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Ranney Celebrates the Cum Laude Class of 2025

On Wednesday, March 5, 20 students in the Class of 2025 were inducted into Ranney School’s Cum Laude Society. Ranney School began the process of establishing its Cum Laude chapter in 2000, during which time the school underwent an extensive review of the Upper School curriculum and academic standards—a continual process that ensures Ranney’s academic program meets the expectations of the national chapter.

Cum Laude Society was founded in 1906, dedicated to honoring scholastic achievement in secondary schools. Its founders modeled the society after Phi Beta Kappa, the collegiate honor society that celebrates excellence in the liberal arts and sciences. 

Currently, there are nearly 400 chapters of Cum Laude. Membership is mainly in the United States and Puerto Rico, but chapters also exist in Canada, England, France, Spain, Switzerland, and the Philippines. Roughly 4,000 new student members are inducted annually, representing the best and brightest of their respective student bodies. 

Originally established as the Alpha Delta Tau fraternity in 1906, the Society adopted a stylized version of the Greek letter Tau, or “T,” as its logo. The “Tau” pins that the inductees receive are a reminder of the long tradition of recognizing academic excellence, even as the fraternity evolved into the Cum Laude Society in the 1950s.

The Cum Laude motto, Arete, Dike, Time, translates to “excellence,” “justice,” and “honor.” 

In his induction speech, Mr. Mark DiGiovanni said, “The motto highlights qualities that members should have as personal goals and that they should encourage in their community. What this means for us today is that academic excellence and a high standard of conduct should be recognized and celebrated. To be excellent extends beyond traditional academics.”

“To achieve the honor of Cum Laude, however, this excellence must be tied to the ideals of justice and honor, the other two words in the Society’s motto,” said DiGiovanni. “These qualities are more elusive. Although they can’t be calculated into a GPA, they are equally as important as academic excellence. Justice and honor have to do with promoting what is fair and right in one’s community. As members of Cum Laude, you have a responsibility to your community and to each other to uphold those tenets in your everyday life and while continuing to pursue excellence in all of your endeavors.”

Senior Connoly Chavez shared remarks as well: 

“And if there’s one thing our time at Ranney has taught us, it’s that growth will only come from effort, persistence, and a willingness to push past our limits.

Every class that made you rethink your life choices, every perilous test, and every late night were not merely obstacles but part of the process. Those topics, which at the time seemed nearly impossible to grasp, have today become the very foundation of our knowledge. This, to me, perfectly summarizes academic growth.

But it is oftentimes hard to see our growth—to empirically or anecdotally measure how far we have come. Remember when AP U.S. History felt like an insurmountable challenge sophomore year? Looking back, it’s almost comical that APUSH was once our biggest concern. Because by senior year, many of us voluntarily took on four or even five other AP classes, whether that was AP European History or college-level classes at Brookdale down the street—all while juggling college applications, extracurriculars, and somehow, a social life.
I don’t say this to scare the underclassmen in the stands but to encourage them. And I don’t bring it up to remind the Cum Laude class of their struggles but to implore them to take pride in them—to reflect on how much we’ve grown and how much Ranney has prepared us to manage.”

The Cum Laude Class of 2025:

Sophia Behar
Ethan Bodner
Isabella Chagares
Connoly Chavez
Caitlyn Chu
Lewis Forrest
Max Kelner
Krishna Khetani
Jon Leidersdorff
Zachary Messina
Claire O'Leary
Ashka Patel
Khushi Patel
Jack Pentony
Zhiqing Ran
Micah Seiler
Avery Weiner
Elizabeth Yang
Lucas Yanney
Abriella Yu
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Ranney School

235 Hope Road
Tinton Falls, NJ 07724
Tel. 732.542.4777
Our mission is to know and value every child, nurturing intellectual curiosity and confidence, and inspiring students to lead honorably, think creatively, and contribute meaningfully to society.