Alumna Hannah Courtney Encourages Gooden School Graduates to Foster a Love of Service to Others

In her graduation address to The Gooden School’s eighth grade class of 2015, alumna Hannah Courtney, encouraged the students to always be curious, not always seek praise, and foster a love of service to others.

“High school is a time to explore more about the world. Ask questions…develop an ability to empathize…volunteer. And doors will open for you,” said Courtney. “You will always have the Gooden family to support you,” she added. The graduation took place on Thursday, June 4, on the Episcopal school’s campus in Sierra Madre.

Inspired in part by The Road to Character, by bestselling author and New York Times columnist David Brooks, Courtney hopes the advice will resonate with the graduates, as it has for her. “This is what I wish someone had told me in my formative years,” she said.

A distinguished Gooden alumna, Courtney recently graduated from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, and has a B.A. in history from UC Berkeley. She is a member of the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles, and Loyola’s Project for the Innocent. Additionally, Courtney has served on the boards of the Public Interest Law Foundation and the Scott Moot Court Board.

Members of The Gooden School’s eighth grade graduating class of 2015:

Lauren Elizabeth Anastasia
Michael Thomas Antonucci
Madison D. Bove
Ben Christopher Brookbanks
Oliver George Brookbanks
Winifred Rose Chavira
Hunter Taylor Feldmann
Maxwell Francis Horvath
Luke Henry Hurrell
Isabella Sofia Lopez
Devin Noelle Martinez
Molly Katharine Mittelberg
Ethan Howard Stein
Atta Mario Toosi
Connor James Walker
Daniel Dmitry Walsh
Andrew Sean Wong

Reflecting The Gooden School’s reputation for academic excellence and its emphasis on the arts and service learning, Gooden students are accepted by the finest area high schools. This fall, graduates will attend Flintridge Prep, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, La Salle, Loyola, Maranatha, Mayfield Senior School, San Marcos High, St. Francis, Waldorf, Webb and Westridge. Established in 1975, The Gooden School is an independent Episcopal school, kindergarten through eighth grade, in Sierra Madre. For more information, visit www.goodenschool.org.