Seniors from the class of 2017 are inducted into MKA's Cum Laude Society!

Congratulations to the 20 seniors from the MKA class of 2017 who were inducted into the Cum Laude Society at a formal ceremony held at the Upper School. The Cum Laude Society, established in l906, is modeled on the Phi Beta Kappa Collegiate National Honor Society and recognizes the scholastic achievement of secondary school students. It is the highest academic honor bestowed on members of the graduating class.

Headmaster Tom Nammock said of the inductees, " MKA elects students to Cum Laude on the basis of exceptional contributions to the intellectual life of the school. Your capacities for engagement, inquiry, effort, reflection, and judgment are why you are here. In your classes each of you deliberately chose to be a member of the crew and not just a passenger – you have helped to make things go and you have created academic and intellectual benefits for the faculty and the students around you."

Denise Sarko, a Cum Laude graduate from MKA's class of 2003 was the keynote speaker. With over eight years of strategy, finance, and operations experience, Denise established her first company last year in February 2016 called New Roots Development. New Roots Development offers professional life and business coaching to working professionals, aspiring entrepreneurs, and creatives. The company's mission is to serve over 1,000,000 individuals in establishing a firmer footing in life holistically both as individuals and in relationship with others.

Denise advised the students in regards to their future careers, "Studies indicate that your generation will change careers more often than any previous generation. You along with your peers will face economic pressures from the abuse of our planet as well as from the rapid pace of innovation, notably Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, 3D-Printing, and other key technologies. My advice is that, to the best of your ability, you choose your boss and not a job. Work for people you admire and seek to remain at the forefront of your field by reading valuable content. Ensure that you are always in rooms with individuals who are smarter than you are and who exercise compassion through philanthropy; this requires humility, but it will ensure your environment continues to stretch you. Be Excellent. Seek advice of those who are knowledgeable about your interests and balance this with executing on your own ideas as that will build confidence. Don't be afraid to fail and in fact, embrace failure as an indication that you are willing to be innovative and try new things. In the book, Grit by Psychologist Angela Duckworth, she presents findings that it is not your level of education, finances or even your talent that will make you or keep you successful, but rather how much passion and perseverance you bring to the pursuit of your goals, both personal and professional."

The 2017 inductees are: Sydney Abraham, Ruby Bello, Wyatt Blair, David Carcamo, Jenna Donatello, John Gouwar, Rohan Israni, Miles Milke, Kate Henshaw-Lewis, Parker Richardson, Alex Rivlin, Matthew Rubinstein, Jacob Sasfai, Maddie Sirois, Joshua Talbot, Jayson Thompson, Jacob Waldor, Gus Wallach, Morgan Zaref, Jonah Zinn.