Twelve Seniors are Inducted into the Cum Laude Society
June 6, 2022
On the evening of April 18, Morristown Beard School inducted 12 students into the Cum Laude Society for their outstanding scholastic achievements. This year’s inductees include: Vasiliki Amourgianos ’22, Dylan Braunstein ’22, Ethan Chestnut-Stein ’22, Tori Fergus ’22, Emily Freelund ’22, Aaron Morton ’22, Michael Sciarra ’22, Charles Sheppard ’22, Evelyn Umezinwa ’22, Anahatt Virk ’22, Julia Yermack ’22, and Tyler Zakhary ’22. These students were not only honored for their outstanding scholastic achievements, but also for their overall performance, academic rigor, and sustained progress in their time at Morristown Beard School.
The Cum Laude Society was founded in 1906 at the Tome School in Port Deposit, Maryland, to promote learning and sound scholarship in secondary schools. It was modeled on Phi Beta Kappa, the country’s oldest academic honor society, which, according to their website, “has celebrated excellence in the liberal arts and sciences and championed freedom of thought” since its inception in 1776.
The motto of the Cum Laude Society is expressed in three Greek words: Areté, which means excellence, not only in the intellectual sense but in the moral sense; Diké, which includes the concept of what is suitable and appropriate, as well as just; and Timé, which includes the concept of dignity and true worth, as well as honor. The Beard School received its Cum Laude charter in 1950, The Morristown School in 1958, and Morristown Beard School in 1976.
Dr. Jack Bartholemew, the chair of the Cum Laude Society chapter and science teacher at MBS, said, “learning for its own sake can be a beautiful thing instead of just learning for a grade. There is a sense of that in our recipients. [The committee is] looking for people that are engaging in the life of the mind in a way that contributes to the intellectual sphere of the school.”
The Cum Laude Ceremony was not just for honoring the newest inductees, but the old ones as well. As part of the Cum Laude Address on April 18, MBS graduate and Cum Laude Society member, Leah Seldin ’17 spoke about the transition to college and adulthood. Head of Upperschool Ryan Liese added that choosing Seldin was chosen this year as the alumni honoree allowed students to see a perspective from someone who is “not so far removed from the current student body.” In her speech, Seldin described emerging adulthood as a tim e period marked by feeling in-between, self-focus, instability, identity exploration, and possibilities. Her additional work concerning college and post-graduate life and how it related to changing life stages was an interesting perspective that MBS wanted to share with its students.
Coming back to MBS felt like a very full circle experience for Seldin after graduating MBS just five years ago. During her lecture, Seldin discussed feeling that this experience for her was very special as she was able to come back to the beginning of her journey since graduating and see how much she has grown and changed.
Seldin delivered her speech with the hope that the new Cum Laude Society inductees, and the rest of the MBS student body, better understand that everything will work out and that they will be okay. The message of her speech focused on how times of stress are temporary and, in the end, beneficial in providing challenges that allow for growth.
For the newest Cum Laude Society inductees especially, Seldin had some final words of advice to share: “College will be even more challenging on an academic, personal, and social level than highschool. Who you are and what you have achieved in high school, while wonderful, is not the end all – be all.”
