On Wednesday, April 17, 17 Kingswood Oxford seniors were inducted into the Cum Laude Society. The induction, held during a dinner ceremony, highlighted these students’ dedication and hard work.
The Cum Laude Society is a prestigious national association that recognizes academic excellence. Kingswood Oxford’s chapter of this association selects the top 20% of the class based on their weighted GPA from their junior year and the first semester of their senior year. The annual induction ceremony celebrated these students’ outstanding academic achievement, citizenship, and commitment to the school’s core values.
A significant amount of work went into ensuring the success of this event. Every member on the Cum Laude board played a part in the planning process, especially Cum Laude Chapter President Peggy Clark. Mrs. Clark oversees the invitation distribution, announces the inductees at an assembly, and delivers a speech at the induction ceremony. Behind the scenes, Upper School Administrative Coordinator Lindsay Perkins does a lot of work like creating invitations for the event, speaking to parents, and organizing all the appetizers that are served before the dinner.
This year, the 17 students inducted into the society were seniors Esther Arimoro, Emma Barringer, Nicolai Benz, Ashley Buckingham, Ava Cashman, Maia Killory, Andrew LaCroix, Alexander Levin, Keysy Lopez-Diaz, Diya Mistri, Samir Patel, Oskar Ruser, Dhruv Suryadevara, Loretta Szych, Nicolas Tippner, Shuhan Zhang, and Tianyu Zheng.
The inductees were notified of their election to the Kingswood Oxford chapter of the Cum Laude Society on March 26. They were invited to bring their parents and a teacher with whom they connected and who helped them throughout their time at KO. This addition to the annual recognition ceremony was a special opportunity for students to share this achievement with teachers who have helped them in their academic journey.
This event consisted of appetizers and drinks in Alumni Hall and the induction ceremony where students were officially inducted into the Cum Laude chapter at Kingswood Oxford, receiving their certificates and a pin signifying they are members of this society. After this important moment, students and their guests headed to the dining hall, where they ate dinner. Diya shared the significance of the ceremony.“For me, dinner was my favorite part because it was really nice to sit down and kind of look back on the last four years of high school,” she said, “and how far we have all come and what we enjoyed about our time at KO.”
Following dinner, attendees heard from Kingswood Oxford alumnus Jack Wolf ’16, who excelled as a varsity athlete and contributed significantly to the community during his time at KO. Now pursuing a medical degree at the UConn School of Medicine, Mr. Wolf used his knowledge and interest in chemistry to relate certain concepts to life and the importance of community. Being younger than most speakers in recent years, Jack provided a different and younger perspective, having graduated from KO not long ago. “Hearing from alums who have come back to speak, it is fascinating to hear what sticks with them in terms of how they grew up here (as a student and person) and what lessons become important to them,” Mrs. Clark said. Diya also agreed. “Jack’s speech was very inspirational,” she said. “He advised us on the importance of forming relationships in our future and how KO established a good foundation for him to succeed in life, as it will for us too.”
The evening was a great way to celebrate these students’ impressive accomplishments and this important milestone in their journeys. Congratulations to all the new members inducted into KO’s chapter!
