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Alumni Reflections

Alumni Reflections

Find Out What Our Alumni Say About Their Lakehill Experience

Attending The University of Texas at Austin has been my dream ever since I was a little girl, and, thanks to Lakehill’s commitment to its students, that dream came true. Lakehill provided me with challenging courses, passionate teachers, and endless extracurricular activities that allowed for my individual growth and enrichment to help me succeed in college. Through Lakehill’s rigorous curriculum and advanced classes, I learned how to manage my time appropriately and discovered studying techniques that have given me tremendous advantages over my peers at UT. Although I have classes with hundreds of other students, the skills I learned at Lakehill have taught me how to keep up with the lectures and continue my academic success.

Lakehill also encouraged school and community involvement, which inspired me to join clubs on campus and get involved with Greek life. Through my sorority, I have made life-long friends and received hundreds of service and leadership opportunities. Lakehill’s small environment allows its students to participate in as many athletic teams and student organizations as possible, which has sculpted my ability to balance school work with my extracurricular activities and prepared me to take on new leadership roles in college.

Hannah Herrman, Class of 2016
University of Texas at Austin, Class of 2020


Lakehill gave me the opportunity to explore countless interests and activities which subsequently built up my leadership skills and my confidence to use them as a student leader. Student government was one of the most influential experiences I had at Lakehill, and it became something that would dramatically shape and influence my life through college. Had I not gotten involved in student government at Lakehill, I doubt I would have had the confidence to run for election in college.

As a senior at TCU, I served as Student Body Vice President of External Affairs. Many of the same skills I gained at Lakehill as Student Council President – how to run a meeting, how to motivate my peers, how to set meaningful and achievable goals, how to handle conflict or failure, and how to best maximize my time – became paramount in ensuring I succeeded as Vice President. Lakehill also instilled a strong work ethic and passion for service that made something like student government in college manageable and extremely rewarding.

Hudson Trent, Class of 2014
Texas Christian University, Class of 2018


Coming to Lakehill, I never worried about not being able to adjust. In fact, I joined right in and became a part of tight-knit community of classmates and teachers that would last all the way to my graduation. Lakehill provided me with the type of environment for unbridled exploration, both academically and creatively. I felt free to try anything with no outside pressure. As a result, I had the confidence to get involved in a variety of extracurricular activities. From musical theater and drama to poetry writing and painting, I explored the full range of my artistic interests through clubs and classes at Lakehill. My sophomore year, I began producing music as well, and one of my first opportunities to perform was at Lakehill’s Coffee House.

I recently graduated from the University of Southern California (USC) with a degree in Creative Writing and Music Production, where I continued to grow as a writer and a creative artist. While at USC, I secured an internship with Music Connection Magazine where I reviewed and wrote about concerts in the Los Angeles area. I am thankful I had the chance to explore the arts the way I did at Lakehill; it truly helped mold me into the creative thinker I am today.

Brandon Douglas, Class of 2016
University of Southern California, Class of 2020


Attending a small high school was the best thing I could have done to achieve my goal of playing college volleyball. During my four years in high school, we had no more than 15 players at a time on varsity, which meant that I was able to maximize my playing time and how many reps I was getting. Being in a small atmosphere allowed me to feel comfortable enough to try new things on the court without hesitation. Additionally, the academic and social environment at Lakehill gave me opportunities to take on various leadership positions from the start of my freshman year. I began college volleyball with many advantages that I would not have had without the leadership experience I gained at Lakehill.

Claire Crow, Class of 2017
Sewanee: The University of the South, Class of 2021


When I was a senior at Lakehill, I was fortunate to face a tough decision between several of my dream colleges. Ultimately, I turned down acceptances to Yale, Columbia, and the University of Chicago to attend the University of Virginia (UVA) on the full-ride Jefferson Scholarship. To earn the Jefferson Scholarship, I had to compete against 2000 other students from across the country for one of 35 spots. My time at Lakehill gave me the edge I needed to stand out from the competition and thrive once I got to campus.

At Lakehill, my teachers were mentors who were personally invested in my success. I never would have known about the Jefferson Scholarship if it weren’t for Lakehill’s college counselor, who also coached me through every step of the scholarship competition. As a freshman, I had more experience writing research papers and using critical thinking than many of my peers, helping me rise to the top of the class. Lakehill gave me the confidence to follow my own path at UVA, founding my own student organization and graduating with honors after developing my own course of study. Now, I get to apply the skills and experience I learned at Lakehill in the real world as a Design and Policy Associate at the Trinity Park Conservancy.

John Devine, Class of 2014
University of Virginia, Class of 2018


It’s been 13 years since I graduated from Lakehill, a lifetime ago, really. As such, I am sure that my experience walking those halls was something completely different to the students of today. I started fifth grade in 1998 and there was no separate high school, I walked among juniors and seniors along with everyone else. We had no state-of-the-art athletic complex and instead of an auditorium we sat on Church pews. I remember admiring the stained glass windows when I should have been listening to whatever topic was at hand for assembly.

I started Irish dancing when I was eight years old and, after my first class, I was hooked. It became my whole identity. At school, I was the Irish kid who danced all the time. My parents could not have been more supportive, but made one thing very clear, school always comes first, but once I was finished studying I could dance to my heart’s content. From then on, my life became a juggling act of books, training, and competitions. By the time I was 12, I started competing internationally as well as spending weeks on end training with my school in Ireland throughout the year. All the while, Lakehill did everything they could to accommodate and support me. They provided me with an environment where I was able to grow and thrive as a student as I pursued my passion outside of school. While they didn’t have a directly related program, they had the foresight to allow me to do my thing. They saw the value in it and ensured that they did whatever was necessary to help me succeed. In writing this, I’ve come to realize that I only thought I was dancing independently and outside of school, but, in actual fact, I was completely dependent on Lakehill’s involvement and continued support. It wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.

Over the eight years I attended Lakehill, I watched the school grow from its humble origins as I first knew it, into a much larger school with a growing and diverse student body. New, state-of-the-art facilities were built, including a new athletic complex as well as an impressive Fine Arts Department. It became very clear to me that the future generations who would come after me were going to have every opportunity at their disposal.

After graduating from Lakehill, I went to The University of Texas at Austin as a second semester sophomore, thanks to the truly world-class education I received at Lakehill. College was literally a breeze. The following year, I moved to Ireland where I finished my degree abroad at The National University of Ireland in Galway. In 2011, I auditioned for the Grammy award winning show, Riverdance, and was fortunate enough to be the only dancer chosen to join the cast. Afterwards, I went through two weeks of the most rigorous training of my life and was promptly flown to South Africa for a month’s stint in Johannesburg. Ironically, the first American show I ever performed was right here in Dallas, in Fair Park, where I had first seen the show live with my own dancing teacher among the cast. Thirteen years later, there I was standing on that same stage, in the same show looking out into the audience. I’ll never forget how surreal that was. I went on to tour all across The United States, Canada, South America, continental Europe, China, Japan, and India over the next six years. In 2018, I received my Teagascóir Choimisiúin le Rinci Gaelacha (TCRG) which fully certifies me as an accredited Irish dancing teacher. I’ve also opened two businesses, one that creates bespoke Irish dancing costumes for the dancers to wear when they compete and another is a start-up that creates high-end, weighted active wear called KILOGEAR. Practically every facet of my life, personal as well as professional, is directly related to my being an Irish dancer and I am wholeheartedly grateful for how Lakehill Preparatory not only allowed it, but encouraged what has shaped the course of my life.

Kincaid Stringer, Class of 2006
The University of Texas, The National University of Ireland

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