Claire Scotchie
photo by courtesy of GPS
Girls Preparatory School senior Claire Elizabeth Scotchie’s parents, Jeff and Jessica Scotchie, first met at a Cinco de Mayo (May 5) party while students at Vanderbilt several years ago.
This year, early May turned out nice for Claire as well, as she reigned as May queen at GPS during their May 2 celebration. And the family connection continued, too, as the white formal dress she ended up wearing as the queen turned out to be her mother’s former wedding dress.
“It fit perfectly, and my mom got emotional, and I gave her a big hug,” she said of that moment that also kept her from needing to go dress hunting. “I was really happy I got to wear her dress. Shopping is difficult for me. I’m picky.”
The whole May Day ceremony of dance numbers by the students and processions by the seniors and May Court members turned out to be a perfect fit for the end of school, too, she recalled as she chatted at the school a few days after the event.
“Spending the whole day talking to all my friends and girls on the court, and Ms. (Erin) Sizemore and my mom, it was a really, really sweet and fulfilling day, and I will remember it forever,” she said, adding that having elementary school friend Ella Harris as one of the train bearers was also special.
Although a number of public high schools in Chattanooga also once had May Day celebrations with queens and kings, GPS is somewhat unique in this day and time, as it has kept the springtime tradition alive almost continuously since its first one in 1914. And being a GPS May queen is considered quite an honor at this all-girls independent school and is somewhat different from the typical scholastic queens of old at other places. For example, the GPS May queen and members of the court must possess such outlined traits as character, friendliness, respect, leadership and school involvement.
The court and queen were actually selected in December. The court was announced first after voting by the senior class, and then some pictures were taken of them while the whole student body voted on the queen.
While the selection of the court was quite memorable, and Miss Scotchie recalls the loud cheering for everyone and the surprise when her name was announced as a member of the court, that was not the end of it. It became even more unforgettable – and a little embarrassing for her – when she was named queen.
“We came back in, and all the girls on the court, we held hands and then they announced my name (as the queen), and there is this picture and my mouth had like dropped open,” she recalled with a laugh.
Despite that, the moment did genuinely also open her eyes in a serious way to how touching that was for her. “I got really emotional because I love GPS so much and I love my class especially,” she said. “The class and my school have given me so much, and for them to choose me to represent them on May Day was such an honor. I was really, really humbled.”
While being a GPS May queen is a unique honor, Miss Scotchie also has another somewhat unique story in that her mother’s side of the family is of Colombian descent, and Claire grew up learning Spanish as well as English. She was also close to her Colombian grandmother before her death during Claire’s freshman year at GPS.
“Spanish connected me to her side of the family,” she said of her mother, who grew up in Tallahassee, Fl., before going to Vanderbilt and meeting Claire’s father, who had gone to McCallie School. Jeff is a financial adviser with Oracle Wealth Management, while her mother is a doctor who focuses in part on the field of fertility and reproduction, she said.
Claire had enrolled at GPS in the sixth grade from St. Nicholas School and while at GPS played on the varsity golf team as a captain and was also the defensive captain of the lacrosse team. She was also a leader in the Girls Outdoor Leadership club, was vice president of the Spanish National Honor Society and was involved in Girl Scouts there for a period.
She said her interest in environmental science in part prompted her interest in the outdoors, and some classroom teaching indoors prompted some other interests. She praised several teachers with inspiring an interest in various subjects. They include Dr. Brandon Noel, her ninth-grade biology and 11th grade environmental science teacher; Dr. Steve Harrison, who taught Advanced Placement government; and art teacher Ms. Diane Yu, where she enhanced her love of oil painting.
Her mother has also inspired her interests, she said, and she is also looking at one day studying medicine in some form, possibly as a surgeon. “I’ve really been interested in medicine,” she said. “I would love to operate on somebody or help somebody.”
As far as college, after really wanting to attend her parents’ alma mater of Vanderbilt, she instead received an early acceptance to Wake Forest, and deciding to go there has turned out to be the best situation for her. So, she plans to enroll there this fall and likely major in health and exercise science with a minor in public health policy.
“Everybody who goes there likes it, and I loved my tour there,” she said of the grass-covered school on some set-aside acreage in Winston-Salem, N.C.
This summer before college, she plans to do such activities as work at the lacrosse camp at GPS and even help her mother do some research related to her medical work.
Despite her excitement about the future, Miss Scotchie has also been thinking somewhat sentimentally about the immediate past and what she called the really great time she had at GPS. She will miss the strong friendships and relationships, camaraderie with the teachers, and even the unique school uniforms.
And just as unique for her was the overall experience at the school, she added.
“I think that going through all of the traditions GPS has is so unique to the school that you create these strong bonds with people around you,” she said.
“GPS also has really taught me to be an independent thinker and how to question things and how to respectfully advocate for myself and advocate for others. My GPS experience has been invaluable, and I don’t think I’d be who I am without it.”
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Other members of the 2024 GPS May Court included Sutton Salter, maid of honor; Caitlin Polk, crown bearer; Caroline Breazeale, scepter bearer; Ella Harris, train bearer; and Hoda Alameddine, train bearer.
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List of past GPS May queens:
1914 Margaret Anderson Coffey
1915 Sue Devin Smith Gooch
1916 Lucille Thomas Williams
1919 Helen Hughes Caine
1920 Helen Glover Miller
1921 Dorothy Brizzie Hedges
1922 Geraldine Thatcher Glascock
1923 Augusta Allison Lasley
1924 Charlotte Ferger Signiago
1925 Sarah Robinson Sharp
1926 Mary Sanford Patten
1927 Martha Lanier Graham
1928 Evelyn Allison South
1929 Rowena Kruesi Frierson
1930 Helen Gatewood Chenault
1931 Elizabeth Finlay Chadwick
1932 Charlotte Fowler Maclellan
1933 Kate King Efurd
1934 Mary Alice Thompson Chalfant
1935 Marjorie Wallace Pontius
1936 Betty Bryan Conroy
1937 Virginia Johnson McKenzie
1938 Betty Marus Thomas
1939 Mary Katherine Fred Moore
1940 Jane Brown Marlin
1941 Hilda Hude Chapin
1942 Mary-Claire Dorscheid Hailey
1943 Elizabeth Carothers Gibson
1944 Bonnie Johnson Graves
1945 Janet Johnston Strang
1946 Dorris Chapin Wells
1947 Sally McClellan Currey
1948 Anne Cahoon Stratton
1949 Ann Nichols Goess
1950 Sarah Key Patten Gwynn
1951 Sally McCoy Garland
1952 Dorothy Brown Ellis
1953 Charlotte Patten Gauss
1953 Phyllis Patten Hardin
1954 Hildagarde Reeves Sutherland
1955 Nan Chamberlain Smith
1956 Elizabeth Montague Lewis
1957 Betsy Chamberlain Tuller
1958 Grace Elizabeth Moore
1959 Barbara Boone Stabler
1960 Anne Dudley Griffin
1961 Sally Bacon Smartt
1962 Katherine Frances Kendall
1963 Diann Estabrook Seals
1964 Barbara Johnson Prickett
1965 Suzanne Smith Allen
1965 Cynthia Kemp Battle
1966 Helene Striebinger Reisman
1967 Martha Smith Voght
1968 Emily Bryan Grimes
1969 Louise Chamberlain Tual
1970 Allison Goree Willson
1971 Honey Brown Doramus
1972 Cathie Ault Kasch
1973 Mary Rebecca Grems
1974 Kim Lupton Strang
1975 Eleanor Bryan Billington
1976 Lynn Winningham
1977 Carla Sinor Bush
1978 Katie Lonas McKenzie
1979 Frances Williamson McCallie
1980 Nancy Collins Petty
1981 Stephanie Petree Christian
1982 Anne Duvoisin Halliburton
1983 Margaret Austin Curtis
1984 Etoil Bowles Brown
1985 Frances Sholar Clark Howard
1986 Jana Weekes Olson
1987 Lisa Portera Grafton
1988 Elizabeth Rose Provence
1989 Lesley Denise Walker
1990 Joy Rucker Clements
1991 Christy Leigh McArthur Moore
1992 Janet Ensign Neder
1993 Jeannette Rae Sebes-McDonald
1994 Toy O’Ferrall Harmon
1995 Florrie Louise Glendenning Cook
1996 Ayieta Sabina Mbeche
1997 Frances Sayle Milne
1998 Crystal Yvonne Brooks Pourciau
1999 Amber Leigh Swafford Tucker
2000 Jessica Ann Cofer LaFoy
2001 Amita Mohan Chhabra
2002 Mary Katherine Dann Ogden
2003 Vivian Grace Parham
2004 Whitney Bell St. Charles
2005 Erin Felton Lopez
2006 Sarah Katherine Neall
2007 Brandi Javon Andrews
2008 Caitlin Alison McAloon
2009 Rachel June Smith
2010 Laura Elizabeth Laughlin
2011 Mary Anna Caldwell
2012 Rachel Austin Kelly
2013 Tiana Nichole Mills
2014 Jessica Lynn Erhart
2015 Mackenzie Michelle Hobbs
2016 Alyson Michelle Parris
2017 Iman Ali
2018 Phoebe-Agnès Sinclair Mills
2019 Myra Kruesi Brock
2020 Kshama Ashish Patel
2021 Mary Adella Youmans
2022 Shalizeh Fatima Rizvi
2023 Kennedy Noel Ball
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Jcshearer2@comcast.net
GPS May queen Claire Scotchie with her mother, Dr. Jessica Scotchie
photo by courtesy of GPS