Knightly News

“From the moment I picked up a baseball, fourteen years ago, I fell in love with the game. That love for the game helped create the greatest team I’ve ever been apart of. I am proud of who we became, not only as athletes but also as people. I’ll always be grateful that I was a captain. I love those guys like brothers, and I’d do anything for them.” Harper Doerr, 2019 “Episcopal Accolade”

The 2019 Knights baseball team is just one of the many reasons recent grad Harper Doerr will forever love Episcopal. As a Knight, Doerr benefited from a community of support, lifelong connections and the unconditional love of family.

Doerr says he wasn’t the best student, but he did everything that he wanted, including studying AP Music Theory, psychology and French. He was also Fan Club President, and there was never a question of Doerr’s love for the Knights. Doerr frequently attended home games and traveled to big athletic contests, always supporting his classmates. “Being the loudest one was how I showed I cared,” he says of his passion for the blue and gold. “If you’re gonna’ do it, do it 100%.”

A Community of Support

That passion is rooted in a deep sense of love and community for a school that supported him as much as he supported classmates and teammates. Doerr’s family home was one of many that flooded in 2016. He was in the 10th grade and remembers Episcopal students and families showing up to gut the house and provide food, clothes and transportation. “This school is a lot bigger,” he recalls feeling. “They set us back on our feet.”

The following year, Doerr experienced a medical emergency, and the Episcopal community again offered love and support. Doerr experienced a blood clot that required several surgeries and a lengthy recovery. He missed a month of school and had to relearn to throw a baseball. With the love of his school community, Doerr recovered and became team captain his senior year. “It was the first real leadership role I had,” he says. Even now, he remembers the lessons learned on the field and still considers his teammates among his closest friends.

Lifelong Connections

In the classroom, Doerr learned to reach higher. Even if he didn’t feel like the best student, he says his “teachers didn’t give up on me.” Eventually, with positive pressure from teachers like Angie Edwards and Dr. Billy Pritchard, Doerr found inspiration. “I don’t want to be someone who doesn’t match their potential,” he realized. With that in mind, Doerr enrolled at LSU as a triple major, studying philosophy, political science and sociology with a concentration in criminology. He worked hard and set goals, and when he graduates this May, he’ll celebrate numerous accomplishments. Doerr is a Tiger Twelve member, the top sociology student and the Greek Man of the Year. He interned for former Governor John Bel Edwards and Congressman Garrett Graves. Through Sigma Nu, he organized a charity music festival that raised thousands for the Reclaimed Project in Africa and St. Lillian Academy in Baton Rouge. After all this, Doerr aimed for an even more elusive goal and made it a reality.

Doerr was recently named a Schwarzman Scholar, one of the world’s most prestigious graduate fellowship programs. He was one of 150 participants selected from thousands of global applicants. As a Schwarzman Scholar, he will join others from 43 countries and 114 universities in a one-year, fully funded master’s degree program at Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. Ever gracious, Doerr credits his support network and lifelong relationships with helping him earn the opportunity. “This is bigger than myself,” he says. “My friends, LSU, Episcopal mock interviews. I found this success because of all of these people.” When the Schwarzman Scholar announcement was public, Doerr thanked his network of supporters, including the Episcopal college counseling team. The team organized mock interviews with faculty members to help Doerr prepare for the Schwarzman selection process. “They gave me way more than I thought I deserved,” he says of the preparation he received. He also returned to campus to offer support and inspiration to current students. “Your path is what you make it,” Doerr advised. “Where you end up is where you’re supposed to be. Believe in who you are.”

Unconditional Love of Family

Doerr’s success would not have been possible without the love and support of his family. “I wouldn’t do it without my parents,” he says. “My parents sacrificed to send me to Episcopal. They made a lot of sacrifices for us to be successful. I don’t think I could have been blessed with a greater family.” Doerr and his younger brother Eli ’21 both benefited from the Episcopal experience and the lifelong connections they have established. Such a foundation of love and support allows Doerr to dream big without fear and be the best version of himself. After his stint in Beijing, he hopes to return home to Baton Rouge to spread the love he has received. “I want to be a part of building a better future for Baton Rouge because it's given me so much,” he says.

Only five years after graduating from Episcopal, Doerr has much to celebrate. Along the way, he’s also learned valuable life lessons that will serve him well going forward. “My success is not individual,” he says. “Family, education and friends are blessings. Treat everyone with a smile and compassion. Everyone deserves love.”

Join us in congratulating Harper on giving it 100% and reaching for his goals. We can’t wait to see what he does next!

The love and support shown by our alumni community is amazing. Every year at this time, we celebrate those alumni who have a special love for Episcopal as Cupid Couples. Join us in congratulating these alumni. Check out last year's Cupid Couple spotlight with the most recent list of Cupid Couples here.

The Episcopal School of Baton Rouge 2024-2025 application is now available! ​For more information on the application process, to schedule a tour, or learn more about the private school, contact us at [email protected] or 225-755-2685.