Sewickley Academy inducts 8 into Cum Laude Society

Eight outstanding members of Sewickley Academy’s class of 2025 have been inducted into the prestigious Cum Laude Society, an honor reserved for students who have demonstrated exceptional academic achievement, intellectual curiosity and integrity throughout their high school careers.

This year’s inductees are Jason Chen, Rocco Colditz, Hallie Dong, Severin Harmon, Karan Kad, Avni Kathju, Sebastian Tan and Rayna Thakkar.

The Cum Laude Society was established in 1906 as a scholastic achievement organization for secondary school students, modeled after Phi Beta Kappa at the collegiate level. Sewickley Academy is one of 382 chapters of the Society worldwide.

Membership in the Cum Laude Society is based on a student’s academic achievement, which takes into account not only the student’s grades, but also the strength of the program in which the student is enrolled, consistent with the student’s scholarly strengths and academic interests. Among those students who meet the minimum membership guidelines, the Academy’s chapter selects the few who are the most outstanding.

Sewickley Academy currently has four faculty and staff members who are part of the Cum Laude Society: Cristy McCloskey, computer science department chair and teacher; Jessica Peluso, history and social sciences teacher; Ben Spicer, science department chair and teacher; and Dr. Ashley Birtwell, Head of School.

“We are extremely proud of these students for their hard work, discipline and dedication to the pursuit of knowledge,” Birtwell said. “They exemplify the values of the Cum Laude Society, and we are eager to see what the future has in store for them in college and beyond.”

This year’s inductees were recognized during a special assembly in the fall, and were formally inducted into the Cum Laude Society during the Academy’s annual Senior School Awards Ceremony on April 15.