Nineteen Students Inducted into St. Andrew's Cum Laude Society

From the Class of 2025, Maddy Friedman, Kyle Hessamfar, Kate Hudgins, Teeda Izadi, Aiden Keneally, Emma Luchsinger, Melissa Nugent, Kate Odell, Olivia Strause, Michael Yehl, and Caitlin Zern were inducted. Carmen Ashworth, Maya Chandra, Jack Harlan, Kamil Owoyemi, Nicole Pathak, Gregory Wayne, Vincent Wayne, and Alice Xiao were inducted for the Class of 2026.

The new inductees were welcomed into the Cum Laude Society by members of the faculty as well as member Class of 2025 who were inducted last year: Gabe Amha, Kayla Bhatia, Samina Bhatia, Talia Brodsky, Kosette Koons-Perdikis, Daniel Lobsenz, Thomas Ludecke, Alan Mehmetoglu, Ian Sabin, and Ada Shin.

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. Instructional Librarian Dr. Amanda Waugh addressed the student body as the speaker.

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 the second Head of the 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 489 juniors and seniors into the Cum Laude Society. Approximately 4,000 students in the United States and worldwide are inducted each year.