Congratulations to the Class of 2024

Lily Hyde is FWCD’s Class of 2024 Valedictorian. She will attend the University of Virginia, where she plans to double major in business and psychology. She is drawn to the field of psychology because of its versatility and application to business, law, medicine, finance, education, marketing, politics, and more. “Whichever field I may eventually work in, there’s no doubt that understanding the ins and outs of human behavior will be tremendously beneficial,” Lily said.

Lily has lived out her passion for psychology, neuroscience and human behavior with an organization she formed at FWCD called Brain Buddies. Its members strive to instill passion and curiosity for the brain among the FWCD community’s young minds while bridging the gap between two diverse age groups—elementary and high school—through learning, mentorship, bonding, and fun. Through an array of hands-on activities, experiments, games, demonstrations, and lessons, high school student teachers (Brain Buddies leaders) teach their fourth grade buddies anything and everything related to the brain—anatomy, function, senses, concussion prevention, sleep, dreams, memory, nutrition, and development. Lily founded the organization as a sophomore and served as President for three years. She grew the club from 40 student volunteers to more than 200. Lily’s Senior Capstone project focused on developing a comprehensive Brain Buddies curriculum to leave for her success, which could be accessible to schools nationwide through online subscriptions. Her goal is to inspire young students to be scientists themselves.

One of Lily’s favorite classes was AP English Literature during junior year with Leigh Block, also the School’s Athletic Director. “Take risks. That was his mantra every single day of class,” she said. “Take risks with your writing; take risks in everything you do. By constantly pushing us to venture out of our comfort zone, my writing now has so much more dimension, personality and originality. And that’s an irreplaceable gift.”

Lily experienced Block’s passion for teaching firsthand. “I don’t think there was one day of class where he didn’t light up as he was teaching, and this is just such a special thing to experience as a student,” she said. “The care and attention he dedicated to helping me improve my writing and make it the best it could be made me want to put the same care and attention to it, too. Whatever I do in life, I aspire to be as passionate about it as Mr. Block is about teaching.”

An FWCD Original, Lily has taken FWCD’s most challenging courses and is committed to academics. She is often a student that others reach out to for assistance when in need. Inducted into the Cum Laude Society as a junior, she also was honored with The Yale Book Award, the Brown University Book Award, and the Bausch + Lomb Honorary Science Award. She was also cited as one of the Outstanding Undergraduates in Science. Immersed in the School’s ballet program as a dancer and, recently, as a student choreographer, she earned the Gail Corkery Award, which is given to the junior student who best combines academic excellence with outstanding dedication to the ballet program. She was also a semifinalist for the merit-based Morehead-Cain scholarship.

Outside of school, Lily is driven to make a difference. She has served on the Kimbell Museum Teen Council. As the youngest and only high school intern at the North Central Chapter Alzheimer’s Association in summer 2022, she expanded the chapter’s partnership with the James L. West Center for Dementia Care and recruited 1,500 participants, volunteers and company sponsors for the 2022 Walk to End Alzheimer’s. In 2023, she interned with the James L. West Center as its only high school volunteer. She mastered Alex Trebek’s iconic Jeopardy! voice when leading group games, and she danced, sang, painted, baked, fed and read with over 100 residents living with mild to severe dementia.

When asked what she will miss most about FWCD, Lily noted the special community: the classmates she has spent the past 13 years with, the wonderful memories they made, and the caring faculty and staff.

Evan Dickerson is the Class of 2024 Salutatorian. He will attend Southern Methodist University in the fall and pursue a business degree. After taking Macroeconomics and Microeconomics from Upper School History Teacher Andrew Thomas, he was inspired to pursue a business degree. Evan is a Hunt and a BBA Scholar at Southern Methodist University. 

A Fort Worth native, Dickerson’s family moved to Spain when he was 9. Evan spent two years at the American University of Valencia, learning and perfecting his Spanish while immersed in the vibrant culture of Spain. The experience broadened his horizons and shaped his perspective at a young age. “It was such a transformative experience in my life, and I know I am lucky that my parents provided such a rich opportunity for our family,” he said.

When the family returned to Texas, they settled in Westlake so his oldest brother, Matthew, could finish his IB diploma at a charter school. When his middle brother, Thomas ’20, wanted an academic experience with AP courses, the family returned to Fort Worth and enrolled Thomas and Evan at FWCD. A seventh grader at the time, Evan was nervous about attending the School and wasn’t sure he would fit in. “I knew FWCD was an impressive school with smart students,” he said, “but now it’s the longest I’ve ever been at a single school.” While here, Evan took advantage of the curriculum, enrolling in every Spanish Honors and AP course offered. 

Evan found that his time in Spain proved invaluable, teaching him to adapt and embrace new challenges, skills he found useful upon his return to FWCD. “I was really well-equipped to adapt and embrace new challenges,” Evan recalls. “It made it easier to start over at a new school.”

In Middle School, Evan explored his passions, participating in theatre, playing in the band, competing in soccer and track, and making friends in all of these activities. He continued competing in soccer in grades 9-11 and played tennis for four years in Upper School. 

With a love of learning and a dedication to always do his best in everything he does, Evan cites family as his guidepost. Brothers Matthew and Thomas are role models who guide him and set a high standard for him to follow, and his parents, Mary Ellen and Paul ’82, have given him their unwavering support. This year, Evan was honored with the Senior Spanish Student Award, the Senior English Student Award, and the prestigious Humanitas per Disciplinam Award, named for FWCD’s motto (Character Through Learning) and given to a senior young man and senior young woman who have earned the respect and affection of the entire Upper School community through their consistently unselfish, positive and supportive contribution to the School. 

Evan’s favorite classes included math, science and English. While he said math was not easy, he embraced the challenge of finding the correct answer. Evan’s interest in understanding how the world works on a broad scale blossomed in his science classes, and he has a zest for writing. His macro and microeconomics and statistics courses propelled his interest in business.

Gaining leadership skills has been important to Evan. At school, he was among 14 students selected during his junior and senior years to serve as Link Crew members. These leaders mentor ninth grade students as they adjust to the challenges of high school. He also joined classmate Lily Hyde ’24 in the Brain Buddies organization and was one of six junior students to serve as a Writing Center Tutor. 

In the local community, he has been part of the Young Men’s Service League, which serves and supports the community, teaching leadership and life skills, as its Leadership and Philanthropy Committee Chair for four years. One of his favorite volunteer activities has been as a Table Servicer at Taste, a community Restaurant, where everything on the menu is free of charge, opting for a “pay-what-you-can” system instead. Recognizing Taste’s need for financial support, Evan created Feeding Fort Worth, a fundraising campaign that has raised over $5,000 and brings awareness about food insecurity in Fort Worth. 

Excited to start his next journey at SMU, Evan said, “SMU feels like home to me, just like FWCD feels like home to me, but I know I will miss this community and the friendships that I have forged along the way. I am already looking forward to reunions and alumni gatherings to hear what my classmates are up to.”