Seven Hills Graduates 79 Students in 47th Commencement

“Now is your turn and time to lead.” The words of commencement speaker Hon. Judge Timothy S. Black charged the Class of 2021 with the responsibility of encouraging and inspiring each other to draw from their resilience and to value their connections with other people. Seven Hills celebrated its 47^th Commencement in the Field House on the Hillsdale Campus on June 4. The 79 graduates, clad in caps and gowns, came together to commemorate their myriad achievements and time at the Seven Hills Upper School, and to listen to the words of wisdom of several school community leaders, including Head of School Chris Garten, Head of Upper School Matt Bolton, and Board of Trustees Chair Stephen Baggott. Students also heard from classmate David Kiley, history teacher and college counselor Beth Driehaus, and parent Mandy Hayes ’91, also a Middle School English teacher at Seven Hills. In addition, Seven Hills alumni Peter Matthews ’91 and Elizabeth Lende Williams H’60, received the Goodall Distinguished Alumni Award. Rahwa Ghebre-Ab ’01 received the Young Alumni Award. Congratulations to the Class of 2021!

Click here to see more photos from graduation.

Upper School Awards

Upper School students were honored at the annual Awards Ceremony on June 3. Held in The Schiff Center, students of all grade levels were celebrated by their peers and the Upper School faculty.  The ceremony began with the announcement of the following students, who earned a Concentration in Seven Hills’ Experiential Learning program for studying a subject in-depth in the following fields:

Faith Haggarty – Community Engagement

Andy Yang – Medical Exploration

Maya Martinez Diers was presented the Miriam Titcomb Award, the highest honor awarded to a junior, for exhibiting excellence in “initiative in some area, originality in some area, love of fellow man, and courage of convictions.”

Savoy Lackey presented the Clement L. Buenger Award on behalf of the Fund for Independent Schools of Cincinnati.

Sebastian Rodriguez received the Neil Smith Scholarship, which is presented to a student in grade nine, 10, or 11 who best exemplifies the qualities for which Neil Smith is known. The selected student must “meet the world with optimism and good will; expect the best from themselves and others; and exhibit courage, compassion, integrity, and intelligence.”

The Personal Achievement Award was presented to the students whose contributions have made Seven Hills a better place. Honorees were freshman Timmy Jordan and Steven Elder, sophomores George Mentrup and Gigi Hawgood, junior Angel Liang and Rosalie Hoar, and senior Matt Weirich.

Erin Finn received the Sophomore Scholastic Achievement Award. This is awarded to the sophomore who exhibits a scholarly temperament and who has contributed the benefits of learning in a given discipline to the school and/or the wider community. This student exhibits a love of learning and intellectual curiosity and shares enthusiasm for the discipline with others.

Jenny Hu received the Citizenship Award. This is awarded to the student who takes an active role in school and/or community affairs, and who exhibits mature political and global consciousness and a sense of civic responsibility.

Elsa Lick was given the Creativity and Original Thinking Award. This is awarded to the student who is given to independent thinking, and who has displayed an inquisitive and creative habit of mind.

Lucy Schneider was awarded the Community Scholar Award, presented to the student “who has shown exceptional achievement in a given discipline and who has extended that knowledge to benefit the larger community.”

Department Awards

Annabel Kleinwaechter—Andress Art Award

Elyse Stieby—Theater Award

Matt Coulson—Music Award

Kurt Drath—Fine and Performing Arts Award

Grace Arya—English Award

Kaiya Park and Gabrielle Walker—Kathy Richardson Award

Dhruv Mahajan—History Award

Wes Gardner—Math Award

Manan Vij—Biology Award

Angel Liang—Chemistry Award

Kevin Xiao—Physics Award

Lucas Wall and Jonathan Gai—Computer Science Award

Jenny Hu—Latin Award

Owen Foster—Chinese Award

Meg Yuan—French Award

Emma Cohen—Spanish Award

Shriya Kilaru—Female Athlete of the Year

Griffin Callow—Male Athlete of the Year

Meg Yuan —Female Scholar Athlete

Owen Foster—Male Scholar Athlete

Caroline Routh—Female Archie Griffin Sportsmanship Award

Eli Dauer—Male Archie Griffin Sportsmanship Award

Ryan Meador—Elinor Scherr Mosher Award

2021 Senate Award—Ann Griep

Celebrating Our Seniors

In June, Seven Hills celebrated the Class of 2021. Please enjoy videos of our seniors waving goodbye to Seven Hills as they begin their new chapter, and one last special parade around the Hillsdale Campus. 

Upper School Chemistry Students Honor Overlooked Scientists

Students of Upper School science teacher Kylene Utah’s chemistry class spent their last day of classes completing an impromptu research project. After watching the film “Hidden Figures,” Utah asked her students to research scientists who are often overlooked from history. “We had a conversation about how history sometimes bypasses people who did incredible work,” said Utah. This led to the students participating in finding scientists who are underrepresented and honoring their work by working in groups to prepare five-minute presentations on their research. Students presented on scientists such as Marie Maynard Daly, Rosalin Franklin, Prafulla Chandra Ray, and Shirely Ann Jackson.

Upper School Computer Science Students Look Back on What They Learned

Students of  Upper School computer science teacher Marcus Twyford spent their last day of class reflecting on the year’s projects, and what they learned in the process. Senior John Humphrey presented a series of self-driving robot cars created by a tape course that the cars would follow using a circuit board, LED lights, and light sensors that would reflect against the tape to help determine which way to turn. The class also put together a hydroponic setup, built in part by using rock wool. They talked about how every project produced its own unique setbacks, but Twyford hopes the students learned that failure is part of the process. “So often, we’re taught to find the answer, instead of figuring out a path, which I think is some of the opportunity we don’t have nowadays,” Twyford said. “Tinker with things, figure out how they work. You’re going to make mistakes, you’re going to struggle through things. But it’s going to be okay.”

Senior Receives Student Leader Honor

Seven Hills senior Savoy Lackey was recently named one of the Bank of America Student Leaders for 2021. Lackey was one of four other students chosen among 300 high school juniors and seniors from across the country. This program helps prepare students to enter the workforce through skills-building and leadership development. Students engage in an eight-week, paid internship, working closely with local nonprofits. Lackey will spend her eight-week internship with the Freestore Food Bank.

SNAAP Banquet Celebrates Students, Families

The Seven Hills Network of African American Parents (SNAAP) hosted its 2021 Recognition Banquet on June 5. The banquet celebrates the students moving from fifth to sixth grade, eighth to ninth, and this year’s Upper School graduates. SNAAP committee member Cindy Jones served as the afternoon’s mistress of ceremonies. Jones opened the ceremony with a moment of silence and in memoriam for Seven Hills parents and SNAAP members Tasha Porter and Tysha Wilder. The afternoon then segued into a musical performance from Preston Bell Charles III, a welcome from SNAAP member Yoti Walker, and a musical selection from rising eighth-grader Vivian Brown. Ken Best gave the invocation before lunch, which was followed by opening remarks from Head of School Chris Garten. “Thank you all for the support you have given to our children,” Garten said. “We really are proud of the resilience and courage you’ve shown (this year).” Garten also spoke about Seven Hills’ in-depth examination of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and the energy from faculty and staff surrounding the curriculum. He said he has a “sense of hope about our school community.” Following Garten’s remarks, SNAAP co-chair Kimberly Jackson presented the Tasha K. Porter Leadership Award to the Upper School’s African American Awareness Club for its achievements during the 2020-21 school year. The event’s keynote speaker, Dr. Chris Lewis, vice provost for Academic Programs at the University of Cincinnati, professor of family medicine at UC, and physician at UC Health, shared words of wisdom with students and attendees. He told students not to think about what they wanted to be when they grow up, but who they want to be. Inspired by the words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Lewis said, “What are you doing for others?” SNAAP co-chair Tonya Best then presented the rising students, including Class of 2021 graduates Summer Jones, Savoy Lackey, and Riyah Vaughn; rising ninth-graders Devyn Best, Sydney Best, Evie Ferguson, Mason Griffin, Erin Jackson, Saxon Lackey, Arman Merchant, and Devan Willis; and rising sixth-graders Briana Morris and Karringtyn Wilder. The ceremony closed with words from Head of Upper School Matt Bolton, graduate reflections from Jones and Lackey, and closing remarks from Best and Jackson.

Click here to see more photos of the event.

Junior Hosts TEDx at The Schiff Center

As part of her Personal Challenge project, junior Suhani Gupta recently hosted a TEDx Talk at The Schiff Center. Gupta’s TEDx production started off with Drs. Elizabeth Kelly and Meredith Shockley-Smith, co-founders of Cradle Cincinnati—an organization founded to reduce infant mortality in the community. The event also included presentations from Seven Hills junior Manan Vij on artificial intelligence, junior Lucy Schneider on her personal connection to the Holocaust, junior Sebastian Rodriguez, who presented on his interest in biomimetics, and alumnus Jay Shifman ’05, who on spoke about the stigma surrounding mental health and substance misuse.