard, and in a desire to achieve the goals they set forth for themselves, as well as the goals they perceive their parents have for them, they can feel a lot of pressure. HB students are not alone. In September, The Washington Post shared scholarly research discussing how students in high achieving schools are now deemed an at-risk group. The Post refers to a report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which listed poverty, trauma, discrimination and “excessive pressure to excel” among the top environmental conditions harming adolescent wellness. While the causes of tension and anxiety for students at either end of the socioeconomic spectrum are very different, both groups have been deemed at risk for exhibiting symptoms of toxic stress.

Similarly, the nation’s most prominent universities have taken note of these weighty issues. Challenge Success, a research group housed within Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education, urges families to better understand the criteria for US News and World Report’s rankings. Likewise, Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education has recently introduced the Making Caring Common initiative, which features resources highlighting how to cultivate character through college admissions.

It is through this lens that educators and administrators at Hathaway Brown School have developed our philosophical approach in how we celebrate students’ accomplishments. The students are paying attention and are following our lead. 

We feel strongly that accomplishments should be celebrated! At the same time, we want to make sure we don’t place an unhealthy emphasis on any one aspect of students’ academic and life experiences.

We only share information on student accomplishments when it is complete and accurate. We never want to be in a position in which a student is inadvertently overlooked, or is recognized for something that actually hasn’t come to fruition.

The accomplishments belong to the students, and we honor them if they do not want their accomplishments shared.

In early May, we are proud to share the list of colleges our students choose to attend, and we always respect the choices our students make. It is key to remember that a variety of factors well beyond name recognition and academic reputation affect their decisions. We do not provide a large list of every single offer of admission students have received, as we feel it feeds into society’s growing “commodification” of college admissions among the nation’s most selective institutions. Additionally, it doesn’t serve our relationship with colleges to announce in a public forum how our students have declined offers of admission to their schools.

This approach is rooted in sound educational philosophy that keeps our students at the center of all we do. It also is in keeping with our strategic plan, which guides our work. As that plan notes, “It is our collective responsibility to make sure that the virtues of a Hathaway Brown education are passed on to future generations of girls, along with the values that define us:

• Our unwavering faith in the unbounded capabilities of girls and women;

• Our conviction that character matters most of all, that the potential for leadership dwells in everyone, and that there are myriad pathways to success;

• Our fascination with excellence and, beyond excellence, with imagination;

• Our insistence on educating and valuing the whole child, mind, body, and spirit, each girl each day;

• Our belief that we are responsible for the welfare of the community beyond our campus, and that we must share our knowledge and gifts and touch the lives of others who need support, especially girls, in Greater Cleveland and around the world; and

• Our emphasis on endless learning and the power of ideas to change the world.”

Hathaway Brown is pleased to announce that seniors Hannah Froimson and Regina Egan have earned national recognition in The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards of 2018. Both won national Silver Medals for Printmaking; Hannah for her piece titled "Self Portrait," and Regina for "I Haven't Ridden a Bike Since You Left." Regina also won a national Silver Medal in Writing this year. 

Scholastic national medalists have been identified by panels of creative professionals as the most talented young artists and writers in the nation. This year, 350,000 works of art and writing were submitted by students in grades 7-12, and less than one percent of work was recognized at the national level. Since 1923, The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have recognized the outstanding work of teenagers from across the country. By winning a Scholastic Art & Writing Award, these HB students join a legacy of celebrated authors and artists including Andy Warhol, Sylvia Plath, Truman Capote, Richard Avedon, Robert Redford, John Currin, and Lena Dunham.

Congratulations to these gifted artists and many thanks to the HB faculty who continue to educate, inspire, encourage, and mentor them. For more information about the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, please visit the program's official website.

Seniors Hannah Basali, Ryan Brady, and Julia Schilz were selected as semifinalists for the 2020 class of the Coca-Cola Scholars Program. They were chosen for their outstanding leadership, academic achievements, and dedication to their community. As semifinalists, they are in the running for 150 college scholarships worth $20,000. Nearly 2,000 high school seniors, across the country, were selected as semifinalists from a pool of 93,075 submitted applications. 

The Coca-ColaScholars Foundation celebrates and empowers visionary leaders who are refreshing the world. With its 31st class of Coca-Cola Scholars, the Foundation has provided more than $69 million in scholarships to over 6,150 program alumni who together have become a powerful force for positive change. Learn more atwww.coca-colascholars.org.

On April 12, twenty-one Hathaway Brown seniors were inducted into the Cum Laude Society, an organization established to recognize academic achievement in secondary schools for the purpose of promoting excellence, justice, and honor.

Amy Saltzman Porter '01, MD, PhD, a pediatric palliative care physician at the Cleveland Clinic, delivered the ceremony's keynote address. She described her path from Hathaway Brown to where she is today, highlighting the times she "pivoted" from the expected course, only to have her life experiences enriched. There is much to be learned from diverging from the path and allowing yourself to see things in a new way, she said. An HB "lifer," Dr. Porter also encouraged the 9th- through 12th-grade students gathered for the assembly to understand and appreciate that having the benefit of an HB education arms you with confidence, knowledge, and outstanding opportunities —she credits the school's Science Research & Engineering Program with making her the person she is today. But don't forget, she cautioned the girls, that luck factors heavily into the equation as well. She was lucky to grow up at a school such as HB, she said, and she reminded the students that they are lucky to have the benefits of this type of empowering all-girls education as well. 

The 2018 Cum Laude Society inductees are Katerina Aris, Brice Bai, Regina Egan, Archer Frodyma, Molly Gleydura, Katherine Halloran, Sukhmani Kaur, Anne Lewandowski, Coralin Li, Lekha Medarametla, Roxana Moazami, Danica Murthy, Cristina Rackley, Anika Rede, Sophie Sacks, Leonela Serrano, Alexandra von Zedlitz, Erin Xu, Ying Ying Yang, Evangeline Yeh, and Michelle Yin. 

Families of the inductees joined us for the assembly as well, and after the ceremony the newly inducted Cum Laude Society members gathered for a celebratory reception.

Adelyn Klimek '18 has been awarded one of the most highly selective merit scholarships in the nation. The Jefferson Scholars Foundation at the University of Virginia has selected Klimek as one of 36 recipients of the Jefferson Scholarship. She will commence her studies in the fall at U.Va.

In order to be named a Jefferson Scholar, candidates must undergo a rigorous, highly competitive, multi-stage selection process. This year, nearly 2,000 students were nominated for the Scholarship, 116 finalists were invited to take part in a four-day competition at U.Va., which included seminar discussions, essay and mathematics examinations, as well as interviews conducted by U.Va. alumni and faculty. In addition to receiving the full cost of attending the University for four years, Jefferson Scholars benefit from a number of enrichment programs sponsored by the Foundation, including travel abroad, career networking activities, an outdoor challenge program, and a leadership speaker series. 

The 36 selected recipients of the 2018 Jefferson Scholarship boast a number of significant achievements and Klimek is no exception. Along with her excellent academic record at HB, she is also a 2018 National Merit Finalist and U.S. Presidential Scholars Semifinalist.

The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964, by executive order of the President, to recognize and honor some of our nation's most distinguished graduating high school seniors. In 1979, the program was extended to recognize students who demonstrate exceptional talent in the visual, creative and performing arts. In 2015, the program was again extended to recognize students who demonstrate ability and accomplishment in career and technical education fields. Each year, up to 161 students are named as Presidential Scholars, one of the nation's highest honors for high school students. 

The 2018 U.S. Presidential Scholars will be announced in May.  

For more information, visit http://www2.ed.gov/programs/psp/index.html. 

Congratulations Adelyn, and best of luck from the HB community!

HB girls are impressive. We're biased, we know. But year after year, the best colleges and universities in the world tell us we're not the only ones who think so.

The 105 students in the Class of 2018 will attend 66 different institutions in 23 states and three countries. HB students received offers of admission to all eight Ivy League colleges and 48 percent of students in the class were admitted to a U.S. News & World Report Top 30 College or Top 30 University. Eighty percent of these HB seniors were admitted to their top-choice college (or a top choice, if ranked by group), and nine students are committed to becoming DI and DIII collegiate athletes in seven different sports. More than $16 million in merit and other scholarships, including full tuition packages, was offered to HB students this year. Sixteen of these girls are “lifers,” have begun their HB careers in kindergarten or earlier.

CLICK HERE OR SEE BELOW FOR THE CLASS OF 2018 COLLEGE DESTINATIONS

Whether she chooses a college here in Ohio or one that's halfway across the globe, through a combination of immersive experiential learning and outstanding academic preparation delivered by the best teachers anywhere, each Hathaway Brown student is set on a path to find the campus that's right for her. Our girls are equally at home at historic Ivy League schools, top public and private universities, specialized conservatories, and small liberal arts colleges in the U.S. and abroad. We hate to see them leave, but we know it wouldn't be fair to keep them all to ourselves.

Hathaway Brown's 142nd Commencement Exercises will take place around the iconic fountain in the HB Courtyard in just a few short weeks, and we'll be "clapping out" the Class of 2018 for the final time. As we reach the end of another memorable school year, please join us in congratulating these amazing students and wishing them well as they get ready to make their own lasting marks on the world.

We're excited to share the good news that of the top six spots in the annual Hope and Stanley Adelstein Free Speech Essay Contest administered by The City Club of Cleveland, four of the winning works were submitted by HB students. Big congratulations are in order for Alison Xin '19 (first place, grades 11/12), Shruthi Ravichandran '21 (first place, grades 9/10), Zuha Jaffar '21 (second place, grades 9/10), and Jasmine Hanna-Funk '19 (third place, grades 11/12). This is the fourth year in a row that HB students have earned placement among the contest's winners. Read more here.

All of these students have been invited to attend the May 23 City Club forum, where they will be honored and have the opportunity to read their work from behind the famed City Club podium.