When 2016 Hillbrook Award winner Olivia French returned to speak to the class of 2020 at their graduation, she encouraged them to take risks and explore who they are in high school. At Castilleja, she says, “ I refus[ed] to confine myself to a single discipline or activity. There was always a lot of talk in high school about whether you were a ‘STEM’ or ‘humanities’ kid, but I resisted the temptation to confine my interests to only one of these two disciplines.” Now a sophomore at Georgetown University, studying Biology on the pre-med track, Olivia continues to follow her love of learning and desire to explore different disciplines, characteristics that were developed and encouraged in her time at Hillbrook.
Olivia and her twin brother Walker started at Hillbrook in spring semester of 2nd grade. She loved woodshop and ceramics, and waited eagerly each year for the swim unit in PE. Those early experiences have stayed with her–she swam and played water polo at Castilleja, and she continues to study and make art.
In her middle school years, you might find Olivia in the 7th/8th courtyard, chatting and laughing with friends. “I associate that space now with connection,” she says. “It was a space of transition, between classes and between grades, but there was a consistency to it: I could always count on having a good laugh or connecting more with an old friend.”
Her favorite classroom moments are from 7th and 8th grade English, team-taught by Ms. Hansen and Ms. Rubin. She remembers acting out scenes from Lord of the Flies and reading Shakespeare together. But even more than the content, “their care for the students and dedication to teaching us really made the class special.”
As Olivia has moved through high school and into college, Hillbrook’s Core Values have been driving forces in her life, especially “be kind” and “take risks.” She deeply believes that “we should approach every situation with compassion and a willingness to be open and understanding,” a belief reinforced in her time at Hillbrook.
Olivia credits Hillbrook with teaching her the importance of taking risks, especially as a cautious child. “After being gently pushed by my teachers at Hillbrook to step out of my comfort zone, whether through speech and debate class or the service trip to Nicaragua in 7th grade, I began to understand the benefits of taking risks,” she says. “ I still have room to improve, but I have found that the times when I have taken the biggest risks have yielded the biggest rewards. From joining water polo at Castilleja to starting a knitting club here at Georgetown, I am trying to find new ways to take risks when I can.”
In the spirit of Hillbrook’s vision to inspire students to reach beyond themselves and make a difference in the world, Olivia is planning to enter the medical field in order to give back to the community. She is also working toward becoming fully fluent in Spanish so she can provide access to medical care for those who speak Spanish as their primary or only language.
Olivia’s exploration in high school and her freshman year of college have served her well, guiding her toward a career that she finds meaningful and fulfilling.
A year and a half after her speech to the 2020 graduates, Olivia’s advice remains the same: “do not be afraid to try things outside of your comfort zone, and make sure to explore as much as you can when given the opportunity.”
But she would also expand her advice to include an element included in all Hillbrook classes: reflection. She would tell students, “take some time at the end of a class, sports season, or other activity to reflect upon whether it is something that really fits you. By intentionally reflecting on your experiences, you will be able to more clearly understand what you would like to devote time and energy to in the future.”