Twelve Pennington School seniors were inducted as student members of the School’s chapter of the Cum Laude Society.
Students inducted are within the top 10% of their class, as determined by grade point average, and the School views selection for membership as one of the highest honors it can confer, according to a press release through the school.
The Cum Laude Society is an international organization dedicated to recognizing academic achievement in secondary schools. There are 382 institutions in the Society; most are independent schools.
The new members of Pennington’s chapter of Cum Laude are Isabel Adams, Yuda Li, Benjamin Clabbers, Gloria Liu, Isabella Fermo, Chloe McKain, Gordon Grandbouche, Kyle Meinhart, Jinze Hong, Francesca Pendus, Beatrix Kim, and Dailan Xu.
The induction ceremony was held in Pennington United Methodist Church on Oct. 18. After an invocation from the Rev. David Hallgren, Head of School William S. Hawkey gave a welcome speech. Teacher of Music Donald Dolan provided information about the Cum Laude Society’s history and motto, and Dean of Academic Affairs Scott Peeler introduced the faculty members in Pennington’s Cum Laude chapter. Teacher of Spanish Lida Castro introduced the event’s speaker, Assistant Director of Residence Life and Teacher of Latin and English Peter Secrest. Cum Laude Chapter President Lisa L. Houston then formally inducted the students.
A list of the fall Cum Laude inductees include:
New Jersey
Pennington: Isabel Adams
Princeton: Gordon Grandbouche
Princeton Junction: Yuda Li
Skillman: Beatrix Kim, Gloria Liu
Trenton: Chloe McKain
Pennsylvania
Langhorne: Benjamin Clabbers
Yardley: Isabella Fermo, Kyle Meinhart, Francesca Pendus
ChinaBeijing: Dailan Xu
Hangzhou: Jinze Hong