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Alumni Spotlights

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"I teach and work in a high school, so when my wife and I were first expecting our daughter, I spent a lot of time thinking of who she might become when she became a high school student. I thought of all the students I was teaching, or had taught in the past, and tried to envision which of them I would want her to be like. Who were the most intellectually confident? The most comfortable? The most curious and kind? Far and away the students I thought of most were Orchard graduates. From then on, Orchard would be our school."

-Orchard Parent

Orchard Alumni | Making the World a Better Place

The Orchard School's mission and experiential approach to learning dictate our commitment to developing our students' talents, interests and character. This page highlights a small sample of our graduates' success in action!

Orchard graduates are doctors, lawyers, presidents and vice presidents of companies. They are marketing managers, publishers, news anchors, artists, musicians, set designers and owners of their own companies. Orchard graduates are also web designers, talent scouts, teachers, community leaders and entrepreneurs.

Most importantly, Orchard graduates are active citizens using their Progressive education to help make the world a better place.

Curious Minds, Confident Scholars

List of 5 frequently asked questions.

  • High School Choices Made by Orchard Graduates

    • Brebeuf Jesuit
    • University High School
    • Park Tudor
    • North Central High School
    • Cathedral High School
    • Bishop Chatard High School
    • Carmel High School
    • Lawrence North High School
    • Culver Academies
    • Tampa Preparatory
    • Guerin Catholic High School
    • Lake Forest Academy
    • Phillips Exeter Academy
    • Pike High School
    • Zionsville High School

  • Recent High School Awards and Honors

    • Academic All-Conference Volleyball 
    • Advanced Placement Scholar 
    • Advanced Placement Scholar with Honor 
    • Best Thespian Award 
    • Br. Patrick Sheehey Award 
    • Chiefs Award, Boys Tennis 
    • Chiefs Award, Hockey 
    • Chiefs Award, Boys Soccer 
    • Chiefs Award, Girls Soccer 
    • Cum Laude Society 
    • Indiana Academic Honors Diploma 
    • Indiana University Honors French Abroad 
    • International Baccalaureate Diploma 
    • John Phillip Sousa Band Award 
    • Lucille C. Dunne Performing Arts Award 
    • Matt Grace Mental Attitude, Indiana State Hockey
    • National Honor Society 
    • National Forensic League of Special Distinction 
    • National Catholic Forensic League, Nationals 
    • National Forensic League Degree of Honor 
    • National Honor Society 
    • Odette Karnowsky French Award 
    • Outstanding French Student (given to one student at North Central) 
    • Outstanding Theory of Knowledge Student 
    • (given to one student at North Central) 
    • Outstanding Senior Mathematics Students 
    • Outstanding Senior Science Award 
    • Patricia A. Boaz Instrumental Music Award 
    • Pep Band Award 
    • Principal’s Leadership Award (given to one student at North Central) 
    • Sarah Jane Beck Biological Science Prize 
    • Virginia E. Smith Foreign Study Award 
    • Vocal Music Award 

  • Recent College Scholarships and Awards

    • The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship 
      2018 and 2019, both attending Butler University
    • Phi Eta Sigma, Butler University
    • Magna Cum Laude graduates, Purdue University
    • National Merit, Arizona State University
    • Indiana Resident Freese Scholarship, IU 
    • Merit Plus Certificate, Texas A & M University 
    • Distinguished Scholars Award, Tulane Univ. 
    • AP Scholar Award, College Board 
    • Academic Success Award, Purdue University 
    • National Achievement Scholarship 
    • Hudson & Holland Scholars Program, IU 
    • W & L Grant, Washington and Lee University 
    • Dean’s Scholarship, Hanover College (2) 
    • Pointe Scholarship, Hanover College 
    • Laureate Scholarship, Howard University 
    • Academic Honors Scholarship, Anderson Univ. 
    • Harold McMahon, Sr. Scholarship Grant 
    • Audition Award, Butler University 
    • Music Award, Anderson University 
    • Academic Scholarship, Butler University 
    • Scholastic Art and Writing Gold Key Award 
    • Jesuit Heritage Award, Loyola University 
    • Holy Cross College Book Award 
    • Kodak Young Leaders Award  
    • President’s Scholarship, Taylor University 
    • Academic Merit Scholarship, Taylor University 
    • Presidential Scholarship, George Washington Univ. (2) 
    • George Washington Univ. Merit Scholarship 
    • Distinguished Scholarship Award, Xavier Univ. 
    • Alpha Kappa Alpha Scholarship 
    • IU Achieve Indiana Award, Indiana University 
    • Damen Scholarship, Loyola University Chicago 
    • Trustees’ Scholarship, Trinity University 
    • Honors College Scholarship, IU 
    • President’s Scholarship, Xavier University 
    • Heritage Scholar, Denison University 
    • Eckerd College Academic Honors, Leadership & Community. Service 
    • Taylor University Presidential Scholarship
    • Wake Forest Univ. National Merit Scholarship 
    • Trustee Scholarship, Loyola University Chicago 
    • Alumni Legacy and Merit Award, DePauw Univ.

  • Recent College Attendance

    • Ball State University 
    • Bradley University 
    • Dartmouth College
    • Dennison University 
    • DePaul University 
    • Elon University 
    • Fairfield University 
    • George Washington Univ. 
    • Goucher College 
    • Hope University 
    • Harvard University
    • Indiana University 
    • Ivy Tech 
    • Maine Central Prep 
    • Miami University 
    • New York University 
    • Purdue University 
    • Savannah College of Art
    • The Citadel 
    • Tulane University 
    • University of Cincinnati 
    • University of Denver 
    • University of Indianapolis 
    • Univ. of Miami 
    • University of Southern Indiana 
    • University of Southern California 
    • Vanderbilt University 
    • Villanova University 
    • Vincennes University 
    • Wabash College
    • Yale University

  • More Graduate Stories

    Merry Faller, MD '03 attended University High School and Earlham College. She spent a year in Chile and Spain and is fluent in Spanish. She graduated from the IU School of Medicine in 2016. Merry graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a major in neuroscience and a minor in Spanish. She also received the Gold Humanism Award at the IU School of Medicine and served as President of the IU Family Medicine Student Interest Group.

     
    Jim Ray '06 is a software engineer at Google, currently working on the Chromecast team. Jim says, "I think the most valuable thing I received from my Orchard experience was a love for learning and desire for growth. Orchard's outstanding teaching staff did a fantastic job of inspiring me to be a lifelong learner - an indispensable skill regardless of your chosen career path. Without their guidance, I don't think I would be in the same place I am today." Jim graduated from Purdue University.


    Leah Lovely '09 was a Butler Student Ambassador at Butler University. She was also initiated into Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. In addition, Leah held many leadership positions in her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha. Leah also worked on Butler's Diversity and Inclusion Board. Leah was hired as a behavior therapist in Indianapolis before graduating from Butler University in 2017.


    Maggie MacPhail, '07 was among the top 30 college athletes in the country nominated for the 2015 NCAA Woman of The Year Award. The honorees reflect the pillars of the Woman of The Year Award, demonstrating excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership. Maggie is a tennis player who was named top senior athlete at DePauw University. She graduated from DePauw in May 2015 with a degree in biochemistry. She is currently working on her Master's Degree.


    Orchard graduate Nolan Smith teamed up with Vanderbilt University researchers to build educational apps for children. Nolan graduated from Vanderbilt University with a degree in Computer Science in 2015. Nolan now works for Microsoft.


    Laura Kleinman graduated from The Orchard School in 1999. She graduated from Washington University-St. Louis, where she was a Harry S. Truman Scholar. Laura went on to attend and graduate from Harvard Law School. Laura is now a Chicago attorney. Laura says, "Through its teachers, administrators, coaches and staff, Orchard taught my classmates and me at very early ages the importance of respecting and valuing one another. More than 15 years since I graduated from Orchard, I still draw on the lessons I learned there every day."


    American author Kurt Vonnegut attended The Orchard School! Fifty years ago Kurt Vonnegut typed a letter to Ellie Golden Appel. Ellie and Kurt attended Orchard in the 30s. We agree with Kurt’s statement in the letter. “How could anybody at Orchard ever forget anybody else at Orchard?” Fun fact: Ellie’s mother and grandmother are two of the founding mothers of The Orchard School. And Kurt met his future wife at Orchard. Jane Cox was in his KG class!

Congratulations to the Class of 2020

Tell Your Story

We know Orchard grads are doing great things! Our Alumni are artists, scientists, adventurers, change-makers, poets, educators, researchers and much more! Let us know what you are doing to change the world!