The video captures a tribute and acceptance segment honoring songwriter Kristen Anderson‑Lopez at her alma mater, Charlotte Country Day School. The ceremony announces her Oscar win (shared with Robert Lopez) for the song “Let It Go” from Frozen, and highlights her humility and gratitude. Multiple speakers—teachers, classmates, and a presenter (John DuPuy, labeled Speaker A)—share personal anecdotes praising her talent, positive attitude, and kindness. Kristen herself thanks the school, notes that her education there sparked a love for Shakespeare and choral music, and mentions she is currently at the Fox Theatre rehearsing Frozen on Broadway while also preparing for the Oscar ceremony. The segment underscores the community’s pride, the timing challenges of the award amid her Broadway rehearsals and Oscar nomination, and the deep, lasting impact of her high‑school experiences on her professional success.
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The snow glows white on the mountain tonight, not a footprint to be seen. A kingdom of ice and lakes. And the Oscar goes to Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez for Let It Go, Frozen. This is the first Oscar for Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez.
And last but Last but not least, our girls, Katie and Annie. This song is inspired by our love for you and the hope that you never let fear or shame keep you from celebrating the unique people that you are. Thank you. We love you.
We love you.
Thank you.
The most amazing thing about Kristen Anderson-Lopez was the time I called her to let her know that we wanted to honor her in this way. She was taken aback and she said, what an honor. Now I'm talking to somebody who's been recognized worldwide for all kinds of phenomenal, phenomenal things, and she is taken aback by this award and so, so humble, so honored, and so honest with me. It was just a wonderful, wonderful phone call, and it just speaks so much to who she is.
It was a very inspiring experience to teach Kristen. Always came into class with a positive attitude, with a bubbly personality that was just endless. She was fearless on stage and in front of a crowd. She was always humble, just a really exceptional talent at voice and at drama. Her acting ability was also noteworthy. I'm very proud of her, extremely proud of her.
Put on a show, make one more.
One common thread that I have seen in Country Day through all my decades here is The teachers really do care about their students. They do nurture them and they do encourage them and they do everything they can possibly do to help that student be successful and to bring out the best and bring out the talents and abilities in all of their students.
Kristen, she's just the kind of girl who was friendly to everyone. I don't think she ever met a stranger. I can honestly say that when I think back to high school and our grade, There were 80-something of us, and she was well liked by everyone in the grade. I'm just so incredibly proud of who she's become. I'm not surprised at all. I mean, everything that she has earned and worked hard for, she deserves because she's just truly a special person.
You make us so proud of all that you've become. Congratulations, Kristen Anderson Lopez.
Hello, Charlotte Country Day! Thank you so much for recognizing me with this incredible honor. I am here at the St. James I'm at the Fox Theatre on 44th and 8th, about to go to the dress rehearsal for Frozen on Broadway. By the time you guys are all at Quail Hollow Country Club, I will be in the middle of the 7th preview.
Ah!
Anyway, I'll be thinking about you guys. Charlotte Country Day is where I learned to love Shakespeare and choral music, 2 things that I use every single day in everything I do. Have a wonderful night, and thank you so much. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Thank you so much. As Kristen— what she didn't say in the video and what Mark mentioned earlier is that this week falls right in between the opening of Frozen on Broadway and her Oscar nomination. The show is going to be on Sunday, and she and her husband are flying out this weekend. When— I think right after she got the nomination, she realized that there was no way she was going to be able to make it to Charlotte. So she reached out to me and said, would you mind accepting the award on my behalf? I said I would gladly do it. In fact, I thought that I would be a good representative, because our experiences at Country Day were eerily similar. We— She and I took the same Shakespeare classes with Mary Todd. In fact, Mrs. Todd, who's here tonight, was our advisor in junior and senior year.
Yes.
We were in choir together for 4 years, and we share the same fond memories of Gary Forbus, who was on the video, and the wonderful—
Yes, absolutely.
The wonderful things that he taught us about music and really about life. She did edge me out for the role of Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar, but I promise not to hold that against her. I do want to tell one quick story about Kristen that was unique to her experience at Country Day, although I think many of you will be able to relate to it. Early in high school, we were both enrolled in an honors math class taught by Mr. Tim Timson, who I see tonight and have not talked to yet. I apologize. I'm gonna try to get this story right. Just so you know, we affectionately referred to Mr. Timson as T-Squared when we were in his class. So, Kristen was not really in her element in this honors class, and I can say that with confidence because she reminded us of it every day in class, usually out loud, often in a conversation with Mr. Timson, that when something along the lines of, are you sure the registrar did not make a colossal mistake? Should I not be in the remedial math class next door? Mr. Timson would blush, or he would, he would turn around, or nod his head, and then he'd just go back Back to teaching. Well, one day we walked into the class, and Mr. Timson had a string of letters written on the board, and he said to us, this is a puzzle. The first person that gets this puzzle is going to get some extra credit on the next test. Well, this was the puzzle. It was, again, a series of letters: O-T-T-F-F-S-S-E-N-blank. Well, about the time that it takes me to say that out loud, her hand shot up. Mr. Timson called on her, and she said, the answer is T. She was correct. For those of you wondering, that is the first letter of the numbers 1 through 10. O for 1, T for 2, T for 3, and then N for 9, and then the blank for 10. Well, it's obvious now, but— But none of us got it, and based on the look on Mr. Timson's face, face, I don't know how many times he had shown this before in other classes over the years, but clearly no one had gotten it faster than Kristen had. Now, the reason I tell this story is because of what happened next, which is that after that moment, Mr. Timson and Kristen formed something of a bond. Here she was, this girl from New York, she was new to Country Day in 9th grade, she clearly was adept at theater and arts and music, but did not fit the mold of your traditional honors mathematics student, and by her own admission, did not believe that she was an honors mathematics student. But Mr. Timson believed it, and he spent the rest of that year working with her and teasing out the math student inside of her, with success, I might add. Now, she's not winning this award tonight because she went on to become a professor of mathematics. That— all that artsy stuff worked out just fine for her. But if she was here tonight, I think she would say that what she learned that year with Mr. Timson was, was really invaluable. It's so hard to succeed in this world anyway, with people constantly trying to define you and to put you into a box. But what you can't do is put yourself into a box. And what Mr. Timson taught her was, instead of being her harshest critic, she needed to be her biggest champion. That's the source of inspiration. That's the source of resolve that allows individuals to achieve and potentially exceed their own personal goals. This is where Kristen's story is perhaps not so unique. Those of us who are fortunate enough to attend Country Day can remember fondly the, the value of the relationships that we had with the faculty when we were there. Faculty who view the students as individuals, not as numbers or metrics. There are hundreds and hundreds of Charlotte Country Day graduates who, like Kristen, have reached various levels of success in their respective disciplines and endeavors. But all of them have one thing in common, which is that when they reflect on their personal journeys to success, they all— well, they will all remember that they— excuse me— they all will remember that they owe Country Day a great deal of gratitude for facilitating their ability to reach their full potential. Thank you very much for allowing me to be here tonight. I will be sure that Kristen gets this award. Thank you. Thank you.
