2024 St. Mark’s Cum Laude Induction Ceremony

Laura Xia ‘25

In 1944, St. Mark’s established its own chapter of the Cum Laude Society, which was founded in 1906 under the inspiration of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society, which honored the academic success of students in college or universities. The Cum Laude Society, its name being the latin phrase “celebrate together”, honors the scholastic achievements of students in secondary school. The members of the Cum Laude Society are carefully selected, including only the ones who demonstrate high distinction in academics. 

In each chapter, no more than 20% of the graduating class can be inducted into the Cum Laude Society, with this number not being the standard but only an upper limit. In St. Mark’s, the process of induction is decided by the Cum Laude committee, which is led by Dr. Glomset of the English Department. The committee nominates students from amongst the group that meets a certain minimum standard of grade point average, and then takes a group vote to decide if each nominated student should be inducted into the Cum Laude Society. The voting is based on not only grades but also students’ demonstrated interest and curiosity in various classes. Those who are eager to learn and make the effort to learn are what the Cum Laude Society seeks to award. Since the induction process is highly selective, oftentimes the limit of 20% is not reached.

Announcement of the inductees each year is separated into two rounds, one earlier on in the year and one later. Then by the end of the year, inducted students from both rounds are acknowledged through an all-school ceremony that is preceded by a formal dinner involving the inductees and the Cum Laude committee. It has also been a tradition for promising students of the fifth form to be invited to serve as waiters for the dinner, in hopes that they will be joining the dinner as inducted students next year. 

This year’s Cum Laude ceremony took place on Tuesday, May 7th. The ceremony began with a brief introduction by Ms. Cao of the Cum Laude Society and its chapter at St. Mark’s. Then Dr. Glomset talked about studying the fictitious, as an introduction to Dr. Barnes’s talk later in the ceremony. After his talk, Dr. Glomset introduced the fourteen inducted members of this year and awarded them with certificates. Finally, Dr. Barnes’s talk on the importance of studying what is not real concludes the ceremony, for which afterwards all inducted members are reinvited on stage for a group photo. 

Each year’s inductees have the honor of having their names carved onto a platter that will be displaced on the wall in the space between the English wing and the upper center. The platters form a wall of Cum Laude members every year since 1944, displaying a stunning legacy that will be continued in future years. Unlike other platters, the Cum Laude platters are large and clearly noticeable by its location; its presence encourages students of all forms to strive for academic success in order to one day be acknowledged alongside all past inducted members. The Cum Laude Society establishes in St. Mark’s a valuable tradition that emphasizes academic achievements and celebrates the dedication and hard work of students who exemplify the highest standards of scholarship.

College Athletes Celebration

Maribeth FitzGerald ‘26

On Friday, May 3rd, 2024, St. Mark’s commemorated the 19 VI Form student-athletes for their hard work and commitment to their respective sports that earned them opportunities to play at the collegiate level. The celebration took place in the lower center, where teammates, parents, coaches, and community members gathered to support and congratulate the St. Marker’s.

         At the ceremony, Ms. Ames praised the athletes’ teamwork, leadership, skill, and work ethic. The St. Marker’s wore shirts showcasing their respective universities and colleges that they will represent in their four years after graduation.

        Only 7% of high school athletes go on to play in college and just a mere 2% Division I level. Five will play at the Division I level and 14 at the Division III level. Here is a list of the students:

Baseball 

Chuck Cappello, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Max Dushney, Bates College

John Hegarty, Cornell University

Oisin Lee, University of Notre Dame

Girls Basketball 

Ella Flanagan, Stevens Institute of Technology

Boys Basketball

Sir William Morman III, Haverford College

Devon Reid, Regis College

Field Hockey 

Charlotte Crawford, Bowdoin College

Riley Perkins, Endicott College

Judy Rodolakis, College of the Holy Cross

Boys Ice hockey 

Gannon Austin, Colby College

Austin Borggaard, Sacred Heart University

Andrew Gibbons, United States Air Force Academy

Girls Ice Hockey

Emily LeBrun, University of New England

Riley Perkins, Endicott College

Girls Lacrosse 

Maddie Bazinet, Connecticut College

Boys Lacrosse 

Marc Gadbois, Skidmore College

Squash 

Oliver Machiels, Connecticut College

Rowing

Jacob Cifuentes, Vassar College

Brendan Kelly, Gonzaga University

       The St. Marks staff, teachers, coaches, students, teammates, and other community members are extremely proud and honored that these students represent and continue to represent Lion Pride through their accomplishments, perseverance, and dedication.

Lion Link: A Lions-Developed App

Annabel Zaterka ‘26

Lion Link in Dark Mode

Lion Link is a new app developed by St. Markers of the Advanced Topics: Project Management and Development class. In 2022, four computer science students, Tiffany Ahn '24, Ian Choe '25, James Sabet '24, and Tyler Scaringella '24, came together with the idea of designing a communication platform that would increase the overall efficiency of navigating life at St. Mark's. This is no small feat at a school where information is currently relayed through multiple platforms, including Gmail, Google Docs, Google Slides, Google Sheets, and more. "We noticed a large amount of all-school emails and information scattered throughout various platforms," says Tyler. "We wanted to use our programming knowledge to attempt to create a solution to this. During the 2022-2023 school year, the five students in the class worked to design a website for students. However, this year, when the class grew to eight (Cooper Wang ‘25, Sunoo Jeong ‘24, Kaien Hung ‘25, Erin Rasmussen ‘24) students, they found it more efficient to design an app instead. Lion Link's goal is to be a single user-friendly location where students can find all the information they need daily. 

The class used an adaptive project management approach called agile methodology to quickly scale the product and then make improvements. They are divided into teams: Frontend - IOS, Frontend - Android, and Backend. "We then went into brainstorming/prototyping through frequent scrum meetings in class," says Sunoo, followed by defining tasks, writing code, and debugging. Mr. Loranger notes that students explored a full "stack" of technology to build the application, including MySQL, Prisma, Node JS, XCode/Swift, Android Studio, Asana, Slack, and GitHub. "Most importantly, students used their communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills on a daily basis to achieve the group goals," he says. 

Currently, the app has a calendar and 009 options. The calendar feature was finished just before March Break. It contains each student's schedule, and in the future, the calendar will be expanded to include athletic schedules as well. Furthermore, the 009 feature was used by most of the student body and a few faculty members to alert game runners when they got tagged and tagged someone else and communicate current targets. The app prevented miscommunications during the game and heightened the excitement because every student had access to a real-time count of how many players were left. "It took a year to build the app itself, but the fun thing about 009 is that it only took us a week and a half to build all the features," explained Tiffany. 

The app has a lot of potential for expansion. Looking ahead, Lion Link aims to expand its offerings to include additional features such as the daily lunch menu, club information, athletic information, and even a lost and found feature. Lion Link has already begun impacting the St. Mark's community, and students can not wait to see what comes next!

St. Mark’s Grants (2023-24)

Ian Cho ‘26

Picture of the Warrens with Grant Recipients: Henry Wang ’25, Rory Hutchins ‘25, Ryan Kim ‘26, Matthew Lee ‘27, Jihu Choi ‘25, Lori Cui ‘25, Teni Ogunjumo ‘27

St. Mark’s offers a diverse array of grants, each with their distinct mission: Class of ’68 V Form Fellowship, A.A. Jones Family International Studies, Experiential Project, Matthews Fund, and Thomas H. Kean ’53 Fellowship. The Warren Scholars Grant has been added this year to honor the tenure and legacy of Mr. and Dr. Warren as they prepare to depart the St. Mark’s community. Reflective of the Warrens’ contributions at St. Mark’s, the Warren Scholars Grant will support students with a genuine passion for environmental sustainability, global citizenship, and ensuring community and belonging. What are some of the students pursuing with their grants this year?

The common misconception around grants at St. Mark’s is that they are only offered to V-form students. However, many underformers are using such grants to pursue their passions. Rising sophomore Matthew Lee plans to provide wellness support for visually impaired students through museum visits, a computer camp, and a theater education. He “found out about the grant during orientation and then at the school meeting.” Fascinated by the opportunity to pursue his passion further, “[he] met with Dr. Worrell to find out more.” He reveals that the motive behind applying for the grant was that “[he had] started a non-profit organization to help blind students, so [he] wanted to fund activities during the summer for them using the grant.” Read more on Matthew’s inspiring project under the Matthews grant. 

Teni Ogunjumo, another rising sophomore, aims to address the “lack of representation in AI education” amid the rapidly growing technology. This summer, she will attend an AI4ALL Program at Stanford to gain insights into “both technical knowledge and practical skills” and how AI can be used to solve our world’s problems. She has been selected for the Kean Fellowship grant. Learn more about Teni’s project here.

Lori Cui ‘25 has been selected for two grants this year, the Class of ‘68 and the Kean fellowship grants, to pursue her passions for debate, social justice, and public policy. She said she applied for the grants because she felt there weren’t many “resources to support the debate program… so we wanted some financial support to continue to go to competitions.” For her Class of 68 Fellowship grant, she has collaborated with Condy Bao ‘25 to provide St. Mark’s students who are passionate about debate with access to various debate tournaments. Entering debate tournaments often imposes a financial burden on many students, so the grant will allow students to follow their passions without financial barriers.

She will use the grant funds for transportation and commuting to equity conferences as a Next Gen Activator Fellow representing St. Mark’s. She reveals that transportation has always been hindering the pursuit of her passion, but the grant allowed her to attend various conferences to “amplify [her] voice and contribute to the learning experience of [her] peers.” By pursuing her grant, she describes how “[St. Mark’s] is automatically invited to the conference, and [she] cannot wait to bring fellow St. Markers to learn more about social justice history and how to continue progressing for equitable change today.

Once again, a warm congratulations to the Grant winners of this year. The St. Mark’s community is truly excited to see the students' impact on the school and society. Learn more about the application process and the grant's missions here.

STEM Fellowship: The Young Pioneers' of the Field

Hannah Cha ‘25

A photo of this year’s STEM Fellows: JC Chen ’24, Tyler Scaringella ’24, Daniel Guo ’24, Coco Xia ’24, Sua Yoo ’24, Yolanda Zhou ’24, Carey Huang ’25, Sarah Mattson ’24, Jia Anand ’24, Avery Leonard ’24, Tiffany Ahn ’24

St. Mark’s had a standout year in STEM, both within and beyond the community. On April 5th, the St. Mark’s STEM Fellows showcased their outstanding independent study projects at the Massachusetts High School Science and Engineering Fair (MSEF) held at Gillette Stadium. St. Mark’s students competed among over 350 students with approximately 280 projects and achieved remarkable success. 

Jia Anand ’24 won the Sanofi grand prize, earning first place for the highest-scoring project overall: Ginsenosides CK and RK’s Effect on High-Intensity Social Behaviors of Aggression in a Tauopathy Model of Alzheimer’s Disease in Drosophila Melanogaster. Avery Leonard ’24 also received the Alnylam Bioscience Excellence Award with her third highest-scoring project overall, featuring The Influence of Ginger Root Extract on Female Reproductivity in Caenorhabditis Elegans. All fellows represented the school with their exceptional creative and innovative STEM projects.

The Taft STEM Fellowship is a signature program of St. Mark’s that provides students with opportunities for research and real-world exposure to STEM applications. Beyond the school’s advanced-level curriculums, the program encourages students to think outside the realms of information from textbooks and develop intellectual curiosity in their choice of multidisciplinary science studies. The St. Mark’s STEM fellows are selected through an application process. They are expected to develop their research topics, contact mentors, and design their own experiments to compete at the regional and state fairs later in the year. 

While the process of conducting independent research is highly tedious and challenging, STEM Fellows and faculty members state that the program is invaluable in developing hands-on, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills necessary for the future. It takes countless hours of work and effort, but the skills and experiences gained through the STEM Fellowship are truly priceless. 

If you are a student with intellectual curiosity interested in STEM, why not seek answers to your questions through the STEM Fellowship? If you have the passion, the struggles will be worthwhile.

Four St. Mark's Hockey Players Selected For USA Hockey NTDP

By Annabel Zaterka ‘26

On January 20th, St. Mark’s students, alumni, and parents came together in the Gardner Rink to celebrate four St. Mark’s hockey alumni who were selected for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (NTDP). Henry Thrun ’19, Sean Farrell ’20, Ian Moore ’21, and Richard Gallant ’25 were honored for this impressive achievement with a special banner and dedication ceremony. 

Richard, who is currently on the U.S. National Under-17 Team, returned to campus for the dedication ceremony and reflected on his time playing for St. Mark's. He mentioned the importance of Coach Carl Corazzini during his time playing for St. Mark’s, as well as the comradery felt among every single player on the hockey team. “The hockey team at St. Mark’s is as tight as it gets. Everyone knows just about everything about each other and it creates bonds and chemistry that last forever. I will definitely take the idea of brotherhood on to my future teams as every good team needs that vibe.” 

Henry Thrun, Sean Farrell, and Ian Moore all played together at Harvard University in 2022. Now, Thrun plays for the San Jose Sharks, Farrell plays for the Montreal Canadiens, and Ian Moore is continuing his career at Harvard. For Coach Corazzini, the caliber of St. Mark’s hockey alumni and these players in particular speak to the culture of the program. “There is the idea that each individual in those locker rooms cares more about each other than they do results. In this environment, everyone can reach their fullest potential because they know they have unconditional support from the entire St. Mark's community.” 

We look forward to continuing to support these athletes in the future!

Winter Athletics Coming to An End

by Feifei Cao ‘27 and Manasa Mahesh ‘27

This winter season, all of St. Mark’s athletics teams have put in tremendous effort, which has been visible throughout all their achievements. Great job, Lions!

On February 10th, Varsity Wrestling competed in the ISL Championships with wins coming from Seedi Sheriff ‘26, who won the ISL Championship in the heavyweight division, Kevin Han ‘26 (4th place finish), DJ Mines-Fisher ‘26 (5th place finish), Bennett Dence ‘27 (5th place finish), and Justin Lu ‘25 (6th place finish). 

Congratulations to Seedi Sheriff ‘26 for winning the ISL Championship in the heavyweight division! 

On February 11th, Varsity Girls Squash captured the NEPSAC Class D Championship after beating Concord Academy in the finals by 5-2!

St. Mark’s has also already taken home multiple wins, including Thirds Boys Basketball winning 29-24, Thirds Boy’s and Girl’s Squash winning 6-2 and 7-2, respectively, and Varsity Boys Squash winning 5-2 against Groton Winter Season Games!

The results from Winter Groton Day tally up to which school takes home the Burnett-Peabody Bowl at the end of the year. After a close competition in the fall, with Groton and St. Marks tying 4-4, we are so close to getting the bowl. Let's go, Lions!

Gray Colloquium with Kevin Maher: Is it Art?

By Hannah Cha ‘25

On Thursday, February 15, St. Mark’s welcomed Kevin Maher, an Emmy-nominated writer, filmmaker, and comedian, as a speaker of this year’s Gray Colloquium series on Artificial Intelligence and Citizenship. Maher’s keynote speech addressed the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the modern art industry, aligning with this year’s gray Colloquium theme.

Maher’s speech started with a unique immersive activity among the students and faculty members to collectively define what constitutes art. People each responded differently to various forms of media by either placing their hands on their heads or hips. This session not only captivated the audience’s attention but also sparked a thought-provoking dialogue on the evolving boundaries of art in the era of artificial intelligence.

 During his speech, Maher compared the use of AI in art to regifting a gift. Th metaphor suggested that the utilization of AI in art involves either a lack of understanding or a disinterest in its potential impacts, thus, questioning the authenticity and intentions behind AI-generated works. It challenged the notion of whether AI can truly capture the essence of the productive struggle inherent in traditional art forms.

Maher emphasized art as a medium for personal growth and self-expression. Whether through traditional canvas paintings or short-form videos, the journey of producing art requires dedication to one’s effort and creativity. In the context of AI-generated art, Maher reflected on how technological elements might hinder this productive struggle inherent in human-generated creations.

Kevin Maher ended the speech with a famous quote from George Orwell: “If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking for them.” By quoting Orwell, Maher highlighted the importance of critical thinking in writing processes. He drew attention to the challenges faced by writers and artists in navigating the landscapes of their careers altered by the rise of artificial intelligence. The quote underscored the essential role of articulate writing in fostering independent and meaningful reflection, raising questions about the role of AI in influencing or potentially replacing certain aspects of creative thinking.

Maher’s keynote speech at the Gray Colloquium series provided a deep dive into the intersection between artificial intelligence and the art industry. His humorous, light, yet thought-provoking approach encouraged students to contemplate the applications of AI in everyday life, and how technology might have shaped our understanding of art and citizenship in modern society.

Umoja

By Alice wang ‘26

On Friday, February 23, numerous affinity groups and individuals showcased their talent as part of the annual Umoja celebration, organized by the Pathways Prefects. 

Umoja, the Swahili word for striving for and maintaining unity in the community, is a talent show with a focus on taking pride in and celebrating our different and shared identities. The event provides spaces for celebration, connection, and joy, showcasing the rich diversity and creativity within the St. Mark’s community. 

This year’s Umoja event featured a total of 10 amazing performances, including dance performances by the Dancing Lions, SASS (South Asian Students Society), and ASEA (Association of South-East Asians), a violin performance of Arirang by Henry Wang ‘25, vocal performances by Jimmy Liu ‘24, Delin Liu ‘24, Wendy Wu ‘24, and Alice Wang ‘26, a sword dance by Sherry Mi ‘26, and a video by Los Leones (Latina/o/e/x Students). The Pathway Prefects’ dance compilation of a variety of cultures drew the event to a perfect end.

Putting together such an event took work. Lori Cui ‘25, one of the Pathway Prefects says, “We found it challenging to have a cohesive rehearsal because of the performers’ different schedules for winter sports.” Nevertheless, with the students’ dedication and the support from numerous faculties including Mr. Kent and Mr. Boston, “everything fell in place nicely, allowing us to see a variety of students volunteer and share aspects of their culture with the St. Mark’s community.” 

Umoja was a wonderful opportunity to promote perspective, compassion, and empathy within our community. The insights gained from these experiences will continue to inform our community’s efforts to foster a culture of appreciation, learning, and respect for heritage and contributions moving forward. Umoja is a paramount step for creating an inclusive and equitable environment where all members of our community feel valued, heard, and supported.