On May 2, students from Laguna Blanca Upper School filled Spaulding Auditorium for a ceremony to recognize their newest inductees into the Cum Laude Society, the renowned organization dedicated to honoring scholastic achievement in secondary schools.

Eight new members were inducted at the fourth annual Cum Laude Society Induction Ceremony — seniors Anastasia Antonova, Justin Palmer, Bryana Schantz and Zoe Serbin, and juniors Chloë Brown, Margaret Lazarovits, Lindsay Ligon and Clara Madsen.

Cum Laude Society membership is considered the highest scholastic achievement at independent schools nationwide, and Laguna Blanca is one of only 30 schools in California authorized to admit new members.

College counselor Dr. Karl Revells outlined the basic criteria of the selection process during the ceremony. In addition to outstanding academic achievement, there is an expectation that inductees also stand as models of good citizenship and character.

“But here the similarity ends, for each inductee is also a true individual,” Revells said. “Some of them are highly athletic, some are talented artists, some are musicians and yet others are engineers-to-be. Some are keen organizers; others prefer to be members of a team, while some of them are quiet, reflective souls and others were born social.”

Chapters are permitted to admit no more than 20 percent of a graduating class, 10 percent of whom may be admitted at the conclusion of his or her junior year. Last year, Daria Etezadi, Alex Hawker and Brendon Nylen were inducted into the Cum Laude Society as juniors.

Laguna Blanca School is a K-12 co-educational, college preparatory day school. It guides students to greater heights by building upon the 80-year tradition of academic excellence with new and innovative teaching methods and programs. With the introduction of the iPad initiative, the global studies program, the new outdoor adventure education program, and the renovation of the library into a state-of-the-art academic research center, the school continues to broaden and enrich our students’ educational experience.

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— Jennifer Guess is a publicist representing Laguna Blanca School.