On May 27, 2022, 133 graduating seniors and their families gathered in the new Harris Performance Gym to celebrate the 61st Commencement ceremony for the class of 2022.
Senior Alex Homesley was selected as speaker for the class and Tammy Rucker, Middle School Fine Arts teacher and Department Chair, received the Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty Award.
"A theme for the class of 2022 is resilience," said David Mancos, 2021–22 Interim Head of School. "Their Upper School experience was interrupted midway through their sophomore year, but they persevered, exhibited flexibility, and made the very best of a situation that was out of their control."
Highlights of the Class of 2022
- 133 students will attend 65 different colleges and universities in 23 states, Washington, DC and Canada. See full list.
- 71% of the class will attend colleges and universities outside of North Carolina; 29% will attend colleges and universities in state.
- 45% of the class will attend private universities; 55% will attend public institutions.
- To date, the class received nearly $8.6 million in scholarship offers based on academic merit, athletic abilities, or special talents.
Scholarships and Special Opportunities
Morehead-Cain Scholarship (8th recipient in 10 years)
QuestBridge College Match with Yale University
Ron Brown Scholarship and Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship
National Merit Scholars
National Merit College Scholarships from University of Tennessee and Vanderbilt University
National Merit Corporate-Sponsored Scholar from Truist
National Merit Scholarship Program: All 11 semi-finalists moved on as finalists
Commended Students in the National Merit Scholarship Program: 13 students
Athletic Accomplishments
13 seniors will continue their sports careers with the following athletic programs:
Denison University, men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse
George Washington University, women’s lacrosse
Middlebury College, women’s swimming, men's tennis
Saint Michael’s College, softball
Sewanee: The University of the South, softball
Tulane University, women’s cross country/track & field,
University of Kentucky, women’s soccer
University of Mary Washington, women’s soccer
University of North Carolina Asheville, baseball
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, field hockey
Yale University, women’s track & field
Fine Arts Accomplishments
Drama
Blumey Award Best Actress Nominee
North Carolina High School Play Festival Excellence in Acting
North Carolina Outstanding Actress and Southeastern Theatre Conference All Star Cast
Barbizon Production Award for Excellence in Stage Management
Barbizon Production award for Excellence in Crew Leadership
Music
Symphony Guild of Charlotte 2022 Young Artists Competition Finalist, piano
South-Central All District Band and Youth Orchestras of Charlotte, trombone
Graduation Awards
Commencement Exercises included the announcement of 16 senior awards, which pay tribute to individual student’s exceptional scholarship, commitment, example, and contributions to the life of the school. Congratulations to the following students who were presented with these top awards:
Top Scholar for the Year Award: Sam Farnham
Cumulative Top Scholar Award: Sam Farnham
Victora Ludorum Award: Linde Fonville, Sydney Schulze
Athlete's Cup Award: Connor Kleiderer
Emma Watts Pickens Classics Award: Parker Cranz
Mary Nicholson Goddard French Award: Caroline Switzer
Suzanne Pardee Hynes Spanish Award: Janae-Rose Fageyinbo
Charlotte Country Day School Chinese Award: Ben Powell
Mary Allen Todd English Award: Lauren Rydel
J. R. Williams History Award: Caroline Switzer
Dolly S. Hickman Science Award: Lauren Rydel
Charles Heisler Bodine, Jr. Mathematics Award: Janani Sundaram
Outstanding Cultural Contribution Award: Sophie Davis
Katy McCanless Underwood Spirit Award: Emmanuel Omari
Head of School's Award: Alex Homesley, Miliani Smith
Senior of the Year Award: Alex Homesley
Senior Awards
Other senior awards presented during the Baccalaureate ceremony on May 25, include:
General Awards and Honors
Morehead-Cain Scholarship: Lulu Sasz
Mark E Reed Opportunity Scholarship: Zoe Mantooth
IB Senior Award: Kennedy Wallace
Mildred Dalton Cox Global Citizenship Award: Sam Farnham, Emmanuel Omari
Win Robinson Leadership and Service Award (12th Grade): Jake Ritter, Jayden Buckley
Jason Walls Award: Emmanuel Omari
Scholar Athlete: Lulu Sasz, Harris Graham
DAR Good Citizenship Award: Lulu Sasz
Country Day Honor Award: Kenneth Jackson
English Department
English 12 AP: Parker Cranz
English 12 IB Award: Janae-Rose Fageyinbo
English 12 Writing Alexis Blane Award: Lulu Sasz
Fine Arts Department
Fred Waring Director's Award for Chamber Choir: Grace Gardner
National School Choral Award: Lilla Timperman
National School Orchestra Award: Peter Lawing
Outstanding Performance in a Play Award: Lauren Rydel
Outstanding Achievement in Technical Theatre Award: Emma Taylor
Outstanding Performance in a Musical Award: Tyler Letarte
Sustained Achievement in Theatre Arts Award: Sophie Davis
Faculty Choice Award in 2D Art: Grace Cook
Faculty Choice Award in 3D Art: Grace Merz
Faculty Choice Award in Design: George O'Neil
Sally Sasz Memorial Purchase Prize: Lulu Sasz
Rhode Island School of Design Award: Linde Fonville
History Department
AP Modern European: Caroline Switzer
AP Psychology: Lauren Rydel
IB Psychology Award: Kennedy Wallace
IB History of the Americas Award: Emily Randolph
IB ITGS Award: Janae-Rose Fageyinbo
Math Department
AP Calculus AB: Nathan Jackson
Advanced AP Statistics with R: Sam Farnham
Intro to Calculus and Statistics: Grace Cook
IB Applications SL: Elizabeth Beasley
Algebra III/Trigonometry: Zoe Felder
Modern & Classical Languages Department
French 5: Mary Holland Waters
Spanish 5: Kenan Hawley
Latin 5: Skyla Kiang
Global Seal of Biliteracy (Spanish): Janae-Rose Fageyinbo, Zach Goldsmith, Kenan Hawley, Abe Orlandi, Lulu Sasz
Science Department
IB Biology Award: Janae-Rose Fageyinbo
AP Biology; Zach Goldsmith
AP Chemistry: Lulu Sasz
AP Physics: Peter Lawing
Organic Chemistry: Peter Lawing
Honors Engineering: Hudson Rixham
Check out the Class of 2022 final week recap pictures and videos.