New Members of Cum Laude Inducted

Twenty-four seniors were inducted as new members of the Collegiate School chapter of the Cum Laude Society which recognizes students for academic excellence.
To qualify for Cum Laude induction, these seniors' academic averages from freshman through junior year placed them in the top 10 percent of their class. Congratulations to spring inductees Ashe Allende, Katie Ciszek, Andy Cuthbert, Mary Weston DeVoe, Anna Hoover, Kelsey Johnson, Nathan Maizels, Katie McCauley, Quinn McDonough, Austin Parks, Tyler Roberts and Tori Spivey. They joined last fall's inductees: Christina Allen, Ali Beaver, Alexander Byrd, Brian Davia, Abigail Glasgow, Shawn Kerry, Meg Meyer, Frances Mitchell, Kyle Mosman, Madeline Nagy, Ryan Tidey and Katie Wright.

Today's speaker was Dr. Kelly Tracy, Upper School biology teacher. Dr. Tracy told of an experience she had as a young student that shaped the way she approached challenges for most of her academic life. When met with difficulty in a fourth grade class, she was fearful of failure and was allowed to opt out of the situation, and she continued along that path  of avoidance until years later when she was eager to go to graduate school to study genetics. She applied and did not get in, but, instead of letting her fear of failure stop her there, she tried again and said that being admitted was "one of the best feelings I've ever had." She said that she still hears that fearful fourth-grade voice, but now pushes forward in spite of it. Many thanks to Dr. Tracy for sharing her insights with us, and we wish her well in her move to New York to teach at Riverdale Country School next year.
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