Madeline Shinohara ’28, Eesha Nachnani ’28, Oren Schwartz ’29, and Allen Chen ’29 visited Chengdu, China to participate in the International Sister Cities Debate Tournament. During their visit, they explored the city, tried incredible local foods, attended the Opera, spent time at the Panda Sanctuary, and visited local schools.
By Ian Dinkins, Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications
From Monday, November 17, to Monday, December 1, four High Schoolers got the chance to debate against students from across the globe in Chengdu, China. The trip was part of the International Sister Cities Debate Tournament, a competition that brings together high school debate teams from U.S. sister cities and China to compete in English. The event serves as a cultural exchange, allowing students to practice debate skills while also experiencing local culture and building international friendships.
Madeline Shinohara ’28, Eesha Nachnani ’28, Oren Schartz ’29, and Allen Chen ’29 represented USN well, with our girls team making it to the quarterfinals. After an initial loss in the preliminary round, they adapted their arguments, incorporated feedback, and demonstrated resilience and confidence on the international stage.
A big thank you goes to High School History Teacher Ayesha Nawaz and High School Math Teacher David Rudolph for accompanying the students on this special trip.
As part of their trip to Chengdu, China, the High Schoolers each wrote a reflection about the trip, highlighting what it meant to go and detailing their individual experiences. Read each student’s reflections at the links below.
Left to Right: High School History Teacher Ayesha Nawaz, Madeline Shinohara ’28, Eesha Nachnani ’28, Allen Chen ’29, Oren Schartz ’29, and High School Math Teacher David Rudolph pose for a photo in Chengdu, China.
Artclectic Patrons Party early-bird tickets are $125 each and can be purchased here through Thursday, October 1. The price increases to $150 per person on Friday, October 2. For more than 30 years, Artclectic has been one of Nashville's premier juried art shows, welcoming nationally recognized artists and visitors from across the city to USN's Sperling Gym turned art gallery. The weekend features exceptional artwork, artist demonstrations, student experiences, family activities, and special events that celebrate creativity, with proceeds benefiting USN.
USN Evening Classes, our one-night classes that benefit our need-based scholarship endowment, were recently featured on the City Cast Nashville podcast. Visit usneveningclasses.org to view the fall catalog.
The Helen Meador Summer International Fellowship funded a summer of professional development in South America for Lower School Naturalist Carrie Riley. Through this profound experience, she said she plans to bring these lessons into her teaching, grounding her voice in wonder, joy, and a commitment to protecting the natural world, which she loves.
Tiger golfers have officially qualified for the region tournament, and our other teams are not far behind. Volleyball sits near the top of the district, finishing up regular season play next week with Senior Night. Girls soccer continues to hold first place in the district after another 9-0 win, and our cross country runners are chasing after some school records. To round it all out, our mountain bike team traveled to Oakfield to continue to improve on their times for the season. There’s plenty more where that came from- so be sure to come out to the River Campus, Sperling Gym, or out on the road to cheer on our Tigers before their seasons end.
Middle School volleyball and tennis teams are nearing the final games of their seasons, with the competition heating up while the Tigers play to determine their HVAC rankings. Cross country was finally able to race at the River Campus despite the heat, and our mountain biking team traveled to Oakfield, Tennessee, for a high-temperature race weekend.
The MTB team returned to the the twisty trails of tranquil Oakfield, TN on Sept 13th to take part in the second race of the season, as part of the 5-race series hosted by the NICA/TICL League.
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.