Head of School Jay Lasley poses with HRA’s spring 2026 Cum Laude Society inductees (left to right), Carys Casper, Colten Fulcher, Ares Marvell-Nguyen, and Henry Stern
On Thursday, February 5, Hampton Roads Academy proudly celebrated members of the Class of 2026 who are carrying on the school’s decades-long tradition of academic excellence at the annual Cum Laude Society induction ceremony.
With 380 chapters primarily in independent schools, Cum Laude is an international honor society recognizing scholastic achievement in secondary education across the United States, Canada, France, Jordan, the Philippines, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Members are selected based on their demonstration of the three principles embodied in the Cum Laude Society’s Greek motto: moral as well as academic excellence (Areté), a commitment to justice (Diké), and exemplary standards of personal honor (Timé).
Each year, in the late fall or early spring semester, HRA has the honor of inducting the top 10% of the senior class, as measured by their grade point average through eleventh grade, into the Society. A second round of inductees, representing the remainder of the top 20% of the class, is recognized at the Upper School awards ceremony in May.
The latest group of honorees consists of four exceptionally talented seniors: Carys Casper, Colten Fulcher, Ares Marvell-Nguyen, and Henry Stern. HRA extends its congratulations to them all.
“The Class of 2026 is a strong academic class in general,” said Middle School history and Latin teacher Christine Joyce, who has served as secretary of the school’s Cum Laude chapter since 2010. However, Joyce added, the four inductees are also “a group of not just good students, but good leaders and good people who are involved in the school.”
Outstanding Students at an Outstanding School
As Assistant Head of School and Director of Upper School Ben Rous observed, “The Cum Laude induction ceremony is not simply a celebration of our students’ dedication and discipline in their classes, but also a yearly recognition of Hampton Roads Academy itself.”
Founded in 1906 and modeled on Phi Beta Kappa, the most prominent collegiate academic honor society in the United States, Cum Laude requires member schools to meet rigorous standards in order to be granted a charter. The fact that HRA has held its charter since 1971—and remains one of only 13 schools in Virginia with a Cum Laude chapter—is a testament to the Navigator community’s outstanding record of achievement in the classroom and beyond.
Director of Lower School and Cum Laude member Susanne Swain ’78 welcomes Ares Marvell-Nguyen ’26 to the Society
Members of the faculty committee who evaluate potential inductees must meet the same academic standards as the students. All four are themselves members of either the Cum Laude Society or Phi Beta Kappa. Director of Lower School Susanne Swain ’78 was inducted into Cum Laude while she was a student at HRA, and two collegiate Phi Beta Kappa chapters are represented among the committee members—William & Mary for Swain and Interim Director of Middle School Karen Gillespie and Mount Holyoke College for Joyce and Middle School math teacher Jemma Kennedy.
If HRA’s Cum Laude charter signals the strength of the school’s faculty and academic programs, then those students who are selected for membership represent the best of the best.
“Inductees never took a day off, never gave anything less than their best effort in their studies, and we salute them,” Rous said.
Though the spotlight was on the newest Cum Laude members during the induction ceremony, the students themselves were filled with gratitude for the contributions of every person who helped them excel at HRA.
“I honestly do not see this as an individual award,” said inductee and Student Council Association President Colten Fulcher ’26. “There are so many people who have supported me, beginning with my family and teachers. Being an Anchor student at Hampton Roads Academy [since Pre-Kindergarten] has done more than just prepare me for success academically, but for life. The connections I have made and the lessons I have learned as a Navigator are invaluable.”
“Something You Carry Forward”
With the inductees’ families, teachers, and Upper School peers gathered in the Svein J. Lassen Auditorium to celebrate their accomplishments, the lessons that would guide the high-achieving seniors throughout their lives took center stage at the ceremony.
After introductory remarks by Jay Lasley, Head of School and president of HRA’s Cum Laude chapter, and an explanation of the Society’s motto by Swain, the committee members took turns commenting on the students’ achievements in research, athletic and creative pursuits, and community service as well as academics before presenting them with their membership certificates and pins.
Interim Director of Middle School Karen Gillespie reunites with alumna and Navigator parent Lauren Jett ’06, whom she inducted into the Cum Laude Society two decades ago
Gillespie then introduced the invited speaker for the exercises, incoming member of the Board of Trustees Lauren Jett ’06, whom she herself handed a Cum Laude certificate 20 years ago. “What I didn’t realize then was that HRA wasn’t recognizing an ending,” Jett told the inductees and their guests. “It was preparing me for everything that came next.”
Jett, HRA’s first Cum Laude speaker who is not only an alumna, but also a Navigator parent, explained that the skills upon which she has relied most through college, career shifts, leadership roles, and countless other challenges—from creative, critical, and independent thinking to teamwork and self-discipline—“were shaped right here at Hampton Roads Academy.”
Most importantly, she noted, HRA taught her that an honor like membership in the Cum Laude Society “is not something you check off a list. It is something you carry forward. Carry it when the path ahead feels uncertain. Carry it when you are asked to lead. Carry it when you are challenged to do what is right rather than what is easy.”
“Use the education you have been given not just to succeed, but to serve; not just to stand out, but to lift others up,” she said. “Let curiosity guide you, let integrity anchor you, and let the well-rounded foundation you’ve built here give you the confidence to step into whatever comes next.”
As they exited the ceremony and enjoyed a lunch reception with faculty members and their families, the inductees took to heart the charge of Cum Laude to pay forward their past successes and never stop building on the skills they first developed at HRA.
“This distinction has further motivated me to continue pursuing my academic passions as I move on to college,” said new Cum Laude Society member Carys Casper ’26. “HRA has prepared me well for these next steps by encouraging me to take the lead in my academic journey and develop a strong sense of ownership over my work.”
