Taft's newest inductees into the Cum Laude Society were recognized recently for their hard work and achievement. In his introduction of the 16 members of the class of 2012 to merit election into the Society, Headmaster Willy MacMullen recalled the work of Professor Angela Duckworth, the noted UPenn research psychologist who spoke to the Taft community last year.
"If you have the willingness to do that which is hard, to get back up after you've struggled and to face challenges, it will pay off more than anything," MacMullen said. "That is what these students have done throughout their years at Taft."
A maximum of 20 percent of the Senior Class may be elected into membership in the Cum Laude Society; those inducted this fall represent the top 9.2 percent of their class, with weighted averages that ranged from 93.2 to 97.9 for those two years.
This fall's honorees are (from left in photo): Alex Reiff, Academic Dean Jon Willson '82, Michelle Chang, Kanoko Kotaka, Thuy Tran, Ina Kosova, Cathy Chen, Christina Morgan, Sarah Nyquist, Eliza Davis, Kristen Shaker, Julian Patrick Sena, Benjamin Garfinkel, Mai Thanh Nguyen, Tae Young Woo, Christopher Browner, Connie Cheung and Headmaster Willy MacMullen '78.
"By any measure they are extraordinary students," MacMullen adds. "But do not foget that achievement comes because they worked hard. Working hard, persevering and having grit matter hugely."
Founded in 1908, the Cum Laude Society is the national scholarship society in secondary schools, corresponding to Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi in colleges and scientific schools. Students are elected based on their academic records during both their middle and uppermiddle years. At this spring’s graduation, this first group will be joined by other seniors whose selection will be based upon their records for their uppermid and senior years.
Other academic achievements of note:
•Academic Dean Jon Willson announced the Ranking Scholars for 2010-11 year, with the highest unweighted averages in their classes:
Class of 2014: 95.0 Linh Khanh Tang
Class of 2013: 95.0 Ne Yeon (Carrie) Shin
Class of 2012: 95.5 Kristen Shaker
•Michael McCarthy '12 was recognized as a National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalist, finishing in the top 1 percent of PSAT takers nationwide. Twelve other students received commendations for scoring in the top 5 percent.
•Seniors AJ Fields and Andrew Robertson received commendation from the National Achievement Scholarship Program for their outstanding performance last academic year on the PSAT, finishing in the top 3% of Black Americans who requested entry into the program.