On May 3, sixteen Hathaway Brown seniors were inducted into the Cum Laude Society, an organization established to recognize academic achievement in secondary schools for the purpose of promoting excellence, justice, and honor.

The 2012 Cum Laude Society inductees are Claire Ashmead, Caitlin Clapacs, Sarah Forcier, Emily Gudbranson, Heather Hagerling, Rachael Horton, Sarah James, Erika Jobson, Jennifer Jones, Christine Motch, Kristin Ronzi, Gillian Rosen, Samantha Santoscoy, Rebecca Scanlon, Katherine Smythe, and Sarah Young.

Dr. Anita D. Misra-Hebert '84, a general internist, teacher, researcher and fellow in the Veterans Affairs National Quality Scholars Fellowship Program, delivered the ceremony's keynote address. In her speech, Dr. Misra-Hebert reminded the students in the audience always to reflect on the Cum Laude Society's values of Arete, Dike, and Time, and to find ways to define those ideals within the context of their own lives.

Dr. Misra-Hebert currently is completing a master’s degree in Public Health at Case Western Reserve University. Her quality improvement and research interests are focused on improvement in population health through community partnerships, collaborations between health care providers and public health practitioners, and innovative strategies for health communication.

She closed her remarks by reciting the quote she chose to include on her senior page in the 1984 Specularia, lines from a poem written by Constantine Cavafy inspired by Homer's Odyssey:

When you start on your journey to Ithaca,
then pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge. ...

Always keep Ithaca fixed in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for long years;
and even to anchor at the isle when you are old,
rich with all that you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

After the ceremony, the newly inducted Cum Laude Society members gathered for a reception with their parents, HB faculty, and guests. We congratulate all of this year's inductees on their remarkable achievements inside and outside the classrooms and we wish them the best of luck as they begin their college careers this fall.