For years, Hockaday alumnae have made a significant impact in their fields of choice. Two alumnae, Ivy Awino ‘08 and Lexie Chu ‘16, were featured in the annual Forbes 30 under 30 US list, among 600 innovators across 20 industries.
Lexie Chu ‘16
Lexie Chu ’16 is a producer, creative executive and voice actor who has experience in the animation industry. In addition to leading and founding her nonprofit organization Asians in Animation, Chu has worked with a variety of media companies, including Netflix, Pixar, Disney and Skydance.
Chu, who studied at Hockaday from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade, was interested in the arts from the beginning. She said she appreciated how each student’s interests were given plenty of opportunities to grow.
“Hockaday fostered a culture of initiative,” Chu said. “It taught me that it’s never too early to start building.”
Chu helped to pioneer Hockaday’s film program, which remains today.
“I was part of Hockaday’s first film cohort, which meant learning in a space that was still taking shape,” Chu said. “Being there early gave me the chance to help shape the program in its earliest years.”
Chu noted one fine art in particular had a considerable influence on her professional path.
“Hockaday’s theater program encouraged us to be renaissance women,” Chu said. “It was an experience I deeply loved.”
At 12, Chu realized that filmmaking, an art that is selfless in nature to her, was what she wanted to do. It was after a showing of “How to Train Your Dragon” that Chu came to this realization.
“Watching ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ made me realize I wanted to make animated movies,” Chu said. “I’ve always thought of filmmaking as a form of gift-giving to an audience.”
During Chu’s film class at Hockaday, her teacher, Glenys Quick, chose to show her film to the student body. Chu still cherishes the response from this project.
“After Hockaday screened one of my films for Lower School students, I received a note from a young girl that said, ‘This film made me so happy,’” Chu said. “That moment affirmed my sense of purpose as a filmmaker and reminded me why this work matters.”
Asians in Animation, Chu’s nonprofit, was founded in 2021 in response to hate crimes toward Asian women in Atlanta, Georgia. At the time, Chu was working with Netflix.
“What began as a small conversation after the Atlanta spa shootings grew into a community of more than a thousand people,” Chu said.
Today, Asians in Animation serves over 6,000 members in more than 90 countries with the intent of creating a safe space for Asians as well as building the future through a community effort.
“I was raised with a strong sense of responsibility to community,” Chu said. “In Hollywood, individual ambition is common, but more people are recognizing the power of moving forward together.”
When Chu heard she was chosen for the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Hollywood and entertainment, she was unfortunately ill with gastroenteritis, so she wasn’t able to celebrate the win. However, Chu looks back on the news of the designation as an affirmation of her career progress.
“I appreciate Forbes’ recognition of our mission to challenge the status quo and build a more humane industry,” Chu said.
Chu’s goals on the horizon include helping Hollywood become an inclusive space that covers a wider range of stories.
“I want to help create funding pathways for stories that are underrepresented in Hollywood,” Chu said. “I care deeply about building environments where creativity can be nurtured.”
Chu said if she could speak to her high school self who was finding her identity and still continues to today, she would share a few powerful sentences.
“You have so much time ahead of you, and in ten years you’ll look back amazed at how much you’ve done,” Chu said.
For all students, Chu has one quick piece of advice:
“Never dim your light for anyone else. Completely own everything you love.”
Ivy Awino ‘08
For alumna Ivy (Winfrey) Awino ’08, her rise to fame has never been about standing alone. Whether DJing in front of thousands for the NBA or being placed on the 2020 Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list for sports, Awino sees all achievements as shared.
“It was never something I saw as mine alone,” Awino said. “I was raised to understand that individual achievement is a reflection of collective investment, mentors, teachers, teammates and community. It’s like a championship trophy. One person might lift it, but it belongs to everyone who helped you get there.”
Awino has always felt that her life could never conform to one path. As the second female DJ in the NBA and as a DJ, it came as no surprise to her that her career was not limited to one interest.
“That category bending felt very on brand with my life,” Awino said. “I’ve never really fit neatly into one box, so that recognition affirmed that there is power in creating your own lane rather than waiting for permission to exist in someone else’s.”
Although she knew that she wanted to trailblaze her own career path, Awino never expected DJing to be a part of that journey. She first got into DJing in college to gain access to rooms she aspired to be in, whether music or sports, the two groups she saw herself being a part of.
“It started off as a camouflage, a disguise,” Awino said. “But I guess I fell in love with my costume. It really wasn’t the destination; it was just the door.”
While fame may seem to bring some of the best moments to people’s lives, Awino said that some of her most impactful moments have come far from the spotlight.
“The moments where I am not behind a camera or in front of a crowd are the most meaningful.”
One of her most memorable experiences was when one of her grade-school teachers reached out on Facebook to tell her that she had seen Awino on the news and told her that she always knew something great would come of her, so much so that she named her daughter after her.
“Those are the moments that are way deeper than headlines or magazine covers,” Awino said. “They remind me that impact isn’t always loud, but it can be lasting.”
Awino said Hockaday taught her how to keep balance in her life.
“I was juggling a lot then, just like I am now,” Awino said. “Hockaday taught me how to manage multiple identities at once: student, athlete [and] creative leader, without waiting for someone to define me.”
Awino believes success means finding peace and purpose.
“When you go to a high-performance-driven school like Hockaday, you’re conditioned to chase the next notch on your belt,” Awino said. “But what if you don’t want to wear the belt anymore? Now I wake up very proud of how I live, not just what I produce.”
Awino resists the idea of being a woman in a male-dominated space and leans into her femininity for strength.
“I thank God every day that He made me a woman,” Awino said. “I never see it as a hurdle, but as an advantage.”
Now, as a mother, Awino feels a deeper responsibility to create access for others. She said that she now understands the power of influence, and this encourages her to build bigger and open doors wider.
“[Being able to] say, ‘Because I did, they did,’ is a gift that keeps on giving,” Awino said.
She said Hockaday still stands as one of the foundations of her story as her sacred ground and the place where all of her dreams were made and practiced.
“Some places don’t just shape you,” Awino said. “They stay with you. Hockaday is definitely one of those places.”
As she steps into what she is calling her “Ivy Winfrey era,” Awino is focused on building systems, not just scaling roles. Through her new projects like Two Bags and her new show “Retail Therapy,” she is striving to create platforms focused on storytelling, emotional intelligence and community.
“I’m not here for chasing moments,” Awino said. “I’m here to build something lasting.”
Awino leaves with a message to her high school self and all other teenage girls trying to find their place.
“You’re going to change, but you don’t need to become someone else to grow,” Awino said. “You just need to trust who you are and who you’re going to be.”
