On Monday, April 28, 21 seniors from the Class of 2025 were inducted into the Cum Laude Society. Modeled by the Phi Beta Kappa Collegiate National Honor Society, the Cum Laude Society has recognized the scholastic achievement of secondary school students for over 100 years. This is the highest academic honor bestowed on members of the graduating class, relying on both records of academic excellence and nominations from the academic departments that reflect the character of students’ engagement with teaching and learning.

Alumna Abigail Love ’97, M.D., gave a moving speech that wove together her experiences with literature at MKA and her journey through anthropology before attending medical school. Dr. Love reflected on the importance of reading stories all the way through—of both books and people—and credited her time at MKA with teaching her this kind of love, as well as discipline. She emphasized that, through this, she came to better understand the world.

Dr. Love urged students to bring the same intellectual discipline they’ve gained at MKA to the stories they’ll encounter in their own lives. She said,

I wish for you the deep challenge that comes with difficult texts that challenge your worldview and reshape your understanding of the world. I wish for you to read the stories all the way through in their messy imperfection over and over, cover to cover. I wish you all the best, hand to heart. I wish for you to follow a story all the way through, including your own.

This year’s Cum Laude Society inductees have distinguished themselves through consistent academic excellence and integrity—markers of the MKA experience. As they look ahead to graduation and beyond, they do so grounded in the habits of mind and character that define MKA’s highest ideals. Congratulations to the Class of 2025 inductees!

Cum Laude Inductees: Joshua Abrams (not pictured), Elaniyah Aurora, Brooks Barrett, Ciara Branigan, Karli Coskun, Pippa Davison, Alexa Kahn, Samuel Lewis, Jemma Potenza, Jake Rendino, Lola Rosenblum, Jack Scuorzo, Jr., Jasmine Shah, Sadie Shapiro, Timothy Slater, Max Stanford, Caspar Turck, Alexis Urquhart, Peyton Vincent, X’Avier Walker, Temira Weisberg