LA lauded community members’ achievements on April 24
A quick Google search tells us the Latin phrase “cum laude” means “with praise” or “with honor.” Of course, plenty of each noun was on display in the Richardson-Mees Performing Arts Center (RMPAC) as Lawrence Academy celebrated the achievements of community members on Monday, April 24, 2023.
However, even before the official ceremony on Monday afternoon, Language Chair Mark Mucha announced LA’s National Latin Awards winners during Monday morning assembly.
Cum Laude
Lucy White
Sophia Widmayer
Henry Rodman
Abigale Moran
Erin Sheehan
Magna Cum Laude
Zheyuan Xing
Caden Li
Sophia Gutierrez Ballester
Tanner Weiss
Theodore Baern
Paula Brinkmann
Amber Banks
Maxima Cum Laude (Silver)
Sergei Leonov
Summa Cum Laude (Gold)
Kwanfong Zhang
Angelina Feng
Abbie Webster
Nunzio (Max) Domilici
Meanwhile, Head of School Dan Scheibe announced Bhavya Sharma ’23 and Charlotte Lokere ’23 as LA’s National Merit Scholarship Competition finalist and semi-finalist, respectively.
Later that day, in a school day-ending all community assembly, many more found students their way onto the roster of plaudits as exclamatory applause punctuated the relative quiet of the RMPAC.
Several rising juniors joined the Cum Laude Society:
Anna Gregory
Erin Sheehan
Lucy Ting
Joshua (Josh) White
Yongxi (Ray) Zhang
(Emma) Zhou
Then, LA recognized the ten seniors inducted last spring:
Amber Banks
Jenna Gagnon
Alexandra (Alex) Kelly
Sergei Leonov
Rachel Leung
Charlotte Lokere
Abigale Moran
Morgan Schultz
Bhavya Sharma
Hamilton (Ham) Swartwood
Subsequently, the Society added ten additional members of the Class of 2023:
Paula Brinckmann
John (Jack) Carolan
Hannah Gidlewski
Gabriel (Gael) La O
Yijia (Ella) Luo
Katelyn Michals
Abigail (Abby) Remis
Julia Schuster
Phoebe Wachira
Tegan Young
Zhekai (Andy) Yu
Classroom and extracurricular achievements took center stage as the following students earned departmental awards.
Arts
Ketan Gordon, The Class of 1965 Prize for Music
Olivia Ristaino, The Class of 1965 Prize for Dance
Alexandra Kelly, The Class of 1965 Prize for Dance
Abigail Remis, The Class of 1965 Prize for Theatre
Alexander Kirby, The Class of 1965 Prize for Theatre
Kyle Soule, The Class of 1965 Prize for Art
Cherriesa Curtin, The Class of 1965 Prize for Art
Olivia Ristaino, The Class of 1965 Prize for Art
Communications - The Francis A. Head Award for Excellence in Journalism
Nico DeLeo
Zihan Zhou
Janna Hindawi
English
Isabelle LeStage, The Brown Book Award
Makomborero Muvirimi, The Brown Book Award
Madeline Gibson, The Brown Book Award
Alexander Kirby, The Eleanor and Cameron Smith Poetry Prize
John O’Connell, The Ninth Grade Book Prize for English
Mackenzie Ribner, The May Sarton Poetry Prize
Phoebe Wachira, The Thompson English Prize
John Carolan, The Anne and David Rosenthal Prize for Literary Appreciation
History - The History and Social Sciences Award
Hamilton Swartwood
Bhavya Sharma
Language
Janayah Body, The Language Prize - Chinese
Driscoll Rodman, The Language Prize - French
Caelen Jahnle, The Language Prize - Latin
Paula Brinckmann, The Language Prize - Latin
Alexandra Kelly, The Language Prize - Spanish
Mathematics
Sergei Leonov, The Holmes Prize
Riko Uchiyama, The Mansfield Branigan Memorial Prize
Zhekai Yu, The Tower Mathematics Prize
Math/Science
Joshua White, The Rensselaer Mathematics and Science Award
Science
Lucy Ting, The Bausch & Lomb Honorary Science Medal
Student Government
Joshua White, 1957 Award (as voted by senior student leaders)
The school also divulged the complete list of 2023’s Prize-winners:
The Margaret Price White Award - Given by Robert F. White ’40 in honor and memory of his wife, Margaret Price White; the award is presented to a member of the 10th-grade class whose motivation, work ethic, and attitude toward all areas of school life have quietly and unassumingly earned the respect of the faculty. Dawit Hawgood
The Carl A. P. Lawrence Award - Established by Mrs. Lucy W. Lawrence in memory of her husband, Carl, an alumnus of the Class of 1910, trustee from 1954 until he died in 1972, and lifelong benefactor of Lawrence Academy; awarded annually to that member of the junior class whose achievements in all areas of school life demonstrate competence, loyalty, and concern for others, qualities that earned Mr. Lawrence the respect of all who know him. Madeline Gibson
The Dartmouth College book award - Awarded by the Dartmouth Club of Central Massachusetts, the Dartmouth College Book Award is given to that 11th-grade student in the top ten percent of their class who has demonstrated intellectual leadership and has made a positive contribution to the extracurricular life of the school. Joshua White
The David Soren YEUTTER memorial award - Awarded to an 11th-grade student whose interest and activities demonstrate an appreciation of natural beauty and a love for Lawrence Academy. Z LeStage, Kinh Kieu
The Harry and Ann Davidson Prize - Awarded to that undergraduate student who, upon the recommendation of the faculty, has demonstrated in all academic areas the sincere effort to achieve to the best of their ability. Mako Muvirimi
The Harvard book prize - Awarded to that member of the 11th-grade class who combines excellence in scholarship and high character with achievement in other fields; this prize was established by Richard S. Aldrich ’25, in memory of his great, great grandmother who was in the opening class of 1794 and his mother, Mary Pickering Joy Aldrich who was in the Class of 1886. Anthony Coston
The James E. Baker Prize - Awarded by an alumnus of the school, Class of 1871, to a student in the 11th grade for the best all-around development in attitude and scholarship. Owen Leahy
The Thomas B. Warner Memorial Prize - Established in September 1979 by the Warner family and friends in memory of Thomas B. Warner, Lawrence Academy alumnus, Class of 1975; to be awarded annually to two incoming seniors who have demonstrated a remarkable determination to achieve their fullest potential in the classroom, on the field, and in the school’s extracurricular activities. Se-Hanna Mars, Aly Beloff, Madeline Margraf
The Proctor Award - Established by Gary Edlin, Class of 1963, in memory of his father, Harvey Edlin, honors that student proctor who best demonstrated integrity, initiative, and responsibility. (As chosen by dorm parents). Mikey Gregoire
Finally, Lawrence Academy announced the Spring 2023 Alumni Greater Good Award, Jazz Reed ’14.