Academic Awards Chapel Honors Excellence

The Academic Awards Chapel honors outstanding academic achievements, including writing prizes, Advanced Placement Scholars, and the announcement of the Form VI students inducted into the prestigious Cum Laude Society.

Greg Schneider, Ronald M. Druker ’62 Head of School, opened this year’s ceremony by recognizing the academic commitments made by the entire student body. “I love walking through our hallways and being bowled over by the depth and sophistication of your work in our classrooms,” Mr. Schneider said. “I want to thank everyone in this room for the sacrifices you will continue to make to meet and exceed our standards of excellence. I never take these efforts for granted, and I want you to know that your dedication to these ideals truly does matter.

Following the presentation of the awards, Cum Laude Speaker and English teacher Paige Wallace encouraged all students to seek out the topics or activities that bring them joy, and to see their Belmont Hill journey as more than a means to an end. “If you focus on developing the habits of asking questions, digging deeply into areas that interest you, and sharing your interests with others, awards and accomplishments will come,” Ms. Wallace said. “But more importantly, so will the excitement and joy of finding your own passion and sense of purpose.”

A full list of the academic honors is presented below:

Cum Laude
Belmont Hill has had a chapter in the Cum Laude Society since 1929. Nine Form VI students were elected and additional members will join the group in the spring. The new Cum Laude honorees are:

Class of 2026
Rylan Dean 
Samuel Flood
Eita Fuse 
Benjamin Gong
Jaiden Lee 
Brandon Li
Timothy Snail
Luke Waldeck 
Nathan Zhang 

Advanced Placement (AP) Scholars Named

AP Scholars with Distinction (granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.5 on all exams and a 3 or higher on 5 or more AP exams)

AP Scholars with Distinction: Form VI
William Achtmeyer
William Butler
Griffin Calhoun
Daniel Chen
Jayden Chen
Thomas Danahy
Lucien Davis
Rylan Dean
Sammy Flood
Eita Fuse
Panos Gianoukos
Ben Gong
Jaiden Lee
Brandon Li
Justin Li
Eli Norden
Henry Ramanathan
Jack Ramanathan
TZ Snail
Griffin Vail
Luke Waldeck
Ethan Xie
Alex Zhang
Nathan Zhang

AP Scholars with Distinction: Form V
Anthony Dang
Will Jones

 AP Scholars with Honor (granted to students with an average of at least 3.25 on all exams and a 3 or higher on 4 or more AP exams)

AP Scholars with Honor: Form VI
Bradford Adams
Ethan Ho
Jackson Hurd
Charlie Largess
Brody Lindstrom-Chalpin
Babikir Saeed
Jack Santonelli
Tyler Smith
Jai Somani
Chase Teeson
Eli Warn
Carson Yoo

AP Scholars with Honor: Form V
Harry Liu
Jake Ma
Dante Román

 AP Scholars  (granted to students who scored 3 or higher on 3 or more AP exams) 

AP Scholars: Form VI
Polo Brice
Jack Coughlin
Rhett Curtis
Budom Ezeani
Boston Ezedi
Michael Hadley
Grant Hanser
William Hennigar
Mason Iandiorio
Malik Ibrahim
Nicky Jones
Leopold Kuehberger
Charlie Maws
Scotty Moreau
JJ Pena
Giacomo Turco

AP Scholars: Form V
Ryan Chang-Wu
Alex Chen
Johannes Eikeboom
Connor Lynch
Teodoro Rivera-Wills
William Sandor
Hunter Steeves
Declan Woolbert

Donato Monaco American History Prize presented by Mr. Glenn Harvey: 

Jaiden Lee ’26, for his essay: “Praise, Prejudice, and Proxy Wars: How the Model Minority Myth Shaped America’s Racial Playbook”

Profile Prize presented by Mr. Christopher Zellner for their outstanding biographical narratives: 

Anthony Dang ’27, for his profile “Laps, Legacy, Lochte”

Middle School Achievement Awards were presented by Mr. Tim Sullivan to the following Form IV students in recognition of their academic excellence and dedication while in the Middle School:

Class of 2028
Adrian Chen
Thomas Egan
Ryan Ho
Ryan Li
Decker Smith
Patrick Snail