Twelve Pennington School seniors were inducted as new student members of the School's chapter of the Cum Laude Society: Olivia Cano ’25, Caleb Collins ’25, Nina Feder ’25, Olivia Kaczynska ’25, Sophia May ’25, Shreya Mookherjee ’25, Benjamin Pearlberg ’25, Jinxuan Qi ’25, Siyi Yang ’25, Xiaona Zhu ’25, Dingtong Zou ’25, and Moyang Zou ’25. Students inducted are within the top ten percent 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. 

The induction ceremony was held in Pennington United Methodist Church as part of that week’s Chapel program. After an invocation from the Reverend David Hallgren, soon-to-be inductees Xiaona “Jenny” Zhu and Siyi Yang shared a musical piece for those in attendance. The piece, an arrangement of a Chinese song entitled “South of the Yangtze River during Springtime (Jiangnan Chun Se),” featured Zhu on the erhu—a Chinese two-stringed bowed musical instrument similar to a fiddle—and Yang on the piano. 

Head of School William S. Hawkey, PhD followed the performance with a welcome address, telling the honored students, “We celebrate your achievements as a community.” Information about the Cum Laude Society's history and motto was provided by Teacher of Music Donald Dolan, and Dean of Academic Affairs Scott Peeler introduced the faculty members in Pennington’s Cum Laude chapter. Science Department Chair Stephanie Heyeck then introduced the ceremony speaker, Teacher of History Jason Harding. 

In his remarks, Harding offered a glimpse into his own high school journey, painting a picture of a student far different than the ones who were being honored at Chapel. “I was not a good student. I was not compelled to do good work or schoolwork at all,” confessed Harding, who also related some of his missteps in college, where he initially flunked out of art school. Ultimately, the key for Harding was discovering inspiration within sociology and history courses, particularly Native American studies, which was a spark that ignited his passion and commitment to learning. 

Harding encouraged the students to think about their education beyond mere grades: “I urge you to find the subject, the topic, the cause that inspires you to achieve academic excellence and that will hopefully make a positive difference in this world. Use your talents, your hard work, your inspiration for something that is larger than you, something that is bigger than yourself and your GPA,” he instructed.   

Following those remarks, Cum Laude Chapter President Lisa L. Houston formally inducted each of the twelve new student members into the chapter. The Cum Laude Society is an international organization dedicated to recognizing academic achievement in secondary schools. The Society consists of over 380 institutions, mostly independent schools, located across the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, England, France, Spain, and the Philippines. Annually, approximately 4,000 new student members are welcomed into the Society.