Caroline Blatti, Head of Roland Park Country School, is pleased to announce that 15 students in the senior and junior classes were inducted into the school’s chapter of the Cum Laude Society on May 5, 2019 marking the 56th anniversary of Cum Laude at RPCS. Delivering the Margareta A. Faissler Lecture at the induction was Cum Laude member and alumna Alice Chung Cootauco, M.D., 1992.
Dr. Abram W. Harris, Director of the Tome School in Port Deposit, Maryland, founded the Cum Laude Society in 1906 to honor scholastic achievement in secondary schools. Since Dr. Harris and his associates believed that chapters should be established only in schools of superior academic quality, the group moved slowly in granting new chapters. In 1963, Roland Park Country School became the first girls’ school in Maryland to establish a chapter of the Cum Laude Society.
The motto of the Society stresses excellence, justice and honor in the broadest sense and students who are elected have demonstrated good character, honor and integrity in all aspects of their school life. In addition to students’ academic achievement, other factors for membership include rigorous academic progress, intellectual curiosity, love of learning and the desire to seek academic challenge.
“The honor of induction into Cum Laude not only recognizes your academic excellence, but also brings a responsibility for you to be the voices of inspiration as you continue into your adulthood,” Mrs. Blatti told the inductees. “It is to you that we look for transformational leadership and mentorship. As a member of The Cum Laude Society, you are the voice, the motivator and the leader our world needs.”
The following seniors were inducted into the RPCS chapter of the Cum Laude Society:
- Maria Ferariu
- Isabela Lindado Keetley
- Zoe (Xinyi) Liu
- Mary Kendall Pate
- Hadley Nan Saba
- Joy (Qingwei) Wu
- Candy (Peihua) Yang
The following juniors were inducted:
- Maeve Mullady Corcoran
- Emilia Current
- Keating Luette Drake
- Madeleine Grace Ennis
- Abigail MacKenzie Nichols
- Rebecca Marie Sturtz
- Hannah Sophia Wang
- Madeline Morgan Wilson
These seniors were inducted last year as juniors:
- Amber Lynn Bustard
- Gabrielle Elise Emge
- Casey Jule Feinstein
- Yichen (Sherry) Lian
- Oyinade Ifeoluwa Oyenusi
- Emma Taylor Wang
- Taja Marie Washington
View photos from the 2019 ceremony.