Baccalaureate Honors Exceptional Achievements

As virtual classes ended and we prepared for the graduation of our seniors, we paused to recognize the outstanding leadership of the Class of 2020 and the work of many people in Cardigan Mountain School community. 

The Baccalaureate and Ninth-Grade Recognition Assembly began with an address by Mr. David Auerbach H’14, P’11, who has been a teacher at Cardigan for 23 years and will retire this spring. Mr. Auerbach took the opportunity to teach one last time, instructing the audience on the definition of Baccalaureate and all the parts of a formal speech. He also shared some tips: “Early is on time; on time is late;” “Always stand up to shake someone's hand, or in this day and age, bump elbows;” “Never turn down a breath mint;” and, “In all things lead by example, not explanation.” Mr. Auerbach finished with a quote from Jacqueline Novogratz, author of Manifesto for a Moral Revolution: Practices to Build a Better World: “I will hold the mirror to you and show you your value, bear witness to your suffering, and to your light. And over time, you will do the same for me, for within the relationship lies the promise of our shared dignity and the mutual encouragement needed to do the hard things. Whatever you aim to do, whatever problem you hope to address, remember to accompany those who are struggling, those who are left out, who lack the capabilities needed to solve their own problems. We are each other's destiny. The hard skills and firm strategic priorities needed to resolve our greatest challenges lies in the soft fertile ground of our shared humanity.”

The ceremony then focused on awards, acknowledging outstanding contributions to the Cardigan community from all areas of our School.

Outstanding Dorm Citizen Awards
Banks: Ki “Jerry” Zhang ’20
Brewster 1: William Rassier ’20
Brewster 2: Luke Litowitz ’20
Clark Morgan: Nate Johnson ’20
Dewar House: Oskari Hakkarainen ’20
Franklin House: Robert Blenk ’20
Funnell Dormitory: Bochen “Victor” Zhu ’20
Greenwood House: Chenghan “John” Li ’20
Hayward 1: Xuanyu “Tommy” Li ’20
Hayward 2: Chenqi “Lucas” Ding ’20
Hinman 1: Kaiyi “Kenny” Chen ’20
Hinman 2: Diego Escalante ’20
McCusker 1: Franklin Chow ’20
McCusker 2: Wilfrido Castillo Topete ’20

Track of the Cougar Award
Diego Escalante ’20

John Dudley Clark Community Service Award
Jiahe “Jeffery” Song ’20

Art Awards
Jihyeok “Eric” Hong ’20

Music Award
Connor Pollard ’20

Woodworking Award
Charles Knapp ’20

Drama/Theater Arts Award
Diego Escalante ’20

James N. Marrion Sportsmanship Award
Diego Escalante ’20

Varsity Athletic Excellence Award
Diego Escalante ’20
Heewoo Jung ’20

The Addison Memorial Prize for Creative Writing
Franklin Chow ’20

Scholastic Awards
English: Nate Johnson ’20
Math: Qiangang “Sam” Wang ’20
History: Gabriel Brondel ’20
Science: Bill Ke ’20
World Languages: Michael Brannan ’20
ESL: Oskari Hakkarainen ’20
PEAKS: Ki “Jerry” Zhang ’20

The Outstanding Underclassman Award
Conley Bohan ’21

Gilbert Family Service Award
Amy and Walter Gorman P’20
Hui Xu and Xiaodong Wang P’20

Faculty and Staff Recognition

Our students were not the only members of our community to be honored. The faculty and staff members below have served our community for many years and are worthy of recognition.

15 Years
Mr. Jarrod Caprow, PEAKS Department Chair, Assistant Director of Studies
Mr. Marten Wennik P’15,’16, English Teacher

Up to 9 years
Mr. Graham Gauthier, Math Teacher

Up to 5 Years
Mr. Max Davis, PEAKS Coach
Mr. Chris Klein, Sixth Grade Teacher
Mr. Zach Taylor, Spanish Teacher
Mrs. Amaya Brondel P’20,’22 Student Level Coordinator

The Blaze Yearbook Dedication
Mr. Eric Escalante P’20,’22, Director of Gates