Class of 2024 Commencement

On May 31, 2024, Hathaway Brown honored the Class of 2024 at the 148th annual commencement ceremony. Families, alumnae and friends gathered in the courtyard to watch the procession and hear from distinguished speakers. 

Student Senate President Alia Ali gave a beautiful invocation setting the tone for the memorable event followed by Senior Class Poet Laureate Gauri Gandhi's reading of her work, “Counting Down." Dr. Fran Bisselle delivered a warm welcome before Julia Catherine Weinberg gave senior remarks. Julia expressed the importance of gratitude and appreciation for the unbreakable bond the Class of 2024 has formed through challenges and successes.

Chief Assistant Solicitor-General for the Houston County Judicial Circuit and alumna Erikka Bettis Williams ’93 addressed the students and shared her journey from our campus to her distinguished career in the justice system. She encouraged the graduates to find their voice, embrace diversity, make choices that lead to true fulfillment, and empower other women along their paths. 

The Alumnae Scholar Prize was awarded to Liza Joyce Kaufman. This prestigious honor, established in 1910, recognizes the senior class member with the highest academic average throughout her Upper School years. Alia Ali was then presented with the Honor Girl award, an annual recognition bestowed upon the graduating senior who best embodies the Hathaway Brown ideal of character, as determined by the faculty and Upper School students.

Following the presentation of diplomas, Alumnae Council member Catherine Herrick Levy ‘93 gave the alumnae charge. She officially welcomed the 74 graduates to the Hathaway Brown National Alumnae Council. The ceremony marked the beginning of a new chapter for the new trailblazers, symbolically linking them to the strong legacy of HB alumnae who came before them — 4,000+ strong! The Class of 2024 will continue on to 69 different colleges and universities across the country and Scotland well prepared with the bond of sisterhood and a passion to learn for life.