We know better than to underestimate the power of a teacher, a class or a school to influence a student’s educational trajectory. For alumna Grace Daggett ’22 — a rising senior at Tulane University majoring in neuroscience — these powerful experiences arrived more than once, starting with her time at Oak Knoll for middle and high school. Grace took two science classes with Upper School Science Teacher Anthony Williams. It was the course in Chemistry during her sophomore year that was a game-changer.

“Mr. Williams was one of my three favorite teachers at Oak Knoll,” Grace recalled. “Such a great teacher. He was one of those teachers who genuinely wants to see you learn and succeed. And he was so passionate about the material. He’d inevitably get a group of crazy girls running around the place,” she said, laughing, “and would somehow keep it all together and try to get us to actually learn the material. He was so concerned about his students and wanted to see them do well.”

Grace is on the pre-med track at Tulane. Although she fell in love with chemistry in high school — and just completed her independent research and minor requirements in the discipline — she traces her love of neuroscience to the class of Upper School Science Teacher Anna Khan. While taking AP Biology with Mrs. Khan, Grace was especially interested when the course turned to neuroscience.

“In general, [Oak Knoll] has a well-rounded curriculum of STEM subjects. My main interest in high school was chemistry because I loved the material,” Grace explained. “But I also took AP Biology, where you learn about so many different topics. There was a chapter or a small assessment on neuroscience, and I don’t know, I was hooked after that. I thought, ‘This is pretty cool.’ For the longest time, I thought I was going to pursue pre-law. I was going to go to college and eventually become a lawyer, hopefully, in the end.

“But after I took chemistry, I thought, ‘I think I’m meant to be in the sciences. I think if I really study, and I work hard at it, I can do it.’”

Three years later, Grace is not only “in the sciences,” she’s doing well. She knew that she would have a pre-med focus, but had no idea what her major would be. So, she was admitted to Tulane as undecided and started taking basic science courses like general chemistry, biology, and labs. “What science field do I want to pursue? Do I want to go bio? Do I want to go chem? Do I want to go neuro? It was nerve-wrecking, but the beauty of it is that you can choose whatever you want.”

During her freshman year, Grace emailed a neuroscience professor and asked to sit in on a class. It was there that she learned that lightning can strike twice. The experience brought together all of her interests, and she immediately knew what she wanted to do.

“That class was really cool,” Grace said. “I’m fascinated by how neuroscience is interconnected with people’s behaviors and their reactions to life around them. I got a little taste of it, and I was hooked after that. I emailed the professor right away and thanked her, and told her that I was going to declare my major that week. It was a gut feeling. I am meant to do this.”

Grace will graduate from Tulane with a BS in neuroscience and a minor in chemistry in spring 2026. She plans to take the GMAT during her senior year and will most likely take a gap year before medical school. Here’s what she has to say to young women like her who are thinking about going into the sciences.

“My parents were able to send me to a great middle and high school like Oak Knoll that had the resources and opportunities to prepare me. Even if you’re scared to do it, do it anyway. You never know what can happen.”