19 Upper School Students Inducted into Prestigious Cum Laude Society

Fort Worth Country Day’s chapter of the Cum Laude Society welcomed 10 seniors and nine juniors on Wednesday, March 23. They joined the ranks of nine seniors who were inducted as juniors during the 2020-21 academic year. New members were presented with certificates and pins during the ceremony in the FWCD Scott Theater. Family members of the inductees were invited to attend the short program and a luncheon following the event.

The new senior Cum Laude members are Landon Barker, Grace Cross, Liz Hazelton, Anna Hooton, Macie Mallick, Katherine Martin, Sawyer Pardue, Lillie Turner, Kenna Wong, and Luke Wroten. Junior class members are Christopher Baker, Robert Batton, Emma Hermesmeyer, Seth Mayhue, Matthew Lobo, Kennedy Packer, Caroline Readinger, Alexis Rollings, and Thomas Weaver. These 19 students joined current members Kevin Bien, Joaquin Castro-Balbi, Gage Fowlkes, Isabella Gutierrez, Elizabeth Hillman, Kendall Lehman, Reshma Niraula, Jackson Robinson, and Joshua Yoon.

Upper School English Teacher and English Department Chair Catherine Collins-Vecino opened the ceremony, sharing that Cume Laude translates to “with praise.” 

“Today, we are praising and celebrating those students who have above average academic achievement,” she said. “But it is not just academic achievement we are recognizing. Excellence, Justice, and Honor are three core ideals of the Cum Laude Society.”

This year’s featured speaker was Quentin McGown ’74, a sixth-generation Texan and fourth-generation Fort Worth attorney with a lifelong interest in history. A Fort Worth Country Day plankholder and 1974 graduate, he now serves as Associate Judge in Tarrant County Probate Court Number One. McGown’s speech focused on having perspective when looking at the current world. While all may seem turned upside down and many are experiencing significant turmoil, it is important to remember what good things come from sharing community and coming together. He began by referencing what the Earth looked like from a Mars Rover picture taken in 2007 – just a blue dot. He said that image reminds us that that blue dot is all we have. He also referenced his time at FWCD when then-President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and how teachers and students came together in the face of tragedy and grief. He talked about the protests of 1968 and the good that came from those. McGown reinforced the importance of community and coming together – demonstrating civility, kindness, and respect – and cherishing all that FWCD offers.

Following McGown’s remarks, Bill Arnold ’86 spoke at his final Cum Laude Ceremony as an Upper School History Teacher. “Today’s Cum Laude initiates are not on the stage simply because they possess talent and intellect. It is about much more than that,” he noted. “It is about achievement … these initiates are industrious, assertive, and helpful to others. They are self-aware and understand what they do well and what they need to improve upon. They understand the value of hard work … they took the advice to heart when a parent or guardian told them to ‘get your work done before you go out to play,’ or when a teacher said ‘good writing takes multiple drafts,’ or when a coach said ‘we win our games in the weight room, months before the season starts.’ These initiates took to heart when their conscience told them to keep going forward despite challenges or difficulties. They are not on stage by luck. They earned it.”   

About The Cum Laude Society

The Cum Laude Society is an honorary organization that stresses excellence, justice and honor. Selection is limited to 10 percent of the junior class and 20 percent of the senior class, elected over two years, based on students’ high academic standing and rigorous course loads. Selected students also demonstrate good character, honor and integrity in all aspects of school life.

Founded in 1906, Cum Laude Society is dedicated to honoring scholastic achievement in secondary schools. The founders of the society modeled Cum Laude after Phi Beta Kappa. In the years since its founding, Cum Laude has grown to 382 chapters, approximately two dozen of which are located in public schools and the rest in independent schools. Membership is predominately in the U.S., but chapters are also located in Canada, England, France, Spain, Puerto Rico and the Philippines.

About Quentin McGown

Quentin McGown ’74, a sixth-generation Texan and fourth-generation Fort Worth attorney with a lifelong interest in history. A Fort Worth Country Day plankholder and 1974 graduate, he now serves as Associate Judge in Tarrant County Probate Court Number One. Prior to that, McGown served as General Counsel, Director of Gift Planning, and Alumni Director at Texas Wesleyan University, from which he graduated with degrees in theatre and law. He served six years (three as chair) on the City of Fort Worth Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission and is a past chair of the Tarrant County Historical  Commission. McGown served on the city's sesquicentennial history committee and co-chaired the Tarrant County Bar Association’s centennial celebration. An alumnus of the Eldon B. Mahon Inn of Court, McGown serves on the Planning Committee for the annual Red Steagall Cowboy Gathering. He also serves on the Endowment and Development Boards of Meals on Wheels, Inc. of Tarrant County and is a board member of the Cowboy Heritage Association, immediate Past President of the Tarrant  County Historical Society, and current President of Hip Pocket Theatre. He teaches courses on Fort Worth history for the TCU Center for Texas Studies and is an adjunct instructor in Political Science and Paralegal Studies at Texas Wesleyan. He is the author of three books, Fort Worth in Vintage Postcards, Historic Photos of Fort Worth, and Remembering Fort Worth. His fourth book is in the works and explores Fort Worth’s mid-century modern architecture. McGown and his wife, Laurie, are slowly restoring their 116-year-old downtown Fort Worth home and a mid-century National Register property nestled in the remnant Cross Timbers post oaks on Lake Worth.

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