In this feature, we check in with PDS/USN alumni in all walks of life, all over the world for a look at all that life beyond Edgehill can entail.
By Sierra Smith, Communications Specialist
A creative force, alumnus Jaran Huggins '18 has been busy since leaving the halls of 2000 Edgehill. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Temple University where he studied film and media arts with a concentration in directing. While in college, Huggins premiered his senior thesis film at the 53rd Nashville Film Festival, a work that has earned Best Director, Best Producer, Best Cinematography, Audience Choice Best Film, Best Breakout Performance, and Best Undergraduate Film through its screenings to date.
Recently, Huggins worked on the 2023 AT&T Black Future Makers Campaign as an assistant director and assistant editor. What's more, Huggins has exciting projects to come. Alumni and families can be on the lookout for a short film he is producing and a web series episode he guest directed, both of which will come out later this year.
Between the many projects Huggins is working on, he took a few moments to reflect on his time at University School of Nashville.
Q: Please share a favorite memory from your time at 2000 Edgehill. A: Friday afternoons, hanging out in the [Hassenfeld] Library and going off campus to eat dinner with friends before High School basketball games.
Q: How did your USN education prepare you for the work you're doing today? A: USN prepped me by giving me the space to grow and evolve as a student, a creative, and a person. It instilled in me the utmost confidence and self-respect that I then carried through college and into my life now. USN always challenged me to be the very best I could in every way and I am forever grateful for that experience.
Q: What's one piece of advice you have for USN students? A: It is crucial to allow yourself to grow. In this same context, shoot for the stars while doing it. Try everything and never let others talk you out of your potential because most likely, they're trying to figure themselves out too.
Aliza Ahmed '26, Uma Ehrig '26, Victor Peng '26, Ruchika Ramachandran '27, and Yvonne Wang '27 participated in the Asian Educators Alliance conference this year in Atlanta, Georgia.
Anna Brook '30, Claire Yu '30, Clio Cherry-Pulay '29, and Liam Mooney '28 took him the championship during the 4th annual USN Middle School Quiz Bowl Championships. Two teams will travel to Chicago to compete in the National Academic Quiz Tournaments Middle School National Championships on Saturday, May 10.
Cpl. Robert Gibson joined University School of Nashville in November as a School Resource Officer, a certified police officer who is primarily assigned to a school and provides safety and security-related functions, including emergency response, safety training, traffic direction, and patrol functions.
USN Mission: University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.