On Tuesday, Feb. 7, in an Upper School assembly, French teacher and President of Cum Laude’s Chapter at KO, Ryan Brodeur, along with Head of the Upper School School Dan Gleason, welcomed the Class of 2023 inductees into the society.
This year’s inductees are seniors Abigail Baier, Elias Brandt, Sophia Brunalli, Mckenzie Campbell, Tess Chapman, Kyra Dunnirvine, Maggie Dwyer, Anyao (Michael) He, Annabelle Jacobs, Aman Kumar, Chin Ho (Johnny) Kung, Aidan Ladewig, Benjamin Margolis, Lucia Martinez-Castro, Rajan Patel, Keira Sullivan, and Bella Theodorou.
This annual announcement, and following dinner celebration for students and their families, is an important tradition in which KO recognizes those students whose effort and dedication results in a relatively high weighted grade point average (GPA).
“After being a student in good standing, induction requires being a student in the top 20% of the average weighted GPA of a student’s junior year and senior fall at this school,” Mr. Brodeur said. “We’re allowed by the Cum Laude Society to take the top 20 percent of our class.”
Eli acknowledged the importance of firstly being a strong student and shared some of his strategies for maintaining his performance. “I’m committed to being a good student because, for the most part, I’m really interested in learning about the topics of the classes that I’m taking,” he said. “The desire to learn because I’m interested in it is what motivates me.”
Mr. Brodeur mentioned that there are sometimes “surprises” in the induction letters. “Over the course of a student’s career and their time at the school, certain students are associated with being top of the class,” he said. “Seeing other students who, for whatever reason, don’t give off that impression be recognized is always really nice.”
Regardless, the dinner acknowledges the hard work and challenge each inductee has put into their education, and helps the Cum Laude Society work as a cycle. Each year, an alum of KO comes back to speak at the event, and shares with students and families how their experiences at KO have shaped their lives.
“Having an alumnus or an alumna who is happy to come back and speak, or who recognizes the value of Cum Laude, makes the induction really valuable and meaningful to everybody involved,” Mr. Brodeur said.
At the induction dinner on Monday, April 17, students will take part in an induction ceremony, including the swearing-in and the distribution of certificates and pins. Afterwards, families will enjoy a meal and hear from Alia Ornstein ’98, this year’s featured speaker.
Congratulations to all those inducted into the Cum Laude Society this year!
