Cum Laude Society Inducts New Members
by Jeff Edmonds, HS Academic Dean
In a ceremony in the Payne Library Room before Fall Break, USN honored 21 of its highest achieving seniors by inducting them into the Cum Laude Society.
In a ceremony in the Payne Library Room before Fall Break, USN honored 21 of its highest achieving seniors by inducting them into the Cum Laude Society.
The Cum Laude Society is a national organization that offers charters to the best secondary schools across the country. Their motto Areté (Excellence) Diké (Justice) Timé (Honor) recognizes qualities of scholarship in the liberal arts and reminds us of the long tradition of learning into which our young students are making their way.
The ceremony highlighted thoughts on scholarship from the inductees, and English Department Chair Freya Sachs read them out for the audience as students came forward. Students drew ethical connections, reflected on internal motivations, and were deeply appreciative of the support they received from our learning community. Perhaps this quote from a student represents the general trend of student comments:
I am immensely fortunate to have experienced such a thorough, personalized, and truly remarkable education thus far in my life. I believe that knowledge is power--the right kind of power. It enhances individuals and the communities of which they are a part. I am extremely grateful to USN for instilling in me such a deep appreciation for how valuable learning is. If there is only one thing certain in my future, it is that I will never stop trying to learn all that I can.
After the induction, we were pleased to invite Portia Botchway to address our new inductees. Ms. Botchway is a PhD candidate in the program of Teaching and Learning at Peabody College at Vanderbilt University. She has worked as a department chair in the Science Department at inner city charter schools in Boston and is a 2010 graduate of Harvard University.
Ms. Botchway spoke frankly and elegantly about the duty to teach wisdom in the classroom and took various questions from students, faculty, and parents. Drawing on Mark Twain, she connected travelling and learning, offering a vision of education as a practice of undoing narrowness of vision, ignorance, and prejudice. She urged our young scholars to continue to frame their scholarship in terms of ethical and political virtues and reminded us of the dignity and power involved in teaching and learning.
In addition to recognizing students who have contributed immensely to our intellectual community, the Cum Laude ceremony allows us all a moment to recognize excellence in student learning, to reflect on the values that guide our educational practices, and to invite reflection from outside our community so that we can examine ourselves anew.
Congratulations to our 2015 Cum Laude Inductees: Zoe Bauer, Adam Beasley, Michael Becker, Sue Choi, Hannah Dibble, Youssef Doss, Starina D’souza, Beth Eidam, Samuel Fisher, Elizabeth Flatt, McKenna Harrington, Emaun Irani, Dev Mehrotra, Kaitlyn Rabb, Jack Reed, Sydney Robbins, Arpan Sarkar, Jeremy Seloff, Jacob Snyder, Kathryn Tanner, and Sarah Young.
More USN News
List of 3 news stories.
-
C-SPAN honors Eva '26
For the third time, the junior has earned recognition for her C-SPAN StudentCam documentary. Elected officials and a representative from the network honored her during High School Assembly on Friday, May 2.Read More -
USN hosts 5th annual Quiz Bowl Championship
Congratulations to Max Parker ’29, Anisha Nachnani ’32, Indy O’Hare ’32, and Lucas Lupu ’31, who took home the top prize at the USN Quiz Bowl Championship.Read More -
Summer 2025 reading lists available for grades 5-12
The English Department and Hassenfeld librarians share summer reading lists for rising grades 5-12 and AP courses. View their suggestions at usn.org/reading. Lower School reading lists will be published before the last day of school.Read More
Contact
Edgehill Campus
2000 Edgehill Ave.
Nashville, TN 37212
Phone: 615-321-8000
Fax: 615-321-0889
Email: info@usn.org
River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218
2000 Edgehill Ave.
Nashville, TN 37212
Phone: 615-321-8000
Fax: 615-321-0889
Email: info@usn.org
River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218
USN Mission:
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.