Gwyneth Parks
photo by courtesy of GPS
One might expect someone who has been named as the Girls Preparatory School’s May queen to naturally cherish the moment individually when learning she has been selected.
But 2025 queen Gwyneth Parks was admittedly thinking more “we” instead of “me’ when she learned late last year she had been selected for this honor that goes to someone who possesses such traits as graciousness, friendliness, loyalty, and service.
For her, the announcement was simply a moment that highlighted the deep camaraderie she has enjoyed with this class of 72 students since arriving at the North Chattanooga independent girls’ school as a sixth grader from Fairyland Elementary.
“I remember the day we did the voting and the announcement, and I was in awe of the moment and wasn’t expecting it,” said the daughter of Andrew and Dawn Parks. “That was probably the moment when I felt sisterhood in its greatest form. I felt such unity.”
And that continued as she reigned as the queen on this 111th May Day celebration for the school and one of the few in recent years actually held on May 1. The weather was not ideal, with rain falling steadily during a good part of the ceremony, including during the final Maypole dance by the sophomores. But the ceremony for her and everyone still managed to turn out ideal.
And she even carried her team or class focus on through to the end, despite being the center of attention. That was because she and Maid of Honor Ella Beth Wiedmer decided to step out from under a tent the school had for them to stand under after the procession and brave the elements with everyone else while the dances were held.
“It was definitely raining at the end, but everyone made the best of it,” she said with a laugh.
Miss Parks did admit to focusing a little on herself in a light-hearted way, though. That included primarily knowing that she was nervous and fearing she might fall while processing. But what she also took time to reflect on personally that day and leading up to it was the recognition that humbled her.
“It was such an honor to know that peers view you in that light,” she said. “It was such an honor.”
Miss Parks, who had a naturally friendly, modest and easily approachable manner as she was interviewed, added that she has deliberately always tried to get better acquainted with her classmates.
“I wanted to know people in my class beyond just being acquaintances, and I tried to do that across the years,” she said. “I like to know what is going on in my classmates’ lives. We all make an effort to support each other.”
In the classroom, she has also tried to focus on various subjects and even multiple extracurricular activities. After running cross country as a younger student, she focused more on the sprints and triple jump as a varsity track and field competitor for the Bruisers, moving a little quicker down a lane or runway than when passing classmates in the hallways.
She also started playing the flute in the sixth grade and followed in her brother’s footsteps by getting involved in the combined GPS/McCallie Pep Band. That led to her unique honor of getting to be the band’s drum major this year.
“It’s such a unique community,” she said of the group.
She was also involved in Student Council and was on the GPS mock trial team that reached the state regional finals.
Academically, she has also tried to focus on multiple disciplines. She is somewhat uniquely interested in both science and history. The pandemic and a school field trip to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta made her interested in biochemistry and studying infectious diseases and epidemics.
She also plans to study history in college after being inspired in GPS teacher Callie Hamilton’s Advanced Placement U.S. history class. “She just had such a love for it, and that made me love American history,” she said.
All of that – as well as some acquaintances from GPS and a scholarship opportunity – made her decide to attend Washington and Lee University in Lexington by the mountains in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.
“They have a big scholarship program I was interested in, and they made me feel like they wanted me as a student,” she said. She said the programs offered, the rich history of the school, and the nearby outdoors also attracted her.
While there, she plans to co-major in biochemistry and history.
But she was mainly focusing her last few days before the May 17 graduation on her time at GPS and on all her friends she has tried to get to know well, including the school itself.
“I am so glad I wound up at GPS,” she said, admitting to feeling a little bittersweet that her time is concluding, despite her excitement for the next step. “Being in an all-girls environment allowed me to fully grow and support other young women.”
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Besides May queen Gwyneth Elnora Moon Parks and Maid of Honor Ella Elizabeth Cobb Wiedmer, other members of the 2025 GPS May Court included Crown Bearer Anika Elia Bhushan, Scepter Bearer Caroline Baker Grant, and Trainbearers Sadie Camille Buhrman and Eliana Noelle Tabibiazar.
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GPS May queens through the years:
(With names listed as they appeared in their senior year yearbooks)
1914 Margaret Anderson
1915 Sue Devin Smith
1916 Lucille Thomas
1919 Helen Hughes
1920 Helen Glover
1921 Dorothy Brizzie
1922 Geraldine Thatcher
1923 Augusta Allison
1924 Charlotte Ferger
1925 Sarah Robinson
1926 Mary Sanford
1927 Martha Lanier
1928 Evelyn Allison
1929 Rowena Kruesi
1930 Helen Gatewood
1931 Elizabeth Finlay
1932 Charlotte Fowler
1933 Kate Orme King
1934 Mary Alice Thompson
1935 Marjorie Wallace
1936 Betty Bryan
1937 Virginia Johnson
1938 Betty Marus
1939 Mary Katharine Fred
1940 Jane Brown
1941 Hilda Hude
1942 Mary Claire Dorscheid
1943 Elizabeth Carothers
1944 Bonnie Johnson
1945 Janet Johnston
1946 Dorris Chapin
1947 Sally McClellan
1948 Anne Cahoon
1949 Ann Nichols
1950 Sarah Key Patten
1951 Sally McCoy
1952 Dorothy Brown
1953 Charlotte Patten
1953 Phyllis Patten
1954 Hildagarde Elizabeth Reeves
1955 Nan Harlan Chamberlain
1956 Elizabeth Langdon Montague
1957 Elizabeth Seymour Chamberlain
1958 Grace Elizabeth Moore
1959 Barbara Lynda Boone
1960 Anne Hubbard Dudley
1961 Sarah Alice Bacon
1962 Katherine Frances Kendall
1963 Diann Marcia Estabrook
1964 Barbara Forsyth Johnson
1965 Cynthia Miranda Kemp
1965 Suzanne Wasson Smith
1966 Helene Frances Striebinger
1967 Martha Lynne Smith
1968 Emily Williams Bryan
1969 Louise Douglas Chamberlain
1970 Allison Goree
1971 Honey Whitaker Brown
1972 Catherine Brown Ault
1973 Mary Rececca Grems
1974 Kim Marley Lupton
1975 Eleanor Williams Bryan
1976 Lynn Fontaine Winningham
1977 Carla Michelle Sinor
1978 Sarah Katherine Lonas
1979 Frances Jane Williamson
1980 Nancy Jacqueline Collins
1981 Stephanie Jean Petree
1982 Anne Louise Duvoisin
1983 Margaret Austin Curtis
1984 Etoil Bowles
1985 Frances Sholar Clark
1986 Jana Doris Weekes
1987 Lisa Ann Portera
1988 Elizabeth Cullom Rose
1989 Lesley Denise Walker
1990 Joy Celeste Rucker
1991 Christy Leigh McArthur
1992 Janet Lee Ensign
1993 Jeannette Rae Sebes
1994 Toy Robinson O’Ferrall
1995 Florrie Louise Glendenning
1996 Ayieta Sabina Mbeche
1997 Frances Sayle Milne
1998 Crystal Yvonne Brooks
1999 Amber Leigh Swafford
2000 Jessica Ann Cofer
2001 Amita Mohan
2002 Mary Katherine Dann
2003 Vivian Grace Parham
2004 Whitney Bell
2005 Erin Felton
2006 Sarah Katherine Neall
2007 Brandi Javon Andrews
2008 Caitlin Allison McAloon
2009 Rachel June Smith
2010 Laura Elizabeth Laughlin
2011 Mary Anna Caldwell
2012 Rachel Austin Kelly
2013 Tiana Nicole Mills
2014 Jessica Lynn Erhart
2015 Mackenzie Michelle Hobbs
2016 Alyson Michelle Parris
2017 Iman Ali
2018 Phoebe-Agnès Mills
2019 Myra Kruesi Brock
2020 Kshama Ashish Patel
2021 Mary Adella Youmans
2022 Shalizeh Fatima Rizvi
2023 Kennedy Noel Ball
2024 Claire Elizabeth Scotchie
2025 Gwenyth Elnora Moon Parks
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Jcshearer2@comcast.net
Gwyneth Parks
photo by courtesy of GPS