From the Class of 2023, Ryan Agge, Charlotte Lobring, Liza Matal, Marques Nana-Sinkam, Kate Schneider, Sam Segal, Sam Wiesel, and Kylie Wilbur were inducted, while Matthew Chensavasdijai, Joshua Cohen, Emily Conway, Kevin Hallagan, Emma Kee, Jake Lehrman, Kamdi Oguchi, Hannah Portner, Jasmine Wang, and Steven Zhong were inducted from the Class of 2024.

 

The new inductees were welcomed into the Society by Alex Behram, Maziar Beiramee, Zyley Bender, Cov Jackson, Auveen Kaveh, Christina Rowe, Lauren Safra, and Milenko Stojkovic, members of the Class of 2023 who were inducted last year, as well as faculty members who were inducted into the Cum Laude society when they were students.

 

Upon induction, the newest members were given the charge by Head of School Robert Kosasky to honor the Cum Laude Society’s three core principles of Honor, Excellence, and Justice.

 

History Teacher Amy Hamm addressed the student body. Hamm spoke on the pursuit of knowledge and truth, encouraging students to engage with learning from a curious perspective.

 

“Boredom is what happens when you try to learn something without starting from a question,” she said, suggesting that students reflect on what they are learning “tells them about the world” and applies to their lives and experiences.

 

The Cum Laude Society, which was originally founded in 1906 in Maryland, recognizes outstanding academic achievement as well as the qualities of good character, honor, and integrity in eleventh and twelfth-grade students. St. Andrew’s was admitted to the Cum Laude Society in 1987, a significant achievement for a school that had opened only nine years prior. Admission to the Cum Laude Society helped to legitimize the School, and second Head of School Thomas Shaw considered this one of his most important accomplishments.

St. Andrew’s is one of 382 member schools of the Cum Laude Society. To date, St. Andrew’s has inducted 450 juniors and seniors into the Cum Laude Society. Approximately 4,000 students in the United States and worldwide are inducted each year.