New Cum Laude Members Inducted
On Wednesday, April 23, 2014, St. Mark’s inducted nine members of the Class of 2014 and ten members of the Class of 2015 into the Cum Laude Society. The students were inducted based on academic achievement and selected by a committee of student and faculty Cum Laude members. As per the society’s constitution, up to one-fifth of the senior class and one-tenth of the junior class can be inducted.
Congratulations to seniors Nicholas Brodsky, Aidan Dewar, Harrison Lin, Jackson Lowry, Matthew Mahowald, Charles Marshall, Luke Munson, Kobi Naseck, and David Perkins.
Congratulations to juniors Case Brabham, Christopher Carter, Raymond Guo, James Kyle, George Lin, Nathan Ondracek, Vikram Pattabi, Mason Smith, William Sydney, and Darwin Yang.
After the new members were inducted, Lee S. Smith, J.D. ’65 addressed the students, faculty, and parents, recounting his experience as the first black student enrolled at St. Mark’s. At a time when desegregation was just taking effect in Dallas, Lee Smith braved cultural norms and overcame enormous obstacles. One theme that emerged from Smith’s story was the importance of looking forward and embracing every opportunity.
“When you get to forks in the road, you can never look back and ask what would have happened,” he said. “When you make a call and you make it from your heart, you don’t look back. Your future and everything that’s meaningful in your life is in front of you.”
After graduating from St. Mark’s, Lee Smith attended Harvard University before earning a law degree at the University of Washington School of Law. He currently serves as the Associate Vice President for Legal Affairs at the University of Texas.
Since receiving its Cum Laude Society charter in 1959, the St. Mark’s School of Texas chapter has inducted more than 550 men, a legacy commemorated in the Cum Laude stained glass window in the narthex of the St. Mark’s Chapel.
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Lee S. Smith, J.D. ’65
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St. Mark’s School of Texas
10600 Preston Road
Dallas, Texas 75230
214-346-8000
Dallas, Texas 75230
214-346-8000
About Us
St. Mark’s School of Texas is a private, nonsectarian college-preparatory boys’ day school for students in grades 1 through 12, located in Dallas, Texas. St. Mark’s aims to prepare young men to assume leadership and responsibility in a competitive and changing world.
St. Mark’s does not discriminate in the administration of its admission and education policies on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.
St. Mark’s does not discriminate in the administration of its admission and education policies on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.
